Peeling the Onion: About Darek’s Transformation

For 35 years, Dariusz Wierchoła called himself a "carnal Christian" (1 Cor 3:1-3). Although he loved God, his life resembled a garden overgrown with weeds that effectively choked out his spiritual growth. The breakthrough came recently when he found the re:generation program. Today, at 62, he says there is no more time to waste.

Darek is a man who stopped lying to himself. Despite four decades of church involvement, he felt stuck at a dead end. "My weeds were preventing me from living closer to God. When I saw that, I started looking for something to help me fulfill my dreams of an authentic relationship with Him," he recalls. Help came in the form of a program called re:generation, based on the ministry of an American church, Watermark. Its 12 steps lead participants toward a renewal of their relationship with God.

A daily routine that changes everything

Re:generation is not a series of Sunday meetings; it is an intensive, year-long process requiring daily discipline. Six days a week, participants spend about 30 minutes on "homework"—meditating on biblical passages and answering reflective questions. This is supplemented by a weekly small-group meeting and regular sessions with a personal mentor.

Darek admits that initially, he wasn't sure if it would work. "I don’t even know when things started to change, and it wasn’t me who made the breakthrough," he says. "I gave God space, and He started to act."

Like peeling an onion

Darek’s transformation happened in stages, which he compares to peeling an onion. Each of the twelve steps of the program revealed a new layer of his life—from his relationships with his wife and children to financial matters and honesty at work.

"In the first step, you have to realize that you can’t stop, that you don’t have the strength to change on your own," Darek explains. "I thought of myself as a nice guy because I had nice dreams. But God told me: that’s not true. You are falling; your life is bad, which is evident by the fruit. My wife wasn't happy; I was ashamed of God because I felt like a failure. Yet, deep down, I wanted to be a winner."

For a man used to managing on his own, realizing his own powerlessness was the turning point.

The subsequent steps forced Darek into painful confrontations with his past. He realized that the Christian slogan—"all is forgiven"—does not exempt one from the responsibility of making amends for wrongs committed. "Being in the church, we might start to think we don't have to do anything, but that’s not true. We are meant to reconcile with people, to pay back money. Only then does the world see that we take our faith seriously," he says.

From failure to a life with God

Today, Dariusz is no longer the man who wasted time at work watching YouTube. The "onion-peeling" process continues—now God is touching his fears—but the sense of closeness with the Creator is stronger than ever. "It is so beautiful that even if it involves suffering, it doesn't matter to me. I want something more," he says with passion.

This determination has turned into a specific dream: Darek wants to help other "carnal Christians" break out of their ruts. He currently participates in an online group with men from Gdańsk and Warsaw who are becoming his close friends. He wants to build a strong team of leaders in the Tri-City area ready to guide others through the re:generation process.

"I am 62. I might die in five years. I have little time," he concludes, while issuing a call to his friends: "Why, my friend who loves Jesus, should you remain in carnality for the rest of your life? It took God 35 years to break me, but for you, it could take less. You just have to say: 'Lord God, take me.'

If you feel that your spiritual growth is also being blocked, join a group of people starting the process of spiritual and emotional renewal. Learn more about the program at: https://www.regeneracjazdrowienie.org/