by Campus Pastor, Jim Supp

I am just coming off of two weekends in a row of preaching in the church services at McLean Bible Church. It is the blessing of a lifetime to have this privilege 3 to 5 times a year when our Senior Pastor, Lon Solomon, is on break or traveling. Each and every time I walk out on the stage at our Tysons Campus, I feel the exact same way. I wonder in my heart “how in the world did I end up here?” As a seminarian who never intended to preach, who was terrified to stand in front of an audience of any size, and whose early ‘presentations’ were nothing short of pathetic (I have destroyed all preaching tapes from that time period), the opportunity to step on the stage of our church is nothing short of a miracle. Only God could do that. And THEN – to have people walk up to you with a tear in their eye and utter the words every preacher secretly wishes to hear – “God was speaking directly to me today.” – Wow!! (Certainly the primary hope of every preacher is to be true to God’s call and to His word – but if there is no impact, then what’s the point?) Having the opportunity is a privilege in and of itself. But when God decides to show up and do what only He can do by touching the hearts of the listeners, well – that’s humbling in a way I cannot describe. And truthfully there is nothing that compares to the experience of having gifts that were crafted by God Himself, that He then uses to glorify Himself and change the lives of other people.

No matter what a person’s calling or gifting for service might be – each of us needs to seek simply being a vessel. 2 Corinthians 4:6 makes this so clear – “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” And when God chooses to show up in our service to Him, well – what more could a follower of Jesus ask for?

And so I sit in amazement today, not just that I get to walk out on the stage of MBC, but that God chooses to be a part of the process and blesses others. May each of us in our own way always be willing to say – Honored to Serve.