I fell in love with Dallas in the summer of 1982, when I spent a week on the campus of Dallas Christian College, the school that would be my alma mater, and later employer. I’d been here for a week the previous summer, but in 1982 I brought my car. And THAT made such a difference. 

For my money, there’s nothing cooler for an 18 year old than being in a large, optimistic city with a car & enough money to keep gas in the tank and buy the occasional cheeseburger. 

That week, I explored Dallas. When I came back for school that fall, I explored Dallas further. I LOVED it. The optimism. The newness, something is always being built. How green it is, compared to New Mexico (which I also love deeply.) There’s always something new in Dallas. I loved the different neighborhoods. The restaurants and music stores. The concerts and movies. The colleges and churches and houses. 

Dallas has been the center of my universe ever since that summer. I’ve moved back to it twice. I’ve missed this place every minute that I’ve spent away from it. I love this place. WE love this place, Beth and me. As much as any earthly place can be, Dallas is home.
And now God is calling us away. 

I’ve spent 15 years in DFW, and two more in Waco (close enough to listen to DFW radio, etc.) I’ve been here for dozens of concerts, three Cowboy’s Super Bowl victories, one NBA championship, one NHL championship, multiple tornadoes, four Presidential elections, two Promise Keepers, one North American Christian Convention, and the birth of our son. We bought our first house here. We found the best church in the world here–The Branch. I grew up here–at least a little bit. I became a pastor and a scholar here. 

Tonight is our last night as residents of Dallas / Ft Worth. Movers have been here all day, packing up our stuff. (Mostly books, of course.) Tomorrow, those same movers will take our earthly possessions and set them on a path that ends in Zagreb. 

I’m thrilled to be going to Croatia, to be part of a vital and exciting ministry. And I know God is in this. 

But a part of me is going to miss this place. 
Goodbye, Texas.