Leadership
Kevin Grant
Shane Blackburn
Chris Cannon
Ethan Clapp
Marc Clapp
Roy Flora
Daniel Jones, Jr.
Don LaCroix
Ray Lewis
Harvey Matheny
Richard Toland
Kevin Grant
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Asbury University, he worked in commercial radio for 5 years before he began training for the pastorate. Kevin attended Dallas Theological Seminary where he graduated with his ThM degree.
He married Jennifer (a staff journalist for Campus Crusade for Christ) and they moved to Oklahoma where he pastored a church for 14 years.
In December 2017, nine months after the birth of their fifth child, Jennifer was unexpectedly diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. This was shocking news.
After battling this cancer for 3 years and 8 months, Jennifer entered our Lord's presence in August of 2021. This has been a tremendous loss to the Grant family. Yet God has faithfully sustained and refined them throughout this painful journey.
Open Door then voted to call Pastor Kevin in October 2022 and he joyfully accepted the call and relocated his family back to Memphis to begin his current role in January 2023.
Open Door merged with Evangel Church in September of 2024 beginning a new charter as Memphis Bible Church. This merger process, bathed in months of prayer, has gone amazingly well. God has blessed our church in obvious ways and we continue to see His work among us.
The Grant family is grateful to be back home in Memphis surrounded by loving Christian friends at Memphis Bible Church.
Shane Blackburn
Shane’s grandparents started coming to Open Door along with his Mom before he was born. She continued to attend later as an adult, so Shane has been coming since he was born.
One evening, Shane was spending a night with the same grandparents who attended Open Door. He had heard the message of the Gospel growing up, and after a discussion about it, and a few questions with his grandmother, he made the decision to place his faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Shane is married to the wonderful Ruth Blackburn, and they have three (also wonderful) children: Ethan, Norah, and Esther. His favorite way to relax is playing music (when he has the opportunity). He plays the guitar, bass, and drums.
Shane loves to travel and try local food.
Chris Cannon
Ethan Clapp
Marc Clapp
Roy Flora
Daniel Jones
Daniel came to faith in Christ on a Sunday morning in Sultan, WA, after a sermon his Dad preached that morning. Growing up in church, he knew he was a sinner, but something was different that day. He had the head knowledge his whole life, but that day he asked Jesus to save him. Daniel is the oldest of 9 children, and he and Brandy have 5 of their own: Isaac, Caleb, Bella, Elliott, and Kesler.
Daniel enjoys playing soccer and other sports, working out, and eating! He is the only person to coach a winning season of the Open Door softball team.
Don LaCroix
Ray Lewis
Harvey Matheny
Richard Toland
He was brought up in church since nursery age and heard about Jesus very early. When he was seven he knew he had done some bad things and was a sinner. He prayed to accept Jesus but it is a little fuzzy now, he says. He wishes he had had a very dramatic salvation experience to have more of a testimony to tell, but he realizes that he is so hardheaded that if he had not received Christ at an early age his chances of being saved might not have been very good.
Richard is part of the Memphis Heritage Foundation and West Tennessee Historical Society. He and his wife, Linda, have four children — three girls and a boy, who are all married. They have five grandchildren and the oldest of them is in heaven. He would be two and a half. The other four range from 18 months to 6 months.
Richard’s favorite way to relax is to read but he doesn’t have enough time to do that (in normal times)
One interesting fact that most might not know about Richard is that he used to be a cowboy.