When Following Jesus Looks Different (#1056)
After returning from New England and eastern Canada, Wayne catches up with Kyle about a disappointing decision by Wyoming's Community College Commission. Then an assessment by AI of Wayne's strengths and weaknesses opens a deeper conversation about success, influence, and the ways we measure a fruitful life. What if following Jesus takes us down paths that don't fit the world's expectations of achievement or significance? His priorities may lead us toward quieter acts of love, unexpected relationships, and opportunities we could never have planned for ourselves. Wayne and Kyle explore what it means to follow Jesus without needing to leverage every opportunity, build something lasting, or measure our lives by visible results.
Podcast Notes:
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Wayne, I have always appreciated your avoiding self-promotion. I have seen too many Christian “leaders” who did a lot of self-promotion. I still remember the second time I saw you in Indianapolis, in 2011. Late Saturday afternoon, someone asked if you had any of your books along; you said, “Oh, yeah, they’re in the trunk of the car”–and you went out and got them. On your later visits, I did see a table with the books, and I was pretty sure it was the host who set that up. I also remember on that second visit, when we broke for lunch, the hostess wanted to take you to a posh restaurant nearby–but you had disappeared already. You fell in with a group of the attenders and walked over to a Wendy’s and ate there!
There’s a saying, “You be you.” In your case, keep being the “you” Father wants you to be.
Hi Phil. Thanks for your encouragement. But in all honesty, I have set up my fair share of book tables when people have wanted them. The place I’ve tried to avoid is when the book table serves my need to sell books, but when it serves others who want to buy copies, then I’ve done that.
I’ve had the chance to follow several musical artists who if you’d ask most people if they’ve heard of them, they would say they haven’t. One I found out about through a song I heard at work, another I found out about through the newspaper. The one thing above all that is said the most about these artists is that they should be much more popular than they are…yet, one has been around 40 years, the other, almost 30. It wasn’t popularity that attracted me to them, ultimately, it was their art.
I’ve seen people follow an entity simply because everyone else did. Personally, I would not seek out a musical work because it has won a Grammy, or a book because it is a New York Times bestseller, I would seek it out if it touched my soul in some way. It has to relate to me on a personal level to have staying power in my life, not universal acceptance.