ACTIVATE(D): Wayne #1 - "Jesus' Presence Wherever We Go"
Have you ever struggled with the command to go and make new disciples?
Wayne Stapleton’s story is a tale of a church, but also that of a man. At the helm of a congregation on the cusp of a new beginning, Wayne underwent major personal transformation that in turn gave his church, Renewal Warren, a way forward in their 2012 “restart.”
Searching for a corporate strategy to reach the lost with the good news of Jesus, he found a completely reconstructed, personal sense of what is means to be a disciple of Christ. Wayne’s reFocusing coach challenged his presuppositions and turned his innate paradigm of discipleship on its head: evangelism is an integral part of what it is to be Christian, not a programmatic structure or initiative. What if Christ’s declaration, “you shall be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8), wasn’t some arbitrary demand? What if it was a natural expectation for the trajectory of a life abiding with the Good Shepherd? Disciples of Christ are inherently disciple-makers, meant to join with the Apostle Paul in a chorus of, “Follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Cor 11:1), waving the banner of freedom high!
Renewal Warren’s way forward took on clear, concrete steps through the Missional Pathway, but it started with Wayne’s personal realization, “living missionally isn’t an add-on to following Jesus; it’s part of it. It’s not some new phase or a trend; it’s discipleship.” They weren’t adding a snazzy new study to their repertoire, but restoring the fullness of their calling to be “little Christs” wherever they set foot. They were recovering a robust discipleship that embraced disciple-making.
The Missional Pathway could have become one of one hundred intriguing ideas Renewal Warren welcomed for a season and dropped when it became less attractive. Instead, Renewal Warren’s congregants increasingly “see themselves as the presence of Jesus wherever they go,” committed to celebrating life in Christ with believers and not-yet-believers alike and following their leader as he follows Christ! Keep an eye out for more of this story!
What do you think about the relationship between being a disciple and making new disciples of Jesus? Comment below!