A megachurch in Frisco has removed a longtime pastor due to a “moral failure,” according to a Tuesday email the church sent congregants that was obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
Tony Cammarota, a former associate pastor at Stonebriar Community Church, “confessed to church leadership of a moral failure” on July 7, the church’s email said. “He is deeply remorseful but his sin disqualifies him from serving on our staff as a pastor,” it added.
Cammarota did not return three phone calls requesting comment on the situation. Representatives for the church did not respond to three calls and two emails requesting comment.
Cammarota worked at the church as an associate pastor for over 17 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. More than 3,000 people attend Sunday services at Stonebriar, according to a recent church news release, and around 16,000 watch online.
The church’s email did not describe the nature of the “moral failure” it said led to Cammarota’s removal and urged readers not to speculate about it. “And please guard against giving the Devil any foothold for more damage to our church through unnecessary speech and speculation,” it read. “This is a sad day and we don’t want the Devil making it worse through any one of us in the days ahead.”
The church’s email has received criticism on social media. A screenshot of the email obtained by the blogger Amy Smith and posted to a Frisco Reddit group has received over 100 comments so far, with a number of people taking issue with the request not to talk or speculate about the situation. “Oh, and if you want to find out if the moral failing hurt anyone, you’re only helping the devil,” user “crowej” wrote.
“Ironic how anything bad that happens is the Devil and not the pastor’s fault, and the church family is supposed to just not talk about the sin because that would be spreading the Devil,” user “r3dk0w” wrote.
Stonebriar underwent a leadership transition earlier this year. The church’s longtime pastor, Chuck Swindoll, announced he was stepping down as senior pastor in April, and his successor, Jonathan Murphy, took over as senior pastor on May 1.
Adrian Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for The Dallas Morning News through a partnership with Report for America.
