If you are growing spiritually, you may certainly be reading the Bible, praying, “going to church” and other spiritual disciplines, but frankly, you can do all of those things and still be a jerk not be growing spiritually.  These things are all vitally important for spiritual growth, but they are not necessarily indicators of spiritual growth.

So what is an indicator?  What results in a heart that is strong, blameless and holy?

“12 And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. 13 May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen.” 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 NLT (Emphasis added my me)

One way to know that you’re growing spiritually is when you see that the Lord is making your heart grow and overflow with love for the people in your church and for people everywhere.

Let me also put it this way:  Whatever you are “full of,” you’ll overflow “with.”

If you’re full of arrogance, bitterness, anger or yourself, that’s what you will ultimately overflow with.  When we are truly growing spiritually, we begin to overflow with love for others.  This is because God Himself is overflowing with love for people and spiritual growth is about becoming more like Him.

God wants our lives to be full of Him, and He is love.  ”Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8 ESV)

Loving people does not mean loving and approving of the sin that they do.  It means loving them in spite of it.  It involves seeing them through God’s lens –  to their potential as people created in the image of God.

So if you are “filled with the Spirit,” you will also be full of love.  And if you are genuinely full of the knowledge of God and His word, you will also be full of love – Not sappy love, but strong love.  If you’re full of something else, you’re not doing it right.

So what’s a way to know if you’re growing spiritually?  It depends.  What are you full of?

Side note:  If you hate the idea of ending a sentence with a preposition, which I do all over this post,  ”that’s just the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put.”

If you are a Christian leader,  you serve at the pleasure of the King.  Not to get ahead, not to be honored, not to be famous, not to have power, not to plaster your face and name on everything you do.*  You are under the authority of the King, and you serve at His pleasure.

This is the essence of Jesus’ prayer, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  (Matthew 6:10)

It’s also the understanding of  the Roman officer who came to Jesus requesting healing for his servant in Matthew 8:8-9:

8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.
9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.  And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” – ESV

Humility in leadership helps us to avoid the foolish mistakes that arise from arrogance.  It’s the attitude behind James 4:6 and many other verses of Scripture: ”God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  If you are leading on behalf of Christ, you definitely don’t want Him to be against you as you go.

Christian Leaders must have humility if they are to truly be effective.  They must understand that they are under authority and represent the King.  Sometimes that means serving in a place of honor, as a paid, full time Pastor or Staff Member.  Sometimes that means serving in a place that does not have the same visibility or recognition.  Sometimes it means picking up and moving across the country.

Humility is not a word that means “weakness” or “lack of confidence” or “low self-esteem.” It is a word that conveys the idea that we understand that we are under the authority of One who is greater than us.  We go at His pleasure; we serve at His pleasure; we do whatever He calls us to do.  Our responsibility is to see His will done rather than our will done on earth as it is in heaven.

I had a Professor in Seminary who told us about his first, official, paid position in ministry.  He had just graduated with a Master’s degree, and was excited to start serving on a Church staff.  The Monday of his first week at the Church, he was given his first assignment:  Clean up the vomit of a kid who had thrown up in the Church van the night before.

Welcome to ministry.  If our King grabs a towel and tells us, “This is how to lead,” then we join Him and start washing feet.  If a task is given to us by the King, no matter how menial or grandiose, it is an honorable thing for us to be doing. The honor is in the fact that we are doing something on behalf of and in the name of the One who is worthy of all honor.

Humility is a “Backpack Essential” for Christian Leaders.  We are not the King. We serve at the pleasure of the King.

* (I’m not talking about your name and face on promotional materials or websites.  I’m talking about an ongoing need for recognition.)

Do you have the right “gift set” to do something God has called you to do?

Maybe you do.  …But maybe you don’t.

Just ask Moses (Exodus 4:10-13). Or Gideon (Judges 6:11-15).

I know people who had the right qualifications, background, talents, personality profile and history of success who failed in their new venture -  to the surprise and disappointment of the evaluators and supporters who comissioned them.

And in surprising contrast, I also know of people who were very successful in their new venture, even though they did not fit the generally accepted understanding of the perfect profile of someone best suited for the task – also to the surprise of those who evaluated them beforehand.

Once again, I actually know these people.  No theory, here – I could name names. …Real people.

Why is that, I wonder?  Is it because screenings and pre-appointment interviews and personality tests are of no value?  No.  Properly understood and executed, those things have great value.

But I believe that when it comes to ministry, it is because of the following:

• The right gift set, talents, background and personality are ultimately ineffective without calling, commitment and passion.

• The “wrong” gift set(?), talents, background and personality are an effective starting point when accompanied by calling, commitment and passion.

The “right gift set” is the one you have when God calls you to do something.  If He has called you, He will supply the rest.

Even the business world, who generally does not figure God into the equation, has over the last decade begun to see “personality tests” as inaccurate predictors of future behavior, because of their inherent weaknesses:  They assume personality traits are permanent and they ignore situational factors that influence behavior. (Great, short article from Inc. Magazine about this here - written by Dr. Steven Berglas, Ph.D)

So stop boxing yourself in because of your past and current perception of personality.

Is God calling you to do something?  Then explore it. Get insight. Get perspective and advice. Do some introspective navel-gazing.  Confirm that calling. Get training if necessary. Prepare as needed.

But then, get busy and do it.

Allow God to provide the gifts, talents and abilities that you do not currently have but will need to complete the task.

“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” The LORD said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.” Judges 6:15-16

Respond to God’s call with commitment and passion.

But here’s a “head’s up for you:  if you’re only counting on your own strength, talents, background, personality and whatever to make it happen, you’re in trouble before you begin.

Some of you may have been wondering what I’ve been up to during the “mean time” that we have been in for a while, now.  Here’s a snapshot of the latest:

1. Tons of Transcription, Notes, Summaries and Data Entry for “AideData,” an Information and E-Commerce Solutions company located in The Colony, Texas.  Dull as dirt, but helps pay the bills, so I’m thankful.

2. Some Design Work for a Youth Ministry.  Two samples are below.  The first was for a Retreat with the theme of “Freedom,” and the second was for a Series for High Schoolers.  (The icons were personalized for the group).

3.  Administering the SAT. Again, dull as dirt, but helps pay the bills.  Bonus:  During the test I had an idea for an adventure novel for the YA market called, “Test Day Blue.”  Adding it to the Idea journal, for now…

4. Video Work for The Crossing, an awesome church near Anchorage, Alaska.  Below is a simple opener for a Sermon Series called “Family Matters.”  I put together the video, but the series design is by Jennifer Nottingham.

* Incidentally, if you’d like for me to do some design or video work along these lines, drop me a line at:

5. Serving as one of the Group Leaders for The Student Event at Keystone Church.  My group (along with another Leader) will consist of 7th Grade Boys.  Not sure what I was thinking, but it should be fun!

6. A New Ministry I’m working on that is in the developmental stage.  I’ll tell you more as it all comes together…and even if it doesn’t.

Your church is looking for a Pastor?  View my Resume’ here.

Recently, I heard of a pastor saying, “Trying to make the Gospel relevant is like trying to make water wet.”

I agree with that statement and I know where he’s coming from, but I would add something to it.  I would say that the Gospel is always relevant, but our communication of it is not always relevant.

You can communicate something that is relevant in an irrelevant way.

Drinking water is relevant.  Lame, rambling directions to the fountain or long scientific explanations of H20 are not necessarily so…

Based on my message, “Crash: When the Plans Change,” (Acts 27:1-28:10) here’s part two of the playbook for navigating into what’s next:

(Read Part 1 Here.)

6. Develop strong relationships. [Acts 27:1, 3, 6; 42-43] Invest in family, neighbors, friends and community. There’s never a bad time to do this.

7. Share the truth. (Acts 27:30-32)  Share Christ with neighbors and others in your community – there is no “break” from this. The mission is for all Christ followers, not just for church planters!

8. Stay connected to God. (Acts 27:35) Spend daily time in prayer and Scripture, keeping the ‘God lines’ clear.  This is often the first thing to drop to the bottom of the priority list when things go awry. Flip that order around.

9.  Meet your needs. (Acts 27:33-36) Get lots of mental and physical rest, eat right, build financial resources, pay bills, and spend focused time with your spouse and kids. Take time for evaluating and planning.  This is not unspiritual, but sometimes, it is actually the most spiritual thing you can do in the moment. (See 1 Kings 19:1-8)

10. Meet the needs of others. (Acts 28:7-10) Keep volunteering, looking to meet needs in your neighborhood, community and circle of friends. For me,  doing this confirms in me the authenticity of the serving, because I truly have no strings attached…

When in doubt, love God and love people. Work on becoming and learning. Plans and “next steps” will generally follow and flow through that.

Taking a cue from my message, “Crash: When the Plans Change,” (Acts 27:1-28:10) here’s a playbook for navigating into what’s next:

1.  Remember that plans change, but vision remains the same. (Acts 27:9-11)(Thanks, Andy Stanley and Visioneering)

2. Understand that sometimes the plan is out of our control. (Acts 27:11) Unanticipated events, choices of others, and circumstances sometimes take the wheel for a period of time. When this happens, it is now “big picture” time.  Step back, take a deep breath, and try to get the perspective of a bigger view.

3. Acknowledge that the vision for your life is sometimes realized in a different way than you originally thought. There’s nothing that takes God by surprise or that He hasn’t planned for – even our mistakes.

4. Realize that hope and stability can be found in instability. (Acts 27:21-25) Uncertainty provides a powerful and unique opportunity for courage and faith to be strengthened.

5. Strive to obey God more than your plans. (Acts 27:30-28:10) Take you eyes off of your goals for a minute and place them more intensely onto God and His guiding.  “Seek the Kingdom of God* above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. ”So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:33 NLT)

Read Part 2 here.

Side Note: * See & hear my friend and pastor, Brandon Thomas delve into “Plan B:  When Life Doesn’t Go According To Plan” (Inspired by Pete Wilson‘s book of the same name).

Sometimes living in the “meantime” can be a “mean time” financially.  Here are a few things I’ve got cooking that you can pray for us about or participate with us in during the “mean” meantime.

1. One Mad Christmas – Leona and I created this dramatic musical production a number of years ago about people who thought that more money would solve all of their problems. There’s certainly a touch of irony in the fact that as churches license the musical, it helps provide income for us during this time. Great reminders in this musical, though, of what’s really most important in this life.

If you know of a church that is searching for a dramatic musical for this year’s Christmas production or dinner theater, please send them our way: One Mad Christmas.  You can download the preview files here: Preview Files (includes the whole script:  One Mad Christmas Running Script )

2. Ministry – We are actively involved in Keystone Church in Keller, Texas as members, but I am available to serve in a number of ways while waiting for our next ministry assignment.  Obviously, this is the area of my calling and where I believe I can do the most good.

* Preaching – It would be an honor to speak at your church if you have a need.  My background and theology are Southern Baptist, but I’m open to speaking wherever I’m invited.

Examples:

“Clash: Hope For Hard Hearts“ || “Fleeting Glances: Affair Proofing Your Marriage“

“Crash: When The Plans Change“ || “Relationship Connection Breakers“

* Short Term Staff Member – Sometimes churches can’t afford to bring on an additional staff member for a whole year, but might be able to bring someone in for a month or two to start new ministries, strengthen existing ones or fill in as a short term interim.  If that’s you, I’d love to talk to you about how we can make that happen!

* Basic Design & Media – I can provide simple media creation (designs/videos) for churches w/ few financial resources.  My resources are limited also, so I can relate.

Examples:

“The Crossing – TV spot“ (Video)

Designs & Series Branding:

* Miscellaneous – I can assist with outreach strategies, lead worship, lead seminars, retreats, and more

3. Any Job that’s available. – The truth is, I’m willing to work in any capacity to provide for my family during this time.  Hourly wages, one time projects, you name it – I’m open to it.

Thanks for praying for us during the “mean time” of the meantime.  If you know of an opportunity that could be helpful for us or if you could pass this along, my family and I would appreciate it very much.

Contact me at JohnnyLeckie@gmail.com

Now.  How can I pray for you?

By the way:  God is good!  In good times and in bad. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Thanks, Dad.

For being faithful to Mom.

For taking us to church.

For making us laugh.

For playing your 1953 Martin Guitar.

For singing songs to Mom.

For being consistent.

For leading the prayer before meals.

For working hard every day.

For laughing till you cried.

For ensuring that at least one of us had a first name that didn’t end with a “y.”
(Kenneth)

For being my Dad.

One year ago, today, my Dad, Bill Leckie, Sr.,  passed away.  He is greatly missed by my Mom and the other “Leckies of Fulton Street.”

If they become scholarly disciples, I’m ok with that.

Disciples know and do.  They learn and obey.  They follow their Leader.

They become like their Leader.

James 1:22-27 | Ephesians 4:15 | Matthew 18:2-4