Posted at: 10 May 2012 | By: DBA Staff | 1 Comment

  A couple of weeks ago our directors went on a retreat together to DBA’s beautiful Mt. Lebanon Encampment.  Often these are times when we have much important work to knock out.  But this time we had much more time to talk about big pictures and directions that we sense God leading. Bob and Bobby [...]

Posted at: 14 March 2012 | By: DBA Staff | 1 Comment

  A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to lead a group of Christian educators and college students on a tour of some of what God is doing among new immigrants in Dallas.  We called it a "Taste of our Multiethnic Mission Field" because we sampled Mexican pastries, Bhutanese tea and Arabic baklava [...]

Posted at: 16 February 2012 | By: DBA Staff | 0 Comments

  In Luke 10 Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”  If we are seeing a “harvest” of new Jesus-followers that is smaller than we might hope, the problem is certainly not with the people who don’t know Jesus.  No, the problem is with a lack of workers—they are “few.”  A [...]

Posted at: 03 February 2012 | By: DBA Staff | 0 Comments

  Recently I heard a great short story from a “simpler church” planter friend here in Dallas. Each week he is working with seventeen (!) groups in a variety of locations, and in various stages of development.  These meet in places as diverse as mobile homes, apartments, houses, washaterias and even on street corners and empty lots. [...]

Posted at: 20 January 2012 | By: DBA Staff | 5 Comments

  You’ve likely not heard of Dennis Pethers.  I hadn’t until November.  Dennis is from “post-Christian” London.  He grew up as an atheist.  His story about how he came to faith might strengthen your faith in how the Spirit moves–even in spite of Christians sometimes! God’s call on his life now is to help Christians and [...]

Posted at: 11 December 2011 | By: DBA Staff | 1 Comment

I’m usually not comfortable with marketing—especially when applied to churches or Jesus.  Could much of our culture’s pushback on Jesus be because of misguided “sales presentation”-like evangelistic approaches? Isn’t it your experience, after all, that most people are interested in a relationship with Jesus or knowing more about your church because of a friendship with someone, instead of [...]

Posted at: 29 November 2011 | By: DBA Staff | 0 Comments

When I first read The Cross and Switchblade I had no idea how it would affect me.  Now, some thirty or thirty-five years later, the stories about 1958 New York City gang life and the way the Gospel completely changed hardened teens still excite me.  I think God used these to cement my call to [...]

Posted at: 15 November 2011 | By: DBA Staff | 0 Comments

The 2011 State Fair of Texas just came to a close.  My family dives into it each year.  My wife Kristi and my daughter Corrie both won contests this year–one for a corny dog photo and one for a “Dirkenstock” shoe! (The video just may be worth the wait.)  My son Ben has a "best of [...]

Posted at: 13 October 2011 | By: DBA Staff | 1 Comment

Remember the Harmonic Convergence from a couple of decades ago?  Some folks expected great things because all the planets of our solar system lined up on one special day. My guess is, they were a little disappointed. This Sunday, though, you and your whole family—both your immediate and church families–have an opportunity to experience a “convergence” [...]

Posted at: 29 September 2011 | By: DBA Staff | 2 Comments

I admit it…I love National Public Radio.  And I’ve laughed so hard at stories I’ve heard there by humorist David Sedaris that I’ve cried. And here, just one answer in a Relevant Magazine interview with Sedaris reminds us of why we should, like Jesus, take kids and their relationships with God seriously. Q: You were raised [...]