2023-2028 Strategic Priority: Discipleship

Organizations interested in remaining healthy and vibrant, in navigating growth and sustainability, and in living into their purpose and full potential work to set carefully considered strategies that define both the internal culture and the external commitments of the organization. The strategy of any organization tells the story of what that organization is about and what it lifts up as paramount. Good strategic priorities become guideposts and guard rails, leading us and keeping us on the right path.

Throughout 2023, the Winebrenner Board of Trustees, along with input from representatives from the Churches of God, General Conference, Winebrenner faculty, administration, current students, and former students met to discuss Winebrenner’s strategic priorities for 2023-2028. The three strategic priorities for 2023-2028 ultimately adopted by the Board of Trustees are: Stewardship, Discipleship, and Collaboration. These three strategic priorities represent a highly integrated and shared understanding of our collective work at Winebrenner Theological Seminary. Our initial task, now, is to define each of these three strategic priorities in more detail.

Let’s turn our thoughts to Discipleship.

Discipleship is the heartfelt belief that we are called to “make disciples” and grow one another in the likeness of Christ as part of our daily life of faith. Discipleship presumes a faith in Jesus Christ, so we are committed to the ministry of reconciling a lost world back to our loving God (Matthew 5:11-21) Once a person has come to faith, that person’s primary task is to become more and more Christlike with every passing day, through every life-enhancing experience and endeavor, and to live a life of witness to a lost and wandering world.

Discipleship infers a progressive and intentional growth from being new in the faith, to active and intentional growth into the image of Christ, to making and growing disciples of Jesus who look and act just like him.

Winebrenner Theological Seminary considers discipleship to be a vital strategic priority. That means we will actively seek to disciple everyone within our sphere of influence. Instructors must look for ways to disciple students; students must be encouraged to disciple one another and those within their influence; colleagues happily involve themselves in discipling colleagues; active students and graduates see as their highest calling the discipling of the people God has placed in their care. We are an institution of higher learning, yet with a higher calling: making disciples who make disciples.

Discipleship involves knowing, growing, and showing.

· We are committed to knowing about our lived faith through teaching and studying; engaging with Scripture; tightening our theological understanding; partnering with the Holy Spirit; and building up the body of Christ.

· We are committed to growing in our belief and in our practice, and doing both in ways that are gracious and generous toward others—our sisters and brothers in faith, and the world around us who have yet to meet the Savior.

· We are committed to showing our faith to the world in ways too numerous to mention, yet all those many and varied ways rich with the intentional, forgiving, and other-oriented love God has shown to us.

Jesus gave us his Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, but while he does not specifically spell out how to get it done, the imperative is there: “therefore, go” could be interpreted as “since you should already be on your way. . . .” Our priority is other-oriented. Our priority is working to help each other become just like Jesus Christ in all we do. Our priority is discipleship—walking so closely with our Master that we become covered with the dust of his feet.

• Dr. Martin Johnson, Chief Academic Officer