ARLINGTON, Texas — Church members holding Bibles hugged and cried outside a church in a Dallas suburb on Friday, a day after their young pastor was killed and a ministry assistant was severely beaten in what police suspect was a robbery gone wrong.
Because items were missing from NorthPointe Baptist Church, investigators suspect that robbery was a motive but would not say exactly what things or if any money was stolen Thursday, said Tiara Ellis Richard, an Arlington police spokeswoman.
Authorities continued searching for the injured church employee's car, which was believed stolen after the crime. The woman remained hospitalized Friday.
The Rev. Clint Dobson, 28, who had led NorthPointe, a satellite church of First Baptist Church of Arlington, for about three years, was described as a dynamic and caring pastor whose heart was even bigger than his tall stature.
"He always had a smile on his face and would hug you as you walked in," said Lida Cummings, fighting back tears. "He had joy in his heart. He will really be missed."
The young pastor was a distant relative of James Dobson, one of the country's most influential conservative Christian leaders.
"The family is quite shocked," said James Dobson's assistant Becky Lane, who said the young pastor was the son of one of the elder Dobson's cousins.
Investigators were still trying to determine what time the attack occurred. Police were called to the church at about 4:15 p.m. Thursday after someone went to check on Clint Dobson and the assistant after a relative could not reach one of them, and then looked in a church window and saw the victims on the floor.
Belinda Billings, coordinator of a neighborhood community watch group and a former NorthPointe member, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the church was kept locked and the assistant would usually let her in after she rang a bell.
The Rev. Dennis Wiles, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Arlington, said Friday that he was "just trying to get through today" and was not sure if security would be a greater concern for churches.
"We're going to go on. That's what we have to do. That's what Clint would want us to do," Wiles said before hugging some grieving church members who gathered outside the NorthPointe building in Arlington, a city of 380,000 between Dallas and Fort Worth.
Dobson grew up in the Houston area and was an all-American boy who loved playing baseball and spending time with friends, said his former pastor, the Rev. Robert Creech. Dobson decided to become a pastor while attending Baylor University and graduated from the Waco school's Truett Theological Seminary as a top student, several professors said.
In blog posts on the NorthPointe website, Dobson shared his thoughts about how God relates to everyday life.
"Often people blame God for the sadness of the world and reject any possible hope that could be spoken into it," Dobson wrote in his Jan. 17 blog. "... However, in the realities of a broken world with broken people, the ultimate hope and answer for the world is the free and perfect gift offered by the Creator. ... The nature of grace is free to all at even the lowest point of despair."
A $10,000 reward is being offered by Oak Farms Dairy for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case.