by Jim Supp, Campus Pastor @ MBC Loudoun

So my unexpected adventure continues. I am currently spending regular time with a couple of young men who are seeking the things of Christ. One is a rather large young man who, with a shaved head and a day’s growth, looks like someone you would NOT want to meet in an alley on a dark night. His quiet man-of-few-words approach to life only intensifies the sense that he could hurt you bad at any moment. And so much to my surprise he has initiated getting together to talk about spiritual things. I had encouraged him in a previous meeting to begin reading the book of John and we could talk about it when we get together. As a result he has been reading the Bible that I gave to him. I am excited to say that he has some very real questions as he begins to read the Bible for the first time in his life. (In spite of the fact that he grew up going to church.) It was an amazing moment for me to see this guy – with the perception that he projects – humbly saying things like “I really don’t understand the whole interaction with Jesus and that lady at the well. What is that all about.” (John 4) I had to smile. What a privilege it is to begin to explain the things of God’s word to someone with an open and eager heart. The fact that he has always seemed like an unlikely candidate points all the more back to God Himself. And so I encourage you to keep and open heart and an open mind for the open door that God may want to provide for you. And remember that it might be in the most unlikely of places. God bless.

by Jim Supp, campus pastor @ MBC Loudoun

I am not a man who is often accused of being patient. My children are often the recipients of this and could certainly testify to this reality. Jesus and I are working on it and I experience greater or lesser degrees of progress depending on the day and the issue at hand. The Unexpected Adventure helped to open up an amazing realization for me about the importance of engaging others in spiritual conversations about Jesus. It is amazing what God has done and I am enjoying the recent conversations with several men. I find myself becoming impatient however. I know that statistically most people need to hear the clear presentation of the Gospel several times before they would ever be able to make an informed decision. After having explained the Gospel message thoroughly to two different men recently I find myself asking “Well, what are you waiting for? Are you in or what?” Of course I keep these questions within my own mind. And once again I find God reminding me that He is in charge – not me. That He understands the Human heart, that I am just supposed to be faithful and leave the results to Him. With the challenges of scheduling and the busyness of the Christmas season, getting together with them has been difficult. And God keeps saying “trust me.” And so another challenging lesson that I have learned before. Thanks Lord, that you are in charge of the universe.

by Jim Supp, Campus Pastor @ MBC Loudoun

Recently I had a young man who I have known in the gym for nearly four years ask to get together to talk about spiritual things. Looking like a tough guy who is a little too cool to talk about Jesus I was pretty surprised. I was even more surprised when his opening line over coffee at Starbucks was “I want to be a better person, but I feel lost.” On the outside I was cool, calm and collected. On the inside I was freaking out. He couldn’t have opened the door any wider, unless he had said “Would you please share with me how to have a personal relationship with Christ?” And of course, that is exactly what I did. Yesterday I met with him again. It was amazing to see him walking into Startbuck’s carrying the NIV Study Bible I had given him the last time we met. I am personally grateful for the time our congregation has spent doing the Unexpected Adventure. It has been what God has used to jump start my own personal journey of sharing my faith. When I am sitting having coffee with someone seeking and have the privilege of seeing the light bulbs coming on for the first time it is amazing. There is no greater joy that being a part of God’s plan as HE prepares another human being to breathe spiritual breath for the first time.

by Graig Bantle, Director of Adult Ministries @ MBC Loudoun

I woke up Monday morning after the final weekend of “The Unexpected Adventure” and began to really ponder how blessed I am to know Jesus personally. On my usual drive into work up Belmont Ridge Road, I started dreaming about the new Wegmans in Leesburg (FYI – I frequently dream about Wegmans, growing up in upstate New York and working for them for many years) and how incredibly passionate their people are about what they do.

How amazing would it be if we as a church were as passionate about reaching others for Christ as Wegmans is about food and people? I began to think, if people can be this passionate about food, imagine their passion if their hearts knew a Savior in Jesus Christ? Imagine the sense of Joy that we, as believers, would experience in Christ if we had this level of enthusiasm.

Over the past several months, the Lord has put a burning desire in my heart for the lost in ways that I have not experienced before. I’ve been able to see areas where pride and insecurities have crept into my life and prevented me from seizing opportunities.

II Timothy 1:7-8a states, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord…”

I know, love and serve a living God who supplies more power, love and self-discipline then I will ever need. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to keep the Journey rolling in my own life; I can’t wait for my next Unexpected Adventure and what God will do through it!

by Jim Supp, Campus Pastor @ MBC Loudoun

It’s hard to believe that our daily readings in the Unexpected Adventure are coming to a close. Truthfully I could go on for another couple of weeks reading cool stories about people sharing their faith and watching God work. The stories have really helped me to keep my eyes open for the doors God has placed in my path. Only time will tell what the outcome of our journey together will be. What changes will God bring about as a result here at the Loudoun Campus and in the lives of our people? I sure have no way of knowing what God will do, but I am certain he has changed me. Over the last two days I have had the opportunity to sit and fully explain the message of Christ to 2 different young men that I know. Each was genuinely eager to listen as I explained the Gospel. One conversation was with a guy I have known for four years who has NEVER shown any spiritual interest at all. He asked to get together to talk, (that’s never happened either) and opened the conversation with “I want to be a better person and I feel lost.” Talk about an open door. When asked “if you were to die today and stand before God, and God says ‘why should I let you in?’ what are you going to say?” He responded, “I have no idea.” What a privilege it was to walk him through various scriptures explaining God’s desire to have a relationship with him forever. He didn’t accept Christ right away – he needed to go think about it some more. What a defining moment for me as I watched the light bulbs begin to come on in his mind. I look forward to the journey with him and others that God puts in my path. This has truly been an unexpected adventure for me. How about for you? I sure hope so.

by Jim Supp, Campus Pastor @ MBC Loudoun

Well, it finally happened. It was only a matter of time for me. With all of the touching and powerful stories in our Unexpected Adventure there was bound to be one that brought me to tears. (I have often been known as the pastor who routinely gets choked up during sermons.) What can I say – I’m a sensitive guy. Anyway – I was reading the story about Bill McMillen on day 30 of the Adventure and just couldn’t hold it back. Here, a very ordinary, not a particularly stand-out-from-the-crowd sort of guy, ultimately stood way out from the crowd. I was good up until the point Lee Strobel told of what took place at Bill’s funeral. How person after person came up to the mic to express how they were a part of the Body of Christ because of Bill simply loving them until they said ‘yes’ to Jesus. Wow!! I sat there with tears running down my face imagining the scene. And then I got to thinking about what might take place at my funeral. Would there be a chain of people who stood up to talk about how God had used me in their lives? Not because I was so great, but that I simply said ‘yes’ to being an instrument in God’s hand, revealing His love to others. Truly, only what’s done for the Lord will last – 1 Corinthians 3:12-14. God bless.

Jim preached LIVE at MBC Loudoun October 24 and 25! Listen his great sermon, “So that Others May Believe,” here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

On Day 25 of our Unexpected Adventure, Mark talks about an encounter in an Ice Cream shop with a Muslim man and a friend of Mark’s. In this entry Mark talks a lot about ‘”tyles of evangelism” – the “direct style,” the “intellectual style,” and the “interpersonal style,” to name a few. In the book Becoming a Contagious Christian they outline six different styles and illustrate them using the lives of different people in the Bible. My experience is that most of us who do not have the gift of evangelism, envision spiritual conversations as occurring with primarily one style – the direct style – which feels more like the “hit them over the head with a Bible” style. The discussion of styles is not intended to pigeon hole people in a narrow sort of way – “you have this one style and you need to stick with it” – but more to say “you are a unique person and there are so many ways to share your faith with others.” It actually means that there are likely ways to engage others that feel far less uncomfortable even to a “non-evangelist” like me. If this resonates with you, I really encourage you to consider coming to The Summit with Randy Newman on November 14th, and also to consider taking Christianity 301. These will really help broaden your image of sharing your faith with others and come to realize you don’t have to be a confrontational Christian to do it.

by Jim Supp, Campus Pastor @ MBC Loudoun

Well, we are almost half way through the Unexpected Adventure. It is amazing to me to see how much God is moving in my life and in the lives of so many people in our congregation. I am realizing that a really big part of this whole thing is simply being aware and sensitized. I remember many years ago my wife and I bought a 1995 light blue Honda Accord. The next day I was stunned to see just how many light blue Honda Accords there were on the road. Did Honda suddenly sell tons of these cars over night? No – I was just suddenly aware that they were there. When it comes to sharing your faith, I am convinced that a big part of it is just paying attention. God is at work, we just often fail to see it. Truthfully, a big part of this is prayer, as well. Prayer that God would sensitize me, but also prayer that he would prepare others and open the doors. Mark Mittelberg talked about this specifically on day 19. He said be sure to “talk to God about your friends before you talk to your friends about God.” And so I find myself praying a lot more for specific people as I walk into the gym. I have taken a few prayer walks around my neighborhood and find it sensitizes me to God’s heart for my neighbors. What about for you? Do you take time to pray for your co-workers as you begin your day, or head into a meeting? What about as you go into a restaurant or grocery store. I am praying for an awaking for all of us. I believe God is eager to show up. Indeed it is an Unexpected Adventure.

by Jim Supp, Campus Pastor @ MBC Loudoun

We are well into the Unexpected Adventure and the stories of people beginning to engage is spiritual conversations are starting to come our way. As the pastor leading this charge it is a significant blessing to me to see our congregation coming to life in this way. I find myself praying frequently that God would reveal opens doors right in front of each of us. As Lee Strobel discussed on Day 6 people are often much more willing to engage in spiritual conversations than we think. A couple of days ago I was just finishing my jog around the neighborhood when I stopped to talk with a neighbor down the street. He asked if Fridays are may day off and I said ‘yes they are’ – and off we went. I had the opportunity to ask if he was raised in any particular spiritual tradition. He went on to describe how he had been raised in a certain mainline denomination but rebelled as a teenager. The conversation went on for 10 or so minutes before we both needed to go, but I found it to be a huge first step. He was eager to share some of his frustrations with the organized church and I shared some of the joy in the journey of spiritual discovery. I walked away energized that God had opened a door and I was present enough to walk through it. Only God knows if Mike will ever give his life to Christ – I just found great joy in being able to possibly by one piece of the puzzle along the way. Pray for open doors today – and walk through them when God show them to you. God bless.