Frisco megachurch pastor Tony Cammarota fired for ‘moral failure,’ church officials say
A pastor at Frisco’s Stonebriar Community Church has been terminated from his position due to a “moral failure,” church officials announced in an email to members.
According to the statement emailed to church members, Tony Cammarota, a longtime associate pastor at the North Texas megachurch, confessed on Sunday to church leaders of a “moral failure,” details of which were not included in the message. A screenshot of the statement was posted on X by Amy Smith of the watchdog blog Watchkeep.
The church said while Cammarota was “deeply remorseful,” officials found his “sin” disqualifies him to serve on the staff as a pastor.
“After much prayer seeking God’s direction, discussion as leaders, and then talking to Tony we have terminated his employment effective immediately,” the statement reads.
The email goes on to ask readers to not speculate or further speak on the issue. “And please guard against giving the Devil any foothold for more damage to our church through unnecessary speech and speculation,” the statement says. “This is a sad day and we don’t want the Devil making it worse through any one of us in the days ahead.”
According to Cammarota’s LinkedIn, he worked at the church for more than 17 years.
The church has not yet responded to a Star-Telegram request to elaborate on the “moral failure.”
Cammarota’s termination comes after several other Dallas-Fort Worth megachurch pastors have resigned or temporarily stepped away from their roles in the past few weeks.
On June 9, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship’s pastor Tony Evans stepped down after 48 years with the church, Baptist News Global reported. In a statement he said he did not commit a crime but admitted to not using “righteous judgment in my actions.”
A week later, Mike Buster resigned as the executive pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, where he served for 35 years, according to Baptist News Global. Church officials and Buster have denied that any wrongdoing led to his resignation.
Four days after Buster’s resignation, Gateway Church’s founder and lead pastor Robert Morris stepped down from his position at the Southlake-based megachurch. He resignation followed his admission to “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a girl when she was underage and he was 21. The victim, Cindy Clemishire, who is now 54, said Morris molested her starting when she was 12 and the sexual abuse went on for four years until he was caught.
Robert Morris’ son James Morris was appointed to take on his father’s role as lead pastor starting in 2025. But Gateway Church officials recommended that James Morris and three other elders temporarily step down from the board while a law firm conducts an internal investigation regarding the sexual abuse allegations.
This story was originally published July 11, 2024 at 3:05 PM.
