Staff
Senior Minister – Rev. John G. Burton
John Burton is a native Texan from Kilgore, Texas. He received a B.A. in History from Texas Christian University in 1977 and a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School in 1980. He was ordained in June of 1980. He has served as Associate Minister at First Christian Church of Baton Rouge and then First Christian Church of Lincoln, Nebraska. He has served as Pastor of Carlisle Christian Church of Carlisle, Iowa, First Christian Church of Bethany, Missouri, and Irving North Christian Church of Irving, Texas, before accepting the call in November 2008 to become Pastor of First Christian Church of Denton. His wife, Phyllis, is the manager of the Women's Imaging Center in Irving, Texas. They have three adult children: Charity, Aaron, and Joy, and three grandchildren: Aubrey, Hallie, and Emma. John enjoys golf, bicycling, and stained glass.
Music Director - Mark Graham
Mark Graham graduated from the University of North Texas in 1984 with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance, Minor in Music Theory. He has played and conducted Broadway tours, he has taught piano and composition, and he has performed with other musicians in a wide variety of musical styles. Since 1997 he was worked full time in other fields, including information technology. He currently is a resident assistant with the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society.
Administrative Assistant – Dixie Smalley
Dixie was raised in Oklahoma and has lived in Colorado, California and Texas. She joined the staff at First Christian Church in 2004 as Administrative Assistant, and is an active member of the church.
She attended Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and Missouri Southern State University. She has more than 25 years of experience working as a project coordinator, showroom/facilities manager, sales office administrator, and sales support representative.
Dixie has a daughter, Sarah, and a dog, Chancie. She is an active board member of the Denton ISD Parent Teacher's Student Organization and is a volunteer with the Denton Humane Society and Animal Shelter, as well as other community organizations.
Youth Minister – Cassie Sexton
Cassie Sexton is a current student at Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. She is a candidate for ordination through the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Florida Region. Prior to moving to Texas, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Theatre and Teacher Education from Lynchburg College, in Virginia. She has served on the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Florida Regional Summer Camp Staff for three years prior to seminary. It is her goal to help the future generations of the world find and understand the gospel so that they may be the hands and feet of Christ in order to seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan and plead for the widows in the world.
Youth Choir Director – Olivia Justice Countryman
Olivia Justice Countryman, a native of Kentucky, has been singing with the FCC choir for 6 years and directing the C-Unit youth choir for 4. She is an alumni of the University of North Texas and a Denton resident. Olivia splits her time making music in church and in teaching voice and piano lessons.
Custodian – Richard Meyer
Richard is a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, where he graduated H.S. in 1971. He then served in the U.S. Army, being stationed in Panama, Vietnam, and Germany. In 1988 he received and Associates Degree in Sociology from El Paso Community College and in 2001 he received a B.A. in Psychology from U.N.T. Richard's family still resides in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is an avid fan of football, especially Notre Dame football, he also is considered to be quite a history buff. Richard has worked for FCC since 2002.