The End of an Era

I'm in the process of transitioning off of staff at Passion City Church and Passion Conferences.

I joined the team on August 23, 2010. I've spent 4.5 (stunningly) beautiful, stretching, awe-inspiring, humbling years of my life serving Jesus with some incredibly talented people who love Him. Together, we were able to be a part of things dreams are made of and see some things that I think I will still be processing years from now.

I made this decision a while ago, but the transition won't be finalized until the end of this month. Last weekend while serving at Passion 2015, I couldn't sleep. It was crazy - I had been awake too many hours to count, and my alarm was going off in too few hours to count, but I was wide awake. I felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit to turn on my lamp and make a list in my journal of all of the lessons I've learned while working there - spiritual lessons, professional lessons, and just life lessons - the stuff that comes with maturing.

I loved remembering. My faith grows when I remember because I see God's faithfulness and His deep love for me as I recall all that He allowed me to glean and experience.

A few of the more poignant lessons I've learned during my time at Passion - from my own experiences, my pastor's talks, and the wisdom of others:

• Jesus has to matter most.
• People (not tasks/productivity/to-do lists) have to matter next. 
• Communicate (in words and actions) to people that they matter. Do not assume that they know.
• God works while we wait.
• Vision has a short shelf life - we have to remind others constantly WHY we are doing what we are doing.
• Language matters - how you talk about something creates a culture.
• Leaders need thermometers (people who can read & relay the temperature in the room/group) and thermostats (people who can change it).
• Excellence comes with a cost, but that doesn't mean that it's not worth pursuing.
• It takes wisdom to discern when quality should trump a deadline and when a deadline should trump quality.
• Your first priority is not always your supervisor's first priority. Be aware of what he or she is carrying and communicate your needs accordingly within the scope of that.

This is just a handful of the nuggets God deposited in me during my time there. Rich experiences, sermons, and stories accompany each of these bullet points. Life giving relationships with some of the most incredible Door Holders and Jesus followers on the planet accompany them too. Words fail when I try to express the spectrum of feelings and all of the gratitude I have in my heart to God and to the people who have been on this journey with me.

Some people are probably looking at my decision to leave this team and thinking I am crazy to leave a place where Jesus is clearly moving and so many exciting things are happening. In his talk last weekend, Francis Chan asked those listening what they were doing simply because the Holy Spirit had asked them to - not for any other reason. Leaving the Passion team is my answer to Francis' question. For a while now, the Holy Spirit has been making it clear to John and I that my time on the team, as beautiful as it has been, is coming to a close. He has something different for me, and He has something different for Passion. I'm excited for both parties to discover and unpack what that is.

I'll close by using a phrase we say often around Passion. We use it often because it's true - it's true for Passion, and it's true for me: our best days are ahead of us! If we are all following the Holy Spirit, I firmly believe that.

For His renown,
Leigh