Fort Worth Pastor Resigns after DUI, Weapon Charges

The lead teaching pastor at a Fort Worth Baptist church has resigned after he was arrested last week on suspicion of driving while intoxicated with a child under 15 years old in the vehicle and suspicion of unlawfully carrying a weapon.

The Rev. Andrew Erickson of Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Texas was booked about 11:15 p.m. on March 3, according to court records. He resigned from his job at the church shortly after his arrest, according to Baptist News Global.

“Over the last 12 months and more recently, it has become clear that there are things I need to work on personally, and I believe causes me to need a season of rest from the responsibilities of ministry,” he wrote in a resignation letter distributed to church members that was excerpted in Baptist News Global.

“We assure you that Drew was not fired and that no improprieties have occurred at TABC. We love him, as you do, and we will miss him terribly,” said the introduction to the letter.

Erickson had held the lead teaching pastor role at the church since October 2019. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where his church biography said he has served as an adjunct preaching professor. A seminary spokesman confirmed only that Erickson had taught an English class in Southwestern’s undergraduate college as an assistant in 2013.

Main photo: Drew Erickson / Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

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