There are some things that happen in life that are just too fortuitous to be anything but God’s orchestration. I’ve had one of those events recently. A couple months ago, through a perfect series of events, I became connected with the wonderful folks at the Vere Institute. The mission of Vere Institute is near and dear to my heart—cultivating whole-life disciples of Jesus, which they do specifically through equipping and empowering church leaders.
I’m happy to announce that I recently accepted a part-time position as their Communications Director. I’m delighted to be able to support the ministry of Vere Institute and to share more with their partners about whole-life discipleship.
I’ve been working on a project for them we’re calling “Equippers and Frontliners,” which features a series of curated stories of pastors (equippers) and everyday Christians (frontliners), who are both seeking to live on mission for the Kingdom within the context their own callings and circumstances. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing all of these brothers and sisters, and I can’t wait to share their stories with you. (If you’ve been around here for a while, this series is very similar to my Everyday Disciple series.)
The first post is in the Equippers and Frontliners series is up on the Vere Institute blog this week. (You can find it here.) And if you want to tune in to the rest of the series, you can sign up to receive their blog updates.
Have no fear, I’ll still be sharing my thoughts and stories with you here in this space, as I have been. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.
Here’s a little snippet of the first post, just for you…
What does discipleship really mean?
It’s been a question Stephen Johnson has been on a journey to answer for years. “Whatever discipleship means,” he says, “it must be relevant to everyone, everywhere, at all times, or it isn’t real discipleship.”
The model of whole-life discipleship has offered this all-inclusive vision of life to Fellowship Bible Church, where Stephen has pastored for the last eleven years. It has also made discipleship very relational and situational, inviting everyone to ask what the Lord has for them in each moment, as they “wrestle with their situation and the Holy Spirit everywhere they go.” This is a discipleship that speaks to everyone, regardless of whether they are a CEO or a car-pooling mom.