"I know now," writes John C. Miller, "[what was missing] was the expectation that lives of faith will be changed lives. I had expected too little from [my church members]. I was content with surface reformations."

In this short passage, Miller pours out his failure as a pastor to expect from his congregation that the professing Christians ought to act like professing Christians. It wasn’t until "seasoned" Christians started being converted to the Gospel of grace that he realized his flaw. When he realized his error, he learned not to assume people’s faith, based only on their words.

He started to look for the genuine fruit of the Spirit, for the "Streams of Living Water." Miller says that it wasn’t long before the prayer meetings in the church were overflowing onto the church lawn.

We should all be so blessed to have pastors that do not assume the salvation of their congregations simply by virtue of their congregation-hood. May our pastors and preachers, have the courage, the humility, and the love to look for the fruit and to ask the hard questions.