Wes Davis
7 min read ⭑
“See the face of Jesus in everyone you meet. … When I look at someone and then see Jesus in them, it changes how I listen and respond.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
My life story is the search for the perfect hamburger.
While I was growing up in Tacoma, Washington, the hamburger stand in the Stadium District next to Wright Park was the Disneyland of hamburgers for me. Seattle had Dick’s Drive-In, and in Tacoma, we had the Frisco Freeze.
Fresh meat, buns made daily, and farmers-market-like condiments are staples of the perfect hamburger, but what distinguishes good from great burger joints is the secret sauce. I love places that have a secret sauce.
While my relationship with Frisco was strong in my childhood, in my adult years, I ventured off North of Tacoma to the Pick-Quick in Fife off of I-5. Not everyone is so cavalier as to put a full slice of raw onion on their hamburger, but Pick-Quick held nothing back.
As word of my search for the perfect hamburger spread, burger lovers from all over America sent me their nominations. As a result, my travels tend to include a stop at a highly recommended hamburger stand.
Now, whenever I’m in my hometown and drive by Frisco Freeze, my heart is grateful for the hamburger that launched me on this grand adventure.
New York Times
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?
Every morning includes the ritual of the New York Times Wordle, Mini, Spelling Bee and Connections word games.
Six of my friends and I compete for the unofficial “smartest person in the room” award. The Mini is a timed short crossword. As the unofficial scorekeeper of our friendship group, I send out the monthly standings for the Mini, a la the Tour de France, and update the standings for the year.
Let’s call this the Fantasy Football League for nerds.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
Twenty-three years ago, we launched a church. But we almost didn’t. The week before the launch, one of the leadership team members said in a low moment, “Wes, I don’t want to burst your bubble, but nobody is going to come.”
I said, “How many people are coming now?”
They said, “We haven’t launched, so nobody.”
I responded, “If nobody is coming now and nobody comes when we launch, then we’re even.” Ha!
People did come, though. Lots of people. And people have problems.
As a young pastor, I thought my job was to solve those problems. That’s my kryptonite — I think I can fix everything. I have since learned they need Jesus to solve their problems, not Wes. But I didn’t know that then. So what happened? My body started to break down because the body keeps score.
I didn’t know what was causing my physical issues. If you said, “How are you doing?” (and people did), I would say, “Great. I’m doing fine. The church is growing, and this is awesome.”
At that point in my life, if someone invited us to come over or go out, I would think about where I would sit in case I had to leave quickly.
Something was wrong with my body, so I went to a bunch of doctors. I told them, “Maybe this is something I caught in Central America — a rare disease.”
Nope. Every time, the doctors said the same thing: “We don’t see anything wrong with your body. Could it be stress?”
”No. It’s not stress because I’m fine,” was my response.
Turns out it was stress.
The doctor prescribed a little blue pill for anxiety. I don’t know if it was a placebo, but I took it for five years.
After a panic attack in a restaurant got my attention, I went to a counselor. At the end of the session, the counselor asked me to begin my day with breathing. I thought I had begun every day of my life breathing. But the counselor disagreed. “You spend your whole day running around with quick breaths and high stress. Your body won’t let you continue to do that and live.”
So I began to start each day with five deep breaths. Eventually, each breath, slow and deep, grew to about one minute. While I breathed, I quoted Psalm 19: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, my rock and my redeemer” (vv. 14).
After about two weeks, I felt a knot in the center of my chest release. Then one day, I stopped taking the anxiety pill. Actually, I don’t remember stopping. I just forgot about it.
Another thing I did was invite people into what I was feeling. They offered to take some of the weight of the work I had been carrying. Something good happens when we distribute the weight of our work to other people and we get to just be human beings.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
Earlier this year, I successfully defended my dissertation and earned a doctorate in ministry degree from Southeastern University in Florida.
My research was on the future of the church in America. My doctoral work has opened the door for me to coach young leaders, who are the future, and help them double their impact in three years.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors, or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
See the face of Jesus in everyone you meet. That’s what Dan Serdahl, one of my mentors, does, and it changes every conversation. When I look at someone and then see Jesus in them, it changes how I listen and respond.
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable of the sheep and the goats — two animals that look the same but behave differently.
In the story, there’s a king who separates the sheep and goats and says, “I was naked, I was hungry, I was a stranger, I was in prison, and I was sick.”
His servants then ask, “When did we see you?”
The king’s response: “Whatever you do to the least of these, you’ve done to me.”
That story changes everything. If I see everyone like they’re Jesus, the King, I behave differently.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin’ best for you right now?
My favorite spiritual practice is to be in God’s presence and not say anything.
Mother Teresa was asked, “When you pray, what do you say to God?”
She replied, “Nothing. I just listen.”
So then, she was asked, “What does God say to you?”
Teresa said, “He says nothing. He just listens, too.”
The spiritual practice of being aware of God’s presence is teaching me how to just be with people.
When I started this spiritual practice, I set my alarm for two minutes. It felt so long!
After being aware of God’s presence, I then read the Scriptures and thank Jesus for inviting me into his life that day.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources — lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff, too. What are three resources that have impacted you?
My top three resources currently are:
1. “The New Testament in Its World” audiobook by NT Wright
2. “The Jesus XP” spiritual practices
3. “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season — and tell us what it’s done for you.
The app Lectio365 is a great way to include spiritual practices into your everyday life.
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
My next big dream is a movement of churches led by the upcoming wave of leaders in their 20s and 30s. Currently, the average age of pastors is at an all-time high, and the number of young people entering the ministry is at a low. Perhaps this is a moment for new wineskins.
I’ve noticed that many in the younger generation have side hustles. I wonder if that is their tent-making abilities (like the apostle Paul) to help fund their ministry.
The next wave of churches will have to look different from those led by the Boomers and Gen-Xers. I’m not sure what that is, but I think the Millennials and Gen-Zers know (or are at least the most likely to discover it).
I want to be there when they figure it out and be their biggest cheerleader.
Wes Davis says the pastorate is aging — and he’s not wrong. According to 2022 research, the average age of Protestant senior pastors is 52, and only 16% are younger than 40.
Unfortunately, the same research shows that churches today don’t prioritize developing new church leaders as they did back in 2015.
So where does that leave the next generation of believers?
Maybe the church needs more formal programs. Or maybe we simply need more leaders to adopt Paul’s mindset: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2, NIV).
Wes Davis is a church planter, basketball player and lead pastor of newlife. Launched with 14 people, newlife has grown to five campuses and has been listed twice in Outreach Magazine as one of the 100 fastest-growing churches in America. Wes and his wife, Kari, have been married for 30 years with three children and three grandchildren. His greatest joy in ministry is empowering the next wave of young leaders for the mission of God and announcing the good news found in Jesus.
