Dr. Brian Anderson

Senior Pastor

Brian and Diane

Brian and Diane have been happily married for 28 years, and since their 34th anniversary is coming up soon, that's pretty good! (Just kidding.) As you can see, they have a sense of humor, which is a must at CrossRoads. Brian has been a pastor for over 25 years, in 5 churches in Texas and Missouri, before helping to start CrossRoads in September of 2003. A native of Illinois, he grew up on a farm and his undergraduate degree is a B.S. in Comprehensive Agriculture from Illinois State University. He worked for a year as a farm manager ... in Chicago. Well, that's what he claims anyway. Sounded unlikely to us until he explained he was an agricultural property manager for a bank that had agricultural lands in trust. Okay, makes sense now.

They moved to Texas to go to seminary. His formal training began at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in the Masters of Divinity program (M.Div.). He completed this degree and decided to enter the Ph.D. program. He says, "I was hungry for more. I wanted to go deeper." He found what he was looking for. He completed this program in 1991.

He prefers to be called simply "Brian." (Not "Simply Brian," you understand.) His gifts are his preaching ability and his creativity. He asked a co-worker once, "In your opinion, do I think outside the box?" His friend and co-worker said, "Brian, you don't even know there is a box." His creativity is being expressed in his preaching through the use of interesting and relevant messages using dramatic monologues, video, object lessons (lots of stuff about dogs for some reason) and story telling. But it all comes back to the central truth -- Jesus Christ, the joy of living. He preaches joyfully, not angrily. His sermons hit home with everyday life. And you never know when he's going to say something slightly outrageous. Keeps us awake, for sure.

He has a beautiful and delightful wife who puts up with constant stories about their family from the stage. They have four great kids and two wonderful grandchildren.

Brian's leadership and vision, along with the Leadership Team made up of CrossRoads members, have helped us grow into a strong, loving and unique church family.