Brian “Graduates” to Colorado!

Randy’s December, 2012 Update:

Brian’s Story:

“I have an awesome family.  They raised me to work hard, serve people, love life and honor the Lord.  So when I started hearing people talk about a spiritual mentor, I wasn’t sure it was necessary for me.  Luckily, I gave Legacy Shepherding a try and my worldview shifted.

“Being a first-born, I try really hard.  Perfectionism is my joy and my downfall.  Through Legacy Shepherding Ministries, God taught me… no, it was more than just “teaching”… I experienced pure, unconditional love first-hand that went to a deep, wounded, inner place that brought healing to my productivity-driven soul.

“The idea that my worth did not come from what I did but from who I am was something I thought I understood, but in reality, most of my actions were in effort of earning more love.

“I was quite unaware for some time.  Slowly, I realized that there were some calloused parts of my heart – parts of my heart that would not let love in – parts of my heart that were actually so dull and protected that I could not feel anything.  When asked to describe my emotions, I was completely unable to identify any emotions at all.

“When I began to realize that my heart was closed off, that I was incapable of receiving the love that I was trying so hard to earn, and that there were unhealed wounds that required honesty and vulnerability to heal, I crumbled.

“For the first few weeks, I remember being a weepy basket-case.  My heart was being renewed and was very tender.  I was in the process of coming alive.  I felt like the “Grinch Who Stole Christmas” when his heart grew and a bit of “moisture” came to his eyes – it felt very foreign to me to simply feel.

“God taught me, through Legacy Shepherding Ministries, that it was safe and healthy to let love into those painful parts of my childhood and youth.  My fear and self-hatred were keeping me from accepting the love of God, my friends and my family.  Because of this, I was withholding love from God, my friends and my family.

“I learned that I was cheating myself and others out of experiencing the fullness of who I was made to be, because I wasn’t allowing myself to be loved.

“I also learned the power of feeling deeply, whether it be sadness, anger, fear, joy, excitement or tenderness.  These things, which before were to be avoided, because they made me vulnerable and seemed “unstable“, ended up being the strength of my true self.

“My personality opened up and I began to encounter all new sides to who I was and how I could better serve, love and live more fully.

“After growing through the first tearful stages where I encountered the sad reality of my heart and my inability to let love in, I was shown how to maintain spiritual and emotional health.  Randy introduced me to the idea of “soul care” which included tools for staying healthy, acknowledging my emotions, and not returning to my old ways of earning love.

“Discovering that I had room to grow opened my eyes to the possibility that maybe others around me were suffering from the same emotional and spiritual callousness.  I began to share what God was doing in me with my friends.  Many guys around me began to wake up and come alive!  They identified parts of their hearts that were closed off to God’s love, as well as emotions that seemed too “unsafe” to let themselves feel.  Tough guys who were ex-military began to encounter emotional healing and allowed themselves to feelfor the first time in ages.  What an extraordinary thing to witness – a man coming alive and encountering his full potential!

“As if receiving emotional healing, learning to receive and extend love, and watching life-change happen in those around me weren’t enough – my wife and many of my friends were also blessed by being mentored through Legacy Shepherding Ministries.

“Unknowingly at first, we were being given a new language to communicate with.  We were given tools to bring healing and given questions to ask that enabled us to live out Christ’s love in our relationships.  The underlying fears and frustrations that we all drag through life were identified and brought into the light.

“Instead of pursuing friendships for the sake of temporarily soothing our wounded hearts, we have been shown the way to bring healing and restoration to those painful places in each other.  We come into relationships as whole people, instead of damaged fragments.

“The kind of healing that I encountered would fill books if I tried to communicate it all.  And while this is my story, God probably has an entirely unique, new story in mind for you.  Whether you are investigating Legacy Shepherding Ministries for your personal growth or you are an investor who is looking to give millions to a worthy cause, I highly recommend and support this ministry and the work that God is doing in, through and around it.

“Coming alive,” – Brian Michael Steck

An “investor who is looking to give millions to a worthy cause”?  Wow, I like the sound of that!  Way to put in a plug, Brian.  Note: The ministry will gratefully accept smaller amounts as well.

What’s Brian Up To Now?

Brian “graduated” (for lack of a better word) from Legacy Shepherding Ministries in March of this year.  Shortly thereafter, Brian and his wife, Jodie (another alum), moved to Colorado, where they are currently involved in helping lead a discipleship ministry called Revolution 5 Leadership Institute, an organization that exists to disciple, train and develop college age and twenty-something individuals to love God, love people, and live with purpose.  It sounds like a ministry after my own heart.

“Revolution5 is a full-time nine month live-in school that is attempting to disciple people by living and walking with them daily like Jesus did with his disciples.  As they say on their web-site, “Programs don’t disciple people; people disciple people.”

The missionary Jim Elliot once said, “The quality of the work is determined by the character of the worker.”  Brian and Jodie are truly a man and woman of great character, and they are giving away what they have been given with great quality.  They are passing it on.  I love who they are, and who they are becoming.  I’m joyful to see them continually choosing to live out their faith with action in such powerful ways.  Way to go, Brian and Jodie!  You are difference makers.

What’s A Next Step For You?

Please pray:  I’d prefer prayers that allow God to do what He knows is best rather than specify my own biases and having you pray something that is not the best for me or anyone involved.  So perhaps the greatest prayers you might pray is that God would do whatever He knows is best for me and for the young people I meet with.

My hope and my prayer would be that lives (including my own) are transformed; that God would raise up loving disciples who are spiritually, emotionally, and relationally healthy, so they may love God and love others the way Jesus modeled; that character issues, woundedness, and sin struggles would be redeemed; that barriers to intimacy and union with God and others would be removed; and that each person would discover and embrace their true identity in Christ, and live out the glorious unique design and purpose God placed in them.  Yep, easy to achieve stuff like that!

Please join my financial support team:  If you haven’t already, as you consider your year-end giving, I’d love to have you partner with me in this life-changing ministry.  Would you prayerfully consider giving a monthly, quarterly, or annual contribution?  If so, please fill out the enclosed form and send it back with your contribution.  I could use your help.

Contributions are tax deductible.

Thank You for reading this update.  And Thank You for prayerfully considering the role God might want you to play in developing young Christian leaders (in their twenties and early thirties) through this ministry.

In His Love,
Randy