Ministry Staff

Dr. Brent McDougal, Senior Pastor

Brent joined Cliff Temple in June 2010 as our senior pastor. Brent is passionate about sharing the love of Jesus through preaching, pastoral care, and community building. He believes that ministry should be compassionate, collaborative, transformative, and life giving:

• Compassionate: Serving the spiritual and practical needs of the people
• Collaborative: in partnership, inside and outside the congregation
• Transformative: creating real change within the individual, congregation, and community
• Life Giving: to ourselves and others, rather than draining energy and leading to burnout

Brent has a BA from Emory University, a Masters of Divinity from Samford University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Alabama. Brent is married to Jennifer, and they have a son, Christopher and a daughter, Emily.

Rev. Kenny Cheshier, Minister of Youth

Helping young people in their teenage years has been and continues to be a particular joy for Kenny. Under Kenny’s leadership, Cliff Temple has become an important place where youth of all backgrounds can experience God’s love. Kenny graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Radio/TV/Film and has attended at B.H. Carroll Theological Institute and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Kenny has served at Cliff Temple Baptist Church since 1999 and was ordained in April of 2001. He and his wife, Stephenie, have been married since 2000 and are the parents of two daughters, Kennedy and Madison.

Walter Counts, Minister to Senior Adults

As our Minister to Senior Adults, Walter serves Cliff Temple’s older generations as they fellowship with our congregation and minister to our community at large. Walter is a firm believer that one is never too old to fulfill his or her mission to “The Great Commission”, and works to ensure that seniors continue to contribute their wisdom, skills, and energies in a meaningful way. Prior to serving as our minister to Senior Adults, Walter served for 19 years as our Church Administrator. He is a charter member of the Dallas Baptist Uuniversity Legacy Society, the Baylor 1845 Heritage Society and was a trustee at both Mission: Oak Cliff and the Texas Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services. He was the 2005 recipient of the DBU–Oak Cliff Good Samaritan Award. Walter is married to Nancy, and they have two adult children and four grandchildren.

Lauren Felps, Minister to Children

Lauren loves children and desires for them to know Jesus as their Savior. For Lauren, one of the most exciting things to see is a child accept Christ. She believes that children learn through a variety of ways and encourages an engaged, hands-on approach to ministry. Lauren has been serving at Cliff Temple since August 2012. She graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences, majoring in General Family and Consumer Sciences. She focused on Child and Family Studies. She is currently attending Dallas Baptist University to earn a Masters of Arts in Christian Education: Childhood Ministry. Lauren enjoys reading, singing, dancing, and playing with her pet rabbit, Snickers.

Dr. Dan L. Griffin, Minister of Outreach

Dan has a long history of making positive impacts in our congregation: first serving as our senior pastor from 1979 to 1989, and now continuing his service as our Minister of Outreach. Dan is also an Adjunct Professor of Bible at DBU, where he teaches survey courses in Old and New Testament. Dan holds a B.A. from Oklahoma Baptist University, a Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Doctorate of Ministry from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has honorary doctorate degrees from Campbell University and Dallas Baptist University. He is married to Marilyn, a native of Kentucky. They have three grown children and five grandchildren.

Brad Jernberg, Minister of Music and Administration

Brad joined Cliff Temple’s staff as Minister of Music in July 2007. As minister of music, he directs the choral program and supervises the church-wide music ministry, with major responsibilities for worship. Brad is committed to excellence in sacred music, thoughtful worship planning, and the importance of lay persons in worship leadership. As church administrator, he works with the support staff, the properties staff and several committees to ensure that the daily operations of the church run smoothly and reflect Cliff Temple’s mission in and around the community. Prior to serving Cliff Temple, he was Music Ministry Resident at Wilshire Baptist Church as part of its Pathways to Ministry Program, funded by the Lilly Endowment. He currently serves on the conference steering team for Polyphony, a Fellowship of Pastoral Musicians. Brad received a bachelor of music in Music Education from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001, and a master of music in Music Education in 2004, also from the University of Texas at Austin. He is married to Margaret and they live in Dallas.

Rev. Wes Keyes, Minister of Missions

Wes has been on the Cliff Temple team since July of 2008. As Minister of Missions, Wes firmly believes that a church is only complete when she is involved in mission. Wes feels it is his calling to awaken the missionary inside of each and every member of Cliff Temple. To this end, Wes desires to see every member of Cliff Temple become active in mission by 2012. Wes was licensed to the Gospel ministry at age 17. He later went on to William Carey University receiving a BA in Religion and Spanish. Wes graduated in 2002 from Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree with a concentration in Global Missions. He is currently serving on the Community Ministry Team with the Dallas Baptist Association . Wes enjoys playing softball, hunting, fishing, and attempting to play golf. He lives in Dallas with his wife Beth and daughter Sarah Beth.