Elders

mbc elders

(from left to right) John Chapman, Tyler Beard, Ken Beattie, Tom Beard, Vince Loftis, James Bobo, David Minor, David DeShan, Laynce Nix

1 Peter 5:1-4 - "The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away."

We believe that our role as Elders or Shepherds at Midland Bible is one of being servants under the leadership of Christ, our Chief Shepherd. Thus, we see our role as one of following Christ and serving His beloved church.

John Chapman

John and his wife Deborah have been at Midland Bible Church for over 20 years with John serving first as a Deacon before becoming an Elder. Raised in Arkansas and North Carolina, John became a believer at the age of 7. After graduating from the Colorado School of Mines with a Bachelors Degree in Geological Engineering, John has spent his professional career as a Petroleum Geologist. He is currently employed by EOG Resources.


John and Deborah married in 1981 and have four children: Nathaniel, Andrew, Emily, and Louisa.


Among John’s hobbies are music, books, and remodeling.


When asked about his favorite scripture, John said it is Micah 6:8, "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."


A quote from John: "I am not merely losing my hair. I am growing a halo!" I guess that’s what happens when you have rocks in your head.

David Minor

Dave has been at MBC since the day he and his wife Sandy arrived in Midland in 1997. He has been a part of the elder council since 2003.

 

Raised in Chandler, AZ, he is a 1982 graduate of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. He came to Christ through the ministry of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes while a Jr. at Chandler High School. He is a five year Air Force veteran and has been an FAA air traffic controller for nearly 20 years. Although a loyal son of the "Grand Canyon State", whose motto is "Ditat Deus" (God enriches), he is proud to be a Texan and an Aggie fan.

 

Dave and Sandy (Kilgore) were married by Guy Davidson at Grace Community Church in Tempe, AZ, in 1982, which is where they met under the college ministry of former ASU football star Don Ekstrand. God has blessed them with six children, two sons-in-law, and their families, Emily (Hayden Mooney), Carrie (K.C. Stallings), Iris, Glen, Anna and Mattea.

 

"It seems like I've gained more understanding in the last 12 years at MBC through the teaching and fellowship of the saints around me than in all the other years of my walk with God combined, including but not limited to, the amazing and free grace of God; the accountability of the believer at the bema; the impossibility of living the Christian life without an intimate relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit's abiding presence; resurrected life begins now."

 

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you." - Romans 8:11

Vince Loftis

Vince and his wife Gail moved to Midland in 1971 where they raised two daughters and a son.  Vince has been a partner in Midland Oil and Gas for 25 years where he has looked after the company’s exploration efforts.  


Vince became a believer in Christ in September of 1984 through a struggle with alcohol. They began attending Midland Bible Church in 1985 and served in various ministries.  Vince became an elder in 1994 and continues to serve in that capacity.  As a couple, they work to encourage and strengthen marriages as well as individuals who seek to walk with God.  Vince’s spiritual gift is encouragement and Gail’s is mercy.  In their spare time, they enjoy being parents, grandparents, reading and traveling.


Vince’s passion is to see MBC become a true church family as described in Ephesians chapter 4 where believers live out their love for one another. 


Tom Beard

Tom has been at MBC for over 26 years, and he has served as an elder for about 23 of those years. Tom became a believer on January 29, 1975.


For the first 11 years of his life, Tom lived in Conneaut, Ohio, which is on Lake Erie. His family moved to Odessa where he graduated from Permian High School. From Permian, he went on to Texas Tech and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering.


Tom and his wife, Dana, have 3 sons: Tyler, Tim, and Jeff. They also have eight granddaughters and three grandsons, many of which are running around at MBC on any given Sunday!


What started out as a hobby, racing and selling homing pigeons, turned into a business for Tom and his son, Tim. However, his main occupation is serving as a consulting engineer and project manager for oil and gas related facilities. In addition, Tom does forensic engineering, and serves as an expert witness for various oil and gas facility related litigation.


The book of Proverbs is Tom's favorite scripture.

James Bobo

James and Cindy have been at MBC since 1989 and James has served as an elder since 1992.  

James is a genuine Okie from Muskogee.  He studied Petroleum and Chemical Engineering @ the University of Tulsa plus a cute nursing coed he met his junior year.  Cindy and James were married in January, 1977, during their senior year and expected to move shortly to West Texas.  It took 12 years and six houses, but they finally made it in fall of 1989.

They have two children, Joshua, born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1980, and Sarah, born in Lafayette, Louisiana in 1982.  Joshua is married and lives with his wife, Gaudencia, in Midland and works as a pharmacist @ Walgreen’s.  Sarah is married and lives in Midland with her husband, David Curtis, and daughter, Rebekah.  David is the Triple L Ranch foreman as part of the MBC’s Next Step Discipleship Ministry.

James likes to do a little “pickin’ and grinnin’” with his string bass and is always available for a pick-up game of volleyball or pinochle.
Two of James’ favorite Bible characters are Joseph and Daniel.  Their example of excellence and trust in God’s sovereignty has been an encouragement over the years.

James’ spiritual gift is “Word of Knowledge” which he gladly shares, but it will probably be more than “a word” with a spreadsheet thrown in for good measure.

Dr. David DeShan

David grew up in Lubbock but began attending Midland Bible Church in 1977 whenever he visit Midland, or more particularly, a young college student who was from Midland named Cindy.  David and Cindy were married 5 years later at Midland Bible Church in 1982.  They subsequently moved to Dallas where David attended Southwestern Medical School  and where he did his residency training at Parkland Hospital in OB/GYN.

In 1990, with two children in tow, they moved back to Midland and have been attending Midland Bible Church since.    David began serving as an elder in 2005.

David and Cindy have 3 children, Eric, Catherine, and Rebecca.  Eric, married in August 2008 to Shelley, lives in the DFW area and works as a mechanical engineer; Catherine currently attends Texas Christian University and is studying to be a nurse; while Rebecca remains at home, at least for a couple more years and attends Midland Classical Academy.

David began serving as a medical missionary to Russia in 2002 for 2-3 weeks per year.   In 2006 he stopped his obstetrical practice of 16 years and reduced his gynecology practice to allow him to devote more time to his medical missions work.  Currently, David and Cindy are working in Russia 3 months out of the year.

David’s favorite scripture is Hebrews 12:1-2 which says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Laynce Nix

Bio coming soon.