Wayne Hastings 

“As iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:13). 

“Let US run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). 

Everyone needs a Wayne Hastings in their life.  

If anyone has received any insight, wisdom, or breakthrough from anything I have spoken or written since 2020, you can thank Wayne Hastings.  

Wayne has been a Kingdom force in the Christian publishing world for 35+ years. Among Wayne’s career highlights: 

• Project Manager for the Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible 

• Project Manager for all published documents at the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. 

• Lead for Rabbi Jason Sobel’s works (Rabbi Jason is regularly featured by Kathy Lee Gifford.) 

• Project Manager for six book projects (I am sure our time has been a career highlight! 😊)  

I met Wayne in 2020 through a mutual friend, Kris Bearss. For some reason he agreed to become the project manager for my content. As project manager he oversees my writing from concept to publishing. He weighs the merit of each book, ensures flow of thought, checks for theological accuracy, and does initial manuscript editing. His favorite color is RED. His second favorite color is also RED.    

I had no idea what I was getting when I started with Wayne. I describe his work as lovingly blunt. 😊 I send him what I think are super clear, from the Holy Spirit, book outlines and manuscripts. He sends me back rivers of his favorite color! Haha…What I thought was clean and clear was, in fact…not.  

Gratefully Wayne is unafraid to tell me what is not good, what is wrong, and what is great. When I wrote, “Israel was enslaved to Egypt for 400 years before God led Moses to liberate them,” Wayne responds, “Actually, while Israel was in Egypt for 400 years, they were enslaved the last 150 years.” (I think it was 150…might have been 120?) I love him for many personal reasons but what he has done for me professionally would be difficult to measure.  

More than anyone else in my journey, Wayne has chiseled my communication skills in a way that has dramatically improved my writing, preaching, training, and disciple-making. He has made my communication, in all forms, cleaner and simpler. The result is greater power and effectiveness in building people and organizations to run God’s race.  

What’s my point in highlighting Wayne? I have two. First, we all need a Wayne Hastings in our lives. He is one of many that fill in my “us” in the author of Hebrews admonition, “let us run the race together.” I cannot be who God my Father has created me to be or run His race, without men like Wayne unafraid to tell me truth.  

And neither can you. “Well, I have good men/women in my life.” If you actually do, then that is fantastic! How many of them tell you hard truth about your life? I am not asking how many of them could tell you hard truth, I am asking how many of them actually tell you hard truth?   

“Iron sharpens iron” is not a trite verse to flower up in pink and perfume. In love we build up. In love we encourage. In love we persevere together. And, in love, we speak hard things to each other. 

The second reason I am highlighting Wayne is because he is dying, and I don’t want to wait to celebrate him.  

Last week I received an email from Wayne I never wanted to receive. The cancer that he had been winning against took a pivotal turn. His oncologist told him there was nothing left to do.  So, Wayne and his wife, Pam, made the very difficult decision to stop treatment and enter hospice care.  

I was, and am, heart sore. “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). I have lost enough people I love to know that each person creates a uniquely shaped hole in my heart that, while unfillable, contains sweet and beautiful memories that help me smile through tears.  

Wayne’s faith is absolutely steadfast. In fact, he just finished a devotional for cancer patients, due to be published in October of 2025, that will bless and comfort thousands for years and years to come. He has constantly posted beautiful words to his Caring Bridge page that speak our Father’s truth about pain and suffering in this world. He is confident about his place in heaven with Jesus where he will be reunited with his mom who recently passed.  

I do not know much about Wayne’s family other than the man glows and raves about Pam like a newlywed some 40+ years later! He is perpetually giddy with love and admiration for his wife. Whatever Wayne is carries so much of Pam’s imprint.  

Wayne’s long suffering, fatal flaw is that he is a lifelong Dodgers fan! For some reason, he loathes the Astros. Could we have another Dodgers v Astros World Series this year?!  

Wayne has been/is a gift to me from our Father. I have been forever changed, improved, by his love, patience, and skill. Thank you, Wayne, for loving me so well and making me better! You are a gift whose kingdom impact is beyond human measure but well known by our Father.  

I hope you have a Wayne Hastings in your life, someone who is Kingdom wise and unafraid to say hard things to you in love. And I hope that you are/will consider becoming a Wayne Hastings in someone else’s life. While I have many strong brothers and sisters in the Lord, I only have one Wayne.   

How to start?  

I think you have to open yourselves to this kind of relationship by inviting a trusted person to critique something you have done. It needs to be someone you respect and value. And you need to give them a blank check to say whatever they see. You are not allowed to defend yourself, but you may ask questions to clarify their observations.  

Not every observation they make will be 100% accurate. You must test the spirits. But you must consider the merits of every observation they make. AND, you must learn to receive blessings from the good as well as correction for the bad. Seeing your stuff is oftentimes the hardest thing to see! 

Start with the safest person or the most respected person in your eco-system. Let them know that receiving truth like this is a growth area for you and ask them to go slow if that is what you need. Draw strength from the Holy Spirit to give you peace as you hear what is being said. Thank the person for their time and candor. Where the Spirit affirms their words, ask Him to lead you to change.  

Your life will be fuller, greater, and richer. You will feel more stable and cleaner. And you will have the rich blessing of knowing there is someone in this world who loves you enough to build you up!  

We are all works in progress.  

And we all need each other.  

“Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).  

LIFE in the Overflow is LIFE together.