Knowing your spiritual identity
How do you identify yourself? All too often we identify ourselves with our job, our culture, our accomplishments, and even the mistakes we’ve made in the past. Maybe you identify yourself as a particular type of person based on where you’re from, your education, your body and personality type, your religion. And there’s so many other ways we identify ourselves. But what is your spiritual identity? The most important thing to remember in thinking about all these labels we put on ourselves is that your true identity is spiritual. It’s who you are in Christ.
James Early:
But what does that actually look like in daily life? Today I’m talking with Clint Rigging about spiritual identity, how we discover it, what blocks us from embracing it, and how it changes the way we think and pray and act and treat others. Clint, welcome to the Bible Speaks to you podcast man.
Clint Riggin:
That was so good. Thank you, James. I appreciate, I appreciate the words that you just said there. It was taking me back to where I used to live in my brain.
Talking about spiritual identity
James Early:
Yeah, we’ve all been there, haven’t we? Yeah. Well, I’m so grateful you’re here today and I’m really looking forward to our conversation. We’re going to jump right in. I’ll just let everybody listening know you are the founder of Limitless Faith Ministries and I’ll have that link in the bio to your website and all the biographical stuff that’s interesting, you’ve done so many interesting things. It’s going to be on the show notes page of my website. So I’m not going to go into all that here. I want to really just jump right in here. I would love to hear, just to start things off here, people talk about our identity in Christ, our spiritual identity.
First, well, what does that actually mean? I’ve heard people describe it differently. What does that mean to you? And why is that so foundational to our own sense of who we are and our spiritual growth and our connection with God?
Clint Riggin:
Such a great question, James. I think the best way to describe this is when Jesus was led into the wilderness after the Spirit came upon him. And then his Father said, “My beloved Son, in who I am well pleased” before he did any miracles or did anything in this world of exactly who he was in the Father’s eyes my whole life. And you, probably listening to this, who can probably identify with this, I had a very performative mindset.
Do you have a performative mindset?
James Early:
What do you mean by that, performative mindset?
Clint Riggin:
There is a performance based living that I would do from the time I was younger. From the time I played soccer, from the time that I joined the military, I went into bodybuilding. I went and built my first business. It was all performance because I wanted to be validated, seen, and affirmed.
James Early:
By what you did?
Clint Riggin:
By what I did.
James Early:
Oh.
Clint Riggin:
The way to do that was to perform.
James Early:
Gotcha. Okay.
Spiritual identity is not based on performance
Clint Riggin:
And I would find my identity in my performance.
James Early:
Interesting.
Clint Riggin:
So through that process, I found my identity in Christ after I lost all the other identities.
James Early:
Okay, I think you put your finger on a few things there, because I was going to ask: What was it that led you to discover this more spiritual aspect of who you are?
Clint Riggin:
Yep.
James Early:
Was it something you were searching for, or was it these other things were taken away from you and you had nothing else?
Clint Riggin:
The last one.
James Early:
Okay.
Humility and spiritual identity
Clint Riggin:
I was humbled and I was put on my knees when I built a large fitness coaching company, and then my partners walked away from me. I became a place where I didn’t really know who I was or who my clients were. It’s like I had amnesia. I couldn’t explain anything to anybody, and nobody would believe me.
James Early:
Oh, wow.
Clint Riggin:
And I got to a point where I had to say, “Lord, I don’t know what’s happening in my life right now, but something’s going on. I’m going to come to you.” And I said, “I want you, not what is happening to me.” But I realized what was happening to me had to happen. Here’s what people have to understand. Whoever is listening to this: Everything that happens to us, it’s for a reason of some sort, whatever it might be. But it’s to teach us and ultimately to help others who possibly could be going through the same process.
James Early:
I totally agree with that. I imagine because you’ve been through that process, you can relate to people who are in the middle of it. And you can be more encouraging than someone that’s never experienced that. What do you think? Is it that that keeps people from taking that step that you did? What is it that people struggle with to say, “Hey, I really know I need to figure out my relationship with God and who I am in his eyes?” What is it that keeps us from doing that? Or we struggle with that?
Does being comfortable help you find your spiritual identity?
Clint Riggin:
Yeah. Uncertainty and familiarity.
James Early:
What do you mean by familiarity?
Clint Riggin:
You’re familiar with the life that you live, so you’re comfortable.
James Early:
Gotcha. Yeah. As long as you’re comfortable,
Clint Riggin:
Comfort is the killer.
James Early:
Yeah, we don’t like to hear that, do we? It’s like, well, we want an easy life, but really it’s the struggles that make us strong. And that’s when we learn. I mean, we can learn without the struggle, but we don’t always.
Clint Riggin:
This is not a Bible verse, but “God cares more about your character than your comfort.”
James Early:
Interesting.
Being more like Christ
Clint Riggin:
And for you to be able to be in the image of His Son, Jesus, ultimately, that’s our whole goal, is to become like Christ.
James Early:
Totally. And that’s really what my podcast is all about. Learning how to think, pray, and love like Jesus. To me, that’s the whole basis of. Of our walk with Christ. I’d love to go back, if there was a moment, or maybe it was a series of moments, when you hit rock bottom.
You’ve said you felt that humility. You felt humbled, whatever it was. Could you describe the mental, emotional, spiritual things you were dealing with? Was there one particular thing that’s like, made you realize, “Hey, I’m done with this. I’ve got to. I’ve got to do something else.” But tell us, that moment of change, what was that like?
Being hopeless
Clint Riggin:
Yeah, I can tell you vividly. Hopeless. Staying up super late so that I wouldn’t have to wake up in the morning.
James Early:
Oh.
Clint Riggin:
So I can sleep through the morning.
James Early:
Wow.
Clint Riggin:
Because I didn’t want to see the sun come up. I just wanted to know that the sun was down because I had nothing to look forward to. I didn’t want to get out of bed. I couldn’t shower without turning the lights on because I didn’t want to see myself in the mirror. I couldn’t put my shoes on to go outside and walk. And when I did, I only took a couple steps. Then I walked back inside. I was in.
In a depression that, like, really, it just brought me down to a place that I didn’t want anybody to see what I was going through. Because I realized that anxiety is looking into the future. Depression is looking down to the past. And all I do is look at the past of what happened to me and not understand why.
James Early:
Yeah.
Things got worse before they got better
Clint Riggin:
So I was in a psychiatric VA. If anybody knows or doesn’t know what that is, that’s underneath the hospital. That’s where the Looney Tunes of crazy people go.
James:
Wow.
Clint Riggin:
I was there because I was going to take 130 pills, not knowing if I was going to kill myself. But it was 130 pills. And I was like, you know what? I can just take this, maybe end my life, but maybe not. But we’ll see.
And then it came to me. Hey, I probably shouldn’t do that. So I called the suicide hotline.
James Early:
Oh, my.
Clint Riggin:
I had a cop pick me up. And we had a great conversation. Like, he was just joyful. And he’s like, :What are you doing?” I’m like, “Well, I’m going to the VA. I was about to take some pills.” And the conversations I still remember in the back of the police car, and I go. And they say, “Yeah, we got to admit you.” I didn’t know what that meant for five days.
James Early:
Wow.
Learning about his spiritual identity
Clint Riggin:
In those five days, I learned a lot about myself by seeing others.
James Early:
What do you mean by that?
Clint Riggin:
By looking around. And I was asked myself, am I supposed to be here? Like, I know, but I was. I needed to learn a very valuable lesson in that place, that you are meant to be here. And if anybody’s listening to this, you’re meant to be here today. Like, there’s a reason you’re still here. You’re here on purpose, for a purpose. My mentor always told me that when I was in my darkest place of my life, you’re here on purpose for a purpose. God has a reason for your life.
James Early:
You know, I love that idea. I have a prison ministry every week. I go out to the Danbury Federal Correctional Institution. And I don’t know how many people have told me over the many years I’ve done this, they’re grateful to be in prison because it was like God put them in timeout. They had time to reflect on their life, straighten their lives out, that sort of thing. And you don’t usually hear people saying they’re grateful to be in prison. But I’ve had a lot of people because they’re awakening to their spiritual identity, or they’re already in touch with it to some degree, and they’re realizing God has given them this time away from all the bad influences that got them in prison.
Just like you said, Clint, they realize God has a really wonderful lesson to teach them and that that’s part of their journey. No, you wouldn’t wish that on anyone. But they have come to the conclusion that that was what they needed. I totally get that. I did not used to understand that precept, but I totally get it now. From working with people for many years and then hearing you say it all comes together.
Solitude allows you to think about your spiritual identity
Clint Riggin:
You’re in a place where you can think deeply about things you’ve done, things that were done to you. What does God say about you? I mean, there’s so many different ways. Silence and solitude is one of the things that I think that we don’t step into enough because we don’t want to be with our own thoughts.
James Early:
Some people are afraid to be by themselves. They always have to have, you know, noise or people or the TV on. I love going on a car trip. I don’t, even if it’s three or four hours and I’m by myself, I don’t turn the radio on. I don’t listen to podcasts. Once in a while I do, but usually I’m just sitting there talking to God, or listening, hopefully more than I’m talking.
We need that time alone with God. One of the words that you didn’t use, but I’m kind of hearing as an undertone of what your experience was that you really kind of had to surrender. You had to surrender the past.
Clint Riggin:
Yeah.
Surrendering to God
James Early:
What do you think this idea of surrendering to God, what does that have to do with discovering your spiritual identity?
Clint Riggin:
One thing, I thought surrender was a one time thing, but it’s a daily thing.
James Early:
Oh.
Clint Riggin:
Or by the week, by the day, whatever it might be.
James Early:
Yes.
Clint Riggin:
To realize that I have things that I want in life that may not align with the will of God. And for me to surrender is saying, “Lord, let your will be done on earth as it is now, not my will.”
James Early:
Why is it so hard to do that?
Clint Riggin:
Because we just want to be seen. The Lord knew that I had to be brought into isolation or solitude. Because we don’t necessarily want to isolate. Because then you believe that you’re not with God. But solitude, because I need to be taken away from the world and to sit with him alone. We don’t like to go into places that are uncomfortable. But man, I’ll tell you what, that is where the change and the transformation is. That’s the most beautiful place.
Why the wilderness?
That’s why Jesus got led to the wilderness after the spirit to be tested.
James Early:
Right.
Clint Riggin:
The Spirit fell upon him and then was led by the Spirit.
James Early:
Right.
Clint Riggin:
It’s amazing to think that we get led into the wilderness and we’re like: Get out of here. We got to get out of here right now.
James Early:
That’s a really good point. I think sometimes, like I said earlier, we’re afraid of silence. We’re afraid of being by ourselves. But when you are alone with God, I love your word, solitude. You’re not by yourself. Jesus knew he was not by himself. He knew he was with God. Those are the times where I think sometimes it’s easier to hear God’s voice because there’s not all the distraction.
Discovering your spiritual identity in the wilderness
And you can hear God saying to you, “You’re my beloved child in whom I’m well pleased.” I think it’s interesting that God said that to Jesus. He identified Jesus that way before Jesus, as you said before, he did all the miracles, all the performance, because he certainly performed. But that was not the reason that gave him his sense of identity. God was identifying him before he did any of those things. And I think to me, that’s a helpful clue for you and me and everybody listening, is God has already identified you as His beloved child, and that’s what allows you to go out and do the things you do.
It’s not the other way around.We put the cart in front of the horse sometimes. I never had seen that connection, I don’t think, until the way you said that just a minute ago. So this idea of performance, performing, you know, doing things for show to be seen, sometimes we don’t even realize we’re doing that.
Clint Riggin:
Yeah. Oh, for sure.
Making the shift
James Early:
So how can we first become aware of that? And how can we start to make that shift to living through or by our spiritual identity, identity in Christ?
Clint Riggin:
Have someone hold you accountable. Oh, have someone be by your side one-on-one discipleship or that you’re accountable to weekly? You see, I was leading a lot of people, but I wasn’t being accountable to anybody.
James Early:
Oh, that’s interesting.
Clint Riggin:
I was on TikTok, preaching the Word of God, reading off commentaries 3:30 in the morning, because I saw that a thousand people would come and listen to me. You want to talk about performance? I was saying, I don’t need to sleep, but I need to perform for people. I wasn’t serving. I was entertaining every day.
James Early:
Interesting.
Spiritual identity isn’t based on performance
Clint Riggin:
Until I had people speak into my life and say, “Clint, why do you continue to be there and do this? You’re going to, you’re going to burn out like you did before.” I had to humble myself and say, you know what? You’re right. I am showing up when I really should be taking a step back, going to seminary, making sure I learn and sit at the feet of Jesus. And at the right time, the Lord will exalt us. We don’t need to exalt ourselves.
James Early:
Yeah, it was actually somebody that said something to you. Maybe that’s a clue for us. It could be a spouse. It could be a sibling. It could be an aunt or an uncle. It could be a mom or a dad. It could be a friend at church, a pastor, could be a stranger on the street. It could be a little bird chirping in the tree. I mean, God talks to us in lots of ways.
Clint Riggin:
Yes.
James Early:
And I think what I hear you saying is we need to be alert and attentive to those ways that God may be trying to get our attention, if we’ve gotten off track a little bit.
Obstacles to finding your spiritual identity
We talked about this a little bit. But I want to come back to it. What are some of the other things that keep people from embracing who God says they are before they’ve done everything? We identify ourselves with what we’ve accomplished, but God has already identified us before we accomplish anything. We’re just his child.
Clint Riggin:
Yeah.
James Early:
And that really is enough. But how do you help somebody who’s resisting that or is struggling with that? What’s keeping people from embracing their spiritual identity, the way God has already identified them?
Clint Riggin:
Well, if you think about it, the kingdom of God is completely flipped from the world system. So the world tells you that you need to achieve, achieve, achieve. And this is how you’re going to get to the top.
James Early:
Yeah.
You live in the kingdom
Clint Riggin:
Kingdom of God says you don’t have to achieve. I’ve already sent My Son. You’re not earning anything. You’re just going to live because of what has been earned. When you give your life to Christ, the most beautiful thing is the two commandments. Love God and to love His people. Love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Those two things right there.
If we did that, then we’re being selfless, not selfish. And we don’t have to worry about climbing the ladder. We don’t have to worry about becoming a CEO, because you know what happens with these labels and these titles? We get really puffed up. We have this pride that starts to, hey, do you know who I am? Instead of, hey, I’m here to lead you and guide you. I’m here to help you. I’m here to mentor you on your way. Not, I want to make the most money and I want to take away from everybody else. And when we see that happen over and over.
But that doesn’t mean there’s not going to be structure and. And there’s going to be a hierarchy, and there’s always going to be that. We see that within the Bible, but it’s how you’re able to serve and lead. Because you know this. A leader is a follower first.
What is our spiritual identity?
James Early:
Right? Right. Totally. I want to just come back again to this whole maybe definition of when we say identity in Christ or spiritual identity, what does that really mean? Let’s go a little deeper with that.
Clint Riggin:
I am adopted into the kingdom of God. I’m a son. Or if you’re a lady, listening to this, you’re a daughter in Christ. And that for me, I am loved deeply by a Savior who also was resurrected. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, lives within me, comforts me, intercedes for me, walks with me daily, never leaves me, and is always there to provide the direction and the path that I need to go. That’s actually pretty incredible if you think about it.
James Early:
Oh, yeah.
Clint Riggin:
There is only one person, and his name is Jesus, who could do that for us, Nobody else. So I don’t have to worry about the opinions of the world or the people that still live in the past of my life that I’ve already moved forward from. Because we all have those people, right, that they always remember what you did, not what Jesus did for you.
James Early:
Right.
Send the devil packing
Clint Riggin:
We got people that they love to bring it up. But then you could say, it’s just like I heard this before. It’s, hey, when the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his past, remind him of where he’s going. Right.
For me, my identity: being informs doing. So who you’re becoming is going to inform what you do.
James Early:
Totally. So true.
Clint Riggin:
And if we don’t know our identity in Christ, we’re not going to be able to walk and be bold and have a spirit of, I believe it says, “do not have a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love and a sound mind.”
If you’re struggling…
James Early:
Right, Right. So what would you say to someone who’s maybe struggling with embracing who they are in Christ, really embracing who they are as a child of God, the way God sees them. They know they want to. They’ve done it to some degree, but they kind of got one toe back still in the past, or, you know, the world comes in and tells them you’re a loser or whatever. You know what I’m talking about? What would you say to someone to encourage them to keep going forward?
Clint Riggin:
Well, I would ask God what they think about them. The best one you could ask is the One who created you. And listen and wait for the answer.
James Early:
Oh, there you go. You mean we ask God things and we have to listen? Wow, what a concept!
Clint Riggin:
We don’t speak more, we just listen and we shut up. I think a lot of times what we do is we keep talking when we just need to start listening.
Bearing witness to the truth
James Early:
I think one of the most powerful forms of prayer is listening for God’s voice. Jesus said to Pilate, “The reason I came to earth,” he didn’t say to forgive sins and heal people. He did all those things, obviously. But he said to Pilate, “I came to bear witness to the truth.” It’s almost like he’s saying, “I didn’t come to change anything. I came to see what God has already done.” And I think at some point we have to just bear witness to what God has already done. He’s already created us as His children.
We need to open our eyes and our heart to that. It may be in the flash of a moment, it may be over a period of many seasons in your life.
You know, you said something earlier about it’s not a one day event. It’s a constant turning to God and say, “Well, God, how do you see me?” Listening for what God is saying. As I said earlier, God can talk to us in lots of different ways.
Peter rediscovers his spiritual identity
What are some of your favorite stories in the Bible about people who discovered their spiritual identity?
Clint Riggin:
Peter.
James Early:
Okay, tell me
Clint Riggin:
When Peter denied Jesus three times.
James Early:
Oh, man.
Clint Riggin:
And then Jesus brings him around the same setting to ask him, “Do you love me?” three times.
James Early:
Right.
Clint Riggin:
What happens is Jesus reinforces his spiritual identity to give him a chance. Here’s the beautiful thing about Jesus is that he knows our sin, but calls us by our name. He knows the things we do, but he went to the cross because he obviously knew that he was going to bear the sin of the world. So he has mercy and grace for us every day. Mercy endures forever. It’s new every day. Peter then goes, shortly after, and then preaches in this whole new identity. And 3,000 people are saved.
James Early:
Yeah. Day of Pentecost.
Clint Riggin:
Day of Pentecost.
You don’t make something happen
James Early:
I was thinking about that because in my earlier days, when I got serious about my faith when I was in high school and really made a commitment to follow Christ, a lot of it was James early in there, cranking the wheel, and I still have to catch myself. And now it’s more like, “Okay, God, you put me where you want me. You tell me what to say.” I don’t always do that perfectly, but I feel a better sense of who I am in Christ.
I don’t have to prove anything. I don’t have to. I mean, we do need to go out and do what God calls us to do, but we’re doing it because we understand our relationship with God. It’s not just my human effort trying to make something happen.
And I think Peter, he believed in Jesus. He said,”You’re the Christ, the son of the living God.” And Jesus said, “God revealed that to you. Nobody told you,” right? So Peter was on board to some degree, but I think he was still kind of relying on his own human self instead of, you know, later on, Paul could say after his transformation, he could say, “When I am weak, then I’m strong,” when I personally am weak, then “I can do all things through Christ.” Yeah, that’s kind of the feeling I have for myself. And I see that in Peter, too.
Anybody else?
Paul’s spiritual identity
Clint Riggin:
Paul. I want to read this out of. Out of Philippians. Let me see if I can pull this up because it is so good. We went over it in church. If you don’t mind.
James Early:
No, please. Which translation are you reading from?
Clint Riggin:
This is the NASB.
James Early:
Oh, okay. I like that.
Clint Riggin:
This is in Philippians, Chapter three. And he talks about how even though I’m confident in myself, none of it matters, “Even though I have,” it says this in verse six, “a zeal, a persecutor of the church. The righteousness which is in the law found blameless. All the things that he’s done, bound blameless.” Then he says in verse seven, “Whatever things were gained, to me, those things I have counted as a loss for the sake of Christ.” So think about it like this. As many people listen to this podcast, as big as your ministry gets as much money that God, you know, sends to you and has missions and all these things, count it as a loss for Christ.
That’s how we have to live our life, because we can get. So it’s just like the CEO is just like the puffed up in pride. I have to be very careful of that because I have a performative side of me in life. I have to reaffirm my identity every day. It’s not like it’s a one time thing. It’s just like surrendering. I have to remind myself every day, “Clint, this is not of you. This is of the Lord. You are serving Christ.”
James Early:
Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
Always humble yourself
Clint Riggin:
Take a step back. Where you are today and where you’re going to be a year from now is going to be a lot different. But you still need to humble yourself.
James Early:
Right? And God may glorify you and exalt you, but you can’t get ahead of yourself or think it’s all about you. Some people in ministry struggle with that. We all do, if we’re honest about it. Yeah.
Clint Riggin:
Yeah.
James Early:
I have a friend for many, many years we’ve known each other, and he’s one of the most humble men you’ve ever known in your life. Just thoughtful and kind and gentle and loving and Christlike. I’ve never seen him any other way. And he said to me one time, “You know, James, the thing I have to work on the most is my pride.” I’m thinking, “Oh, my gosh.” He was realizing even in what appeared to all the rest of us as this humility. He was constantly paying attention to those temptations to be proud about something, whatever it was.
Yeah. And so you’re right. It’s a daily thing. What about, you know, when we have seasons of failure and doubt and loss?
Clint Riggin:
Yeah.
James Early:
Sometimes it’s kind of hard to hold on to. Oh, I’m a child of God and he loves me…
Clint Riggin:
For sure.Yeah.
Getting through tough times of life
James Early:
What do you say to someone? How have you helped someone kind of get through those time periods in their life?
Clint Riggin:
Yeah, I think. I mean, that’s a great question. And it’s going to happen because we live in a sinful world. You’re going to experience loss at some time. You’re going to experience a loss of life or loss of a business maybe, or loss of a friendship that meant very dear to you.
I think we have to remind ourselves. And this is what I help people do is, is, okay, where is your heart posture at in this time? How can we connect this with what Christ wants you to be revealed in? Whatever it is, what does it say: “Mourn with those who mourn, grieve with those who grieve.” It’s very important that we don’t just throw a Bible verse in front of somebody.
James Early:
Right.
Getting support from your friends
Clint Riggin:
I was, when I was a beginner, I mean, I would say I’m still a beginner. I just feel like I’m falling on my face and get back up every day. But I would, I would try to just like, “Hey, no, read this scripture. This is what the Lord says. Thus saith the Lord.” you know, but in that time, Job, his friends weep with him for seven days, man. Sometimes they just need somebody to cry with and to know that they got somebody there. And one of the best things that I’ve learned is, “Hey, I’ve never been through, let’s say what you’re going through right now, but I know who, who knows what you’re going through. And he’s here with you right now.” And to be someone who speaks in encouragement and loving in that way.
James Early:
Let’s talk about that a little bit. What I really hear you saying is about. It’s about our relationship with God, with Christ, with the Holy Spirit. How is our relationship with God as His child, how is that connected to our spiritual identity? Obviously, you can’t have one without the other. But I think we need to remember that, that connection, our relationship is what gives us that identity.
Keep your Bible handy
Clint Riggin:
So there’s, there’s Jamie Winship who talks about there’s a separation worldview and a connection worldview. And we are meant to be connected or in relationship with Christ, the world will try to pull you into separation. Because what does Romans 12:2 say? “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Where does the renewing of your mind come from? Right here, every day. Oh, if you’re listening to this on audio, I just held up my Bible.
James Early:
There you go. Okay.
Clint Riggin:
We have to consistently open up the Word of God to understand not only our spiritual identity, but also the relationship that the Father wants to have with us.
James Early:
Right.
Clint Riggin:
It’s beautiful to see how the characters, who were real people, these aren’t just made up people in the Bible. Real people who either walked with Jesus, were brothers with Jesus, who were able to understand or were with God and heard from God. All these things that is in the Word of God that we can see what was it like to have a relationship. And if you want to think about it like this, if you’re married, listen to this. Or you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, you’re not going to build a relationship spending time with them one day a week for one hour. And that’s what most people do.
James Early:
Right. It’s a daily moment by moment. I had a friend many years ago, I said, how do you pray for yourself? And he said, well, you know what? I just feel like I’m always talking to God. I’m just always having a conversation with God. That implies you talk and you listen. God talks and He listens. Yeah. Because then when there are the tough times or the times of incredible success, you can hear God’s voice bring you back to keep you on track.
Leadership and spiritual identity
I want to talk a little bit about leadership because you mentioned that earlier. A good leader is really a follower of Christ. Let’s say there’s someone in a leadership role, has a strong sense of their spiritual identity in Christ, who they are as a child of God and all those things we’ve been talking about, how does that affect the way they lead? How does it affect the people that they lead? How does it affect the way they interact with people?
Clint Riggin:
So Paul says imitate. I think it’s to “imitate myself as I imitate Christ.”
James Early:
Something like that. Yeah.
Clint Riggin:
I may paraphrase that. We have to remind ourselves that we are a witness to the people around us. If you are in a leadership position of any sort, you are being looked at as a leader. People are going to follow the example that you set. One of the best things you can do to lead somebody to Christ is to show what it is to live as a follower of Christ. I think where we get this wrong is that if we take the title of a follower of Jesus, but we don’t live as a follower of Jesus, what are we doing? We’re pushing people away from understanding what that love is. They don’t want any part of it. So we are to be a witness for other people.
I’ve seen this before, and I’m sure you have too, is where somebody will come up to you and be like, “Man, I’ve just never, I’ve never met somebody who was able to, like, say, “appreciate” or “love” or whatever. Why? Why do you do that?” And it’s not me, it’s Jesus. Jesus is the one who’s able to be the overflow of the living water, to overflow into other people’s lives. That’s the goal every day, to be an overflow in other people’s lives, to love on somebody, to value somebody, to care deeply for somebody. There are so many people that walk on this earth today that have never been valued in their life.
Letting your light shine
James Early:
Oh, right.
Clint Riggin:
Or know that they have value in what Christ says about them. And you could be the vessel that God’s going to use. God looks for your availability, not your ability.
James Early:
You know, that’s really important. Sometimes we don’t think we’re good enough to go out and minister to someone. But God does not always pick perfect human beings to do his work. There really aren’t any of those around. So He works with us.
Clint Riggin:
Look at the disciples. Can’t you pull together a better squad?
James Early:
You know, I think about that sometimes. He took such a disparate group of guys, and there were women involved, too. And he took them where they were, and there was something in them. There was a spark that he knew he could work with. But they didn’t understand. They had to ask him several times. What do you mean?
Clint Riggin:
Doubting.
Jesus’s disciples figuring out their spiritual identity
James Early:
They got things a lot quicker than some other people did, but they saw who he was as the Messiah. And that’s really a key for you and me or anybody listening. I think recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, it takes it out of this personal achievement, personal performance venue like you were talking about. Because when Jesus sent his disciples out to heal, to preach and to heal, I mean, can you imagine? You’re standing there just listening to him, and you’ve seen him do all these healings and all these things, and all of a sudden he says, “Okay, Peter, you and Andrew go down that road. James and John over here, Philip and Nathaniel over here.” And it’ like, “Okay.”
It wasn’t their personal ability. He gave them that spiritual authority because I think they had started to discover their spiritual identity to some degree. The more we see who we are spiritually, the more we will own, the more we’re able to do what God wants us to do.
I think that’s so important.
A personal question
I’m going to ask you a very personal question.
Clint Riggin:
I’m ready.
James Early:
What are you struggling with right now to live into, live out from, whatever the right way to say, your spiritual identity? Is there something that’s challenging to you right now that you are working on, that you could share with us?
Clint Riggin:
Yeah, for sure. The word that comes to me is contentment. Being content of where I am today, because I’m a builder. I want to build something big. I want to help a lot of people. But to help people, I must help myself first. I must dive into the Word, understand the Word, be able to teach the Word. That’s going to be able to, and really be able to know who Jesus is.
And Jesus knows me. So where I align right now is saying, okay, “Clint, if you’re in seminary school and you are in your third year. You have 12 different men that are in the ministry and you’re pouring into them and you’re discipling them, and that’s exactly where you’re supposed to be, you don’t need to have to do any more for Me to see you, approve of you, whatever that might be.” So I have to constantly remind myself of that verse that I told you, :My beloved son, in whom I’m well pleased.”
Comfort versus contentment
James Early:
Yeah. You know, it’s interesting because earlier you said we don’t want comfort, but now you’ve said you’ve got to be content with where you are. It almost sounds contradictory, but when you think about it, it’s not.
Clint Riggin:
This is extremely uncomfortable of being in the place of being content because…
James Early:
Wait, wait, wait, wait. Say that again.
Clint Riggin:
I’m extremely uncomfortable in being the place of being content.
James Early:
So you don’t like to be content?
Clint Riggin:
Right. So here’s the thing that is the issue with most of the world. We’re always trying to earn more, be more, do more, but it’s never going to fill what Jesus is supposed to, is going to give us.
James Early:
Gotcha.
Clint Riggin:
So I have to know to myself, listen, the bigger ministry you build, the more schooling you get, the more people you help, you’re just going to want more. So where does it stop? So I’m learning in that process now.
Work in your own vineyard
James Early:
Okay, think about it. Jesus had 12 guys. Yeah, he preached the multitudes, and he left us work to do. What I see from that is be with the people that God puts in your path. And don’t try to get somebody else’s victory trophy or whatever. Occupy your own vineyard, whatever the right phrase is, I don’t know.
Be where God puts you and own that if he wants you to be in a bigger venue, a bigger ministry, whatever, he’ll take care of that.
Well, are you finding that contentment?
Clint Riggin:
Yeah.
James Early:
The joy of being content and not having to be the builder.
Getting rid of pride
Clint Riggin:
Yeah. Because for me, I had to look at it in a completely different way. I’m no longer, I guess you could say building others, but I’m building the foundation in my own life and what Christ is doing in me. Because I had a lot of pride, I had a lot of ego. I had a lot of things that needed to drop off in my life.
James Early:
Do you still struggle, that stuff sometimes?
Clint Riggin:
For sure. I think I’ll always struggle with those things. Just being honest. If anybody tells you that they don’t struggle with that, I would. I mean, that’s. I think that’s a lie, but. Because I think we all struggle in some sort of way with those things.
James Early:
Right. It’s kind of the human condition.
Clint Riggin:
Yeah. We all want to be affirmed in some sort of way of. Hey, my LinkedIn post got, you know, a thousand different likes on it, and people saw doesn’t say “Walk by feedback,” it says “Walk by faith.”
James Early:
That’s really a nice little turn of phrase, Clint. We don’t need the world’s approval. Yeah. And we shouldn’t seek for it. Sometimes we may not realize we’re doing that. But what if the world did approve of you? What would that get you? Not much, really. Maybe momentarily. I mean, it’s nice when somebody recognizes you.
Because… And the way I feel about it is they’re recognizing in me what God has put there and has come out. The minute you let it go to your head, you get in trouble. We’re going to close up here in just a little bit.
What really needs to be said
James Early:
What’s… Well, I’ll ask it this way. Is there anything I haven’t asked you? Is there something that no one has ever asked you that you wish you could tell them about their spiritual identity, their identity in Christ, all these things we’re talking about. Is there something that you feel hasn’t been said enough?
Clint Riggin:
Yeah. I think your past doesn’t define you. Whoever needs to hear that today.
James Early:
Good or bad.
Clint Riggin:
Good or bad. Yeah. I mean, in both ways, we can get into this place of. What I find in a lot of men is that they’ve been through a divorce or they’re not in their children’s lives, or that’s how they see themselves, as they couldn’t cut it. They’re never going to be able to cut it. And they’re always going to live this life of trying to. Trying to be there, but they never could be.
And they don’t live in freedom. We see it in addiction a lot, too. 40 to 60% are going to go back to the rehab facility that they just left because the freedom is in Christ. And until we can fully step into that spiritual identity and. And reinstate that and reform every, every day, I would remind yourself of that, of who I am in Christ. What does God say about me?
From drug dealer to Jesus follower
James Early:
Have you seen or worked with people, men, women, whoever that have been addicted and have found their identity in Christ? Can you give us a little quick…
Clint Riggin:
Yeah, yeah, we got. We got someone in the ministry right now. There was… He was a drug dealer to a hope dealer. It was. I mean, yeah, he was. He was big time. And then I have seen…
We have seen, Ed [Clint’s mentor] and I have seen an incredible, like, the way that God has worked in his life now saying, like, man, “Lord, what do I do to serve you? What do I do to be able to be a witness for you?”
And also, you see the joy in somebody’s life, like when somebody is alive in Christ. Oh, it’s a completely different way that they live when they’re excited to hop on a call in the morning, they’re excited to go into the Word, they’re excited to spend time with God, but he had to go through the wilderness.
The turning point
James Early:
So what was it? What was the turning point for this fellow you’re talking about? That was the drug dealer.
Clint Riggin:
I think for him, it was: There’s more to life. But also I saw. He actually. I mean, he had a demon that, like, harassed him. But, like, we have a spiritual battle out there. He had to know that Christ was with him every step of the way.
And I would say you need a good community around you to encourage you, to make sure that you know that when times are hard, you have people there that have been through the hard times.
James Early:
I think that idea of having a supportive community of faith especially. Yeah, nothing can take the place of that. . Yeah, totally.
Honor where honor is due
Clint, I want to honor you for all you’re doing to help people discover and embrace their identity in Christ. I know you’ve helped a lot of people. You Work with people individually and collectively, just helping them to be who God has made them to be. And I just want to honor you for that. I really appreciate what you’re bringing to the table there. If someone wants to be in touch with you, what’s the best way for them to get a hold of you?
Clint Riggin:
Yeah, you can go to Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Limitless Faith Ministry on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn is Clint Riggin [See links below]. And then our website is limitlessfaith.org. You can fill out one of those forms as well, and somebody will be in contact with you. We only work with men right now. Just a heads up. So, ladies, we have resources for you. We only run a men’s ministry at the moment.
James Early:
Good. Well, thank you so much. I’ll have those links in the show notes.
Three final questions
I have three final questions that I ask all my guests. The first one is, if you could talk to any Bible character other than Jesus, who would it be and what would you ask them?
Clint Riggin:
Man, I’m sorry, it’d have to be Paul.
James Early:
Why? And what would you ask him?
Clint Riggin:
I got to know how he held it together when people were just doing the outrageous amount of things that they were after you already taught them to do the right things in all of the churches that were planted, in all of the letters that were written. I would love to hear how he was able to stay calm in the process and to care for the people.
James Early:
Yeah, he had a vision.
Clint Riggin:
Oh, he did.
Who do you identify with in the Bible?
James Early:
Literally. So the second question is, Is there any Bible character who you especially identify with?
Clint Riggin:
You know, probably David. I see a lot of myself in him. He was a shepherd before he became a king.
James Early:
Right.
Clint Riggin:
But he also messed up with Bathsheba. But God said he was a man after His own heart. I can’t imagine the times that I’ve messed up. And I felt like when I went into ministry, I went to be a shepherd. I went to a place where I was back with the sheep, and I had to learn what that was like. But also knowing that Jesus knows my name in that process. David’s a beautiful character in the Bible. I mean, the way that he’s able to see people and the way he leads people and his courage.
Yeah, it’s a beautiful thing.
Jesus’s original message
James Early:
Cool. The third question is the Bible Speaks to You Podcast is about getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus. How would you describe Jesus’s original message of how he wanted us to live our lives?
Clint Riggin:
We could have a whole podcast on this alone. I think what we have to get back to is looking at ourselves less and caring for others more. Like, love your neighbor, see people and value people as Jesus would.
James Early:
Right.
Clint Riggin:
Don’t just look past somebody because they don’t meet your criteria. Everybody has value.
James Early:
Absolutely. That’s the way Jesus treated people.
Clint Riggin:
Yeah. If people can know who they are in Christ and they can walk in that daily, oh, my gosh. The life that they can live and the life that is available for them. Oh, it’s so beautiful.
Live into and out from your spiritual identity
James Early:
Hey, Clint, I want to thank you so much. This has been a wonderful conversation. I know people are going to really enjoy it. You’ve shared from your heart your experiences. I think that’s so helpful. It’s been helpful to me just to get to know you a little better, but it gives me courage to keep being who God made me to be.
Clint Riggin:
Come on.
James Early:
I hope that’s the message that comes across to everybody listening as well. So thanks again.
Clint Riggin:
Thank you, James. I appreciate you.
Photo Credit:
CONNECT with Clint Riggin:
Website: limitlessfaith.org
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Clint Riggin is a Navy veteran, entrepreneur, and founder of Limitless Faith Ministries. After serving eight years in the United States Navy, Clint went on to build a successful business, generating over half a million dollars in revenue within his first year as an a fitness coach. Outwardly successful, he privately battled addiction, depression, and suicidal thoughts—experiences that ultimately led him into a life-changing surrender to Jesus Christ.
Today, Clint is devoted to building men of God through discipleship, leadership development, and spiritual formation. He leads Limitless Faith, a nonprofit ministry focused on making disciples of all nations by helping men rediscover their identity in Christ, break free from destructive patterns, and lead their families, businesses, and communities with biblical conviction. His teaching emphasizes spiritual discipline, mental conditioning, and physical stewardship—developing the whole man for the glory of God.
Clint hosts weekly discipleship gatherings. He is also a seminary student, speaker, and the creator of multiple leadership frameworks designed to equip high-achieving men to live with purpose, integrity, and eternal impact.
His mission is simple and bold: raise up disciplined men who know who they are in Christ and have the courage to live it out.
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Matthew 4:1 NIV
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[fn] by the devil.
Matthew 3:17 NIV
17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 6:10 NIV
10 …your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
Matthew 22:37 NIV
37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ”
2 Timothy 1:7 KJV
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
John 18:37 NKJV
37 For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.
Matthew 16:16, 17 NKJV
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
2 Corinthians 12:10 NKJV
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Philippians 4:13 NKJV
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 3:4-8 NASB20
4 although I myself could boast as having confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he is confident in the flesh, I have more reason:
5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;
6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
7 But whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ.
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ,
Romans 12:15 NIV
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Romans 12:2 NIV
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
1 Corinthians 11:1 NKJV
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:7 NASB20
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight—[or feedback]
Acts 13:22 KJV
22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
