A Pastor in The Northwest

Six days ago was the 18th anniversary of the official launch of Dallas Church. Looking back to that day at Whitworth Elementary's gymnasium, I wasn't sure what God was going to do with a new church in this city. Our launch team knew we wanted to be a church where questions were ok and a family where people who were far from the Lord would want to take new steps toward Him. We wanted everyone to discover God's dream - a dream of heaven meets earth walking with the Lord! I pray that God will continue to shape us into the church He called to order back on October 21st, 2007. To inspire us, here's something I found amazing, challenging, AND encouraging! Enjoy this glimpse of the early church! Pastor Ben The ancient Letter to Diognetus records these observations about the early church: “ The Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor by language, nor by the customs that they observe; for they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a pecul...

The Psalms are full of this phrase. What does it mean? Are we to stop all activity, sit down, and passively do absolutely nothing? Or, is there something else here for us? Let us think on this for a bit...if someone asks you to wait up, you know what that means right? You've gone ahead and they are trying to catch up with you. Other times we might think of someone running late to a party or dinner and they ask for you to wait until they arrive. I'm not sure either of these really capture the meaning. To help us, let's hear some of the ways the Psalms use this phrase: Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. -Psalm 5:3 NLT Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. -Psalm 27:14 NLT Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. -Psalm 37:7 NLT For I am waiting fo...

Sometimes I don't know what to pray. There are days when I don't have words. Other times, I find that my heart and mind are distracted. Some days I'm just down and not feeling it. How about you? When it comes to prayer, we have some encouragement from God's people throughout history. The entire collection of Psalms can be helpful for us here too! Here are a few prayers I've put to memory so I can pray when I'm out of words - maybe these can help you as well! The Jesus Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. Our Father Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.] Glory Be Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And one mo...

I came across this prayer the other day, and I thought it was good to share: "Holy Spirit, grant me the humility to accept the doors you have closed to me, the courage to walk through the doors you open, and the wisdom to know the difference!" Yes Lord! Photo by Jacob Culp on Unsplash