Getting to Know Brian Walters, The New Director of Adult Ministries at MBC Loudoun
As you may know, Brian Walters recently joined the MBC Loudoun staff team as our new Director of Adult Ministries. Brian and is wife AnnieLaurie have attended MBC since 2004 and have previously been attending/serving at Frontline Arlington, MBC’s first community campus. Brian comes to us with a Bachelors degree from George Mason University and a Masters of Theology from Liberty University Seminary. His ministry experience includes marriage mentoring, preparing for marriage mentoring, small group leadership and coaching, Global Impact/Missions leadership and coaching, and one-on-one discipleship. Take a moment to get to know Brian a little better through this quick Q & A below and feel free to leave a comment and ask Brian a question!

Question: Briefly tell us how God called you to ministry.
Answer: Shortly after putting my faith and trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in 2004, God started speaking to me through my quiet times and several major life events. One example of a life event is my wife (AnnieLaurie) and I went on a mission trip to Argentina in 2006 and led a mission team to Indonesia in 2007 and on both trips I had the opportunity to preach a sermon, which earned me the nickname “Pastor” with the locals. I had never thought of myself as a pastor, but those experiences definitely planted a seed in my mind. Through a series of life events like these God helped me recognize my full-time calling to ministry and I began seminary classes in January 2008.

Question: What is one of your favorite ministry memories?
Answer: I have two events that quickly come to mind. The first event is God used me to lead my father to Christ shortly before he passed away from cancer in 2007. Second, but also related to my dad was delivering the eulogy at my father’s funeral. I know this sounds weird because it’s my father’s funeral, but over 500 people attended my dad’s funeral and the Lord allowed me to present the gospel message to all of these folks, many of who were not believers in Jesus Christ and had never heard the gospel. Praise God that many fruitful conversations were born out of this experience. I know that God was glorified and my dad would have been extremely happy that I shared the gospel message with his friends and our family.

Question: What is your biggest hope for the ministry of MBC Loudoun?
Answer: My biggest hope for the ministry at MBC Loudoun is that we strive to be a body of believers that seeks to serve others before ourselves (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45), that our words are backed up with loving actions and that we do not come to church to just “sit-and-soak” every Sunday (James 2:14-16). But most importantly, that everything we do is for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31).

Question: What are you most looking forward to this year?
Answer: Getting to know the MBC Loudoun church family and learning how I can encourage, equip and enable my brothers and sisters to live fully devoted lives for Christ.

Question: What is on your reading list?
Answer: I’m actually looking for a new book to read. Got any suggestions? I just finished Jonathan Edwards’s biography by Iain H. Murray which I highly recommend as Jonathan was a man who did not waiver in his faith, no matter the personal cost.
I also recently read a book edited by Thomas K. Ascol, called “Dear Timothy: Letters on Pastoral Ministry,” which has really helped me prepare spiritually and mentally in making the transition into full-time ministry work. This is a book of letters sent to a young pastor starting out his ministry in which much wiser men provide their expertise, guidance and advice on specific areas of the ministry (e.g. – How to love your flock, training other men, etc.) in the hopes that the young pastor won’t make the same mistakes they did.

Question: How can the MBC Loudoun church family be praying for you?
Answer: Excellent question. A personal request would be that my wife and I are expecting our first child in October so if you could pray for the baby’s future salvation and health that would be greatly appreciated. Also if you could pray that we make a smooth transition into full-time ministry and that I would rely on the Lord for everything and never fall into the trap of doing things in my own strength (John 15:5).

Question: Which team did you pick to win the NCAA Basketball Tournament?
Answer: THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES, who else? ? I was actually born in Columbus, Ohio. Even though I grew up in Northern Virginia, I have been a Buckeyes fan since a young age. I would have gone to OSU, but my folks told me if I stay in state for school they would pay my tuition, but if I go out of state I would have to pay my own tuition. I chose the free tuition.

Connect with Brian
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/brnwltrs
On Twitter: www.twitter.com/brnwltrs
On his blog: www.brianwaltersblog.com

by Mike Reed, Director of Student Ministries @ MBC Loudoun

A great reminder from Jesus that in order to know the power of God we must know the Scriptures. This is so motivating and inspiring as we live our lives and share our faith with others and prioritize time with Jesus in our daily routine. Jesus put it this way to the Sadducees, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God” Matthew 22:29. If you don’t know the Scriptures, you won’t know and/or experience the power of God. If we ignore or distort the truth of Scripture, our life will be dull and empty of God’s power and vitality, but if we meditate on His words, and obey them, we will flourish like a tree planted by the waters (Psalm 1).

In Matthew 22 above, the Sadducees didn’t want to believe the Bible. They didn’t even want to believe in a life after death, nor a heaven either. They were the secular humanists of their day, and they would have felt right at home here in the 21st century. But they lost the power of God when they abandoned the Scriptures, and we will too, if we make the same mistake they did.

Praying we all continue to hold high, value and study God’s necessary and gracious gift to us, His wonderful word!

by Susie Battle, Direct of Ministry Teams @ MBC Loudoun

Weekend Host Teams built great community at our Build your own Sub team building event this weekend!

After a delicious lunch and time of fellowship, we competed by table on some Weekend Host Teams trivia, reviewing the teams that comprise Weekend Host Teams…

… as well as our mission statement …

and defining hallmarks.

It was a great afternoon!  It is certainly a pleasure to serve the Lord alongside such great team members!

by Steve Paine, Volunteer @ MBC Loudoun

On February 19th, MBC Loudoun’s IMPACT Single’s Ministry had the opportunity to serve the residents of the Madison House (a low-income assisted living community in Leesburg) a ‘Valentine’s Week’ meal. Our members (and friends) made crock pots full of spaghetti, loaves of garlic bread, fresh garden salad, and a slew of desserts (really – we had to force the residents to take the leftovers). Little did we know that the hit of the night would be jello – I think we ran out after 10 minutes! The residents really seemed to enjoy our company; many of them had been cooped up for several weeks due to a virus that caused the Madison House to be quarantined for a period of time. Thankfully everyone was feeling better and ready to eat a great meal and socialize. Some of us even learned what was happening on ABC’s The Bachelor – who knew they watched that show!
IMPACT’s hope in the coming months is to take this ministry a step further and really form strong one-on-one relationships with the residents in hopes that they will share some prayer requests and that God will open doors for us to share the gospel. Please pray that with God’s help, we will be able to make a difference in their lives not only now but eternally.
This weekend IMPACT was able to help out a woman in need of assistance in Hamilton. Ruth lives in a trailer that is in need of significant repair. We spent the day removing her belonging from the house, organizing them into plastic bins and boxes, and placing them in a temporary shed until they can be moved permanently into her home. Little did we know that this effort required us to move a newly-purchased 10×14 shed by hand off a delivery truck, squeeze it (and ourselves) between her house and the neighbor’s holly tree, and into the back yard! I can confidently say we were all very nervous that we would be crushed against the house or lose fingers, but thankfully God protected us without any injury. Pray that the repair work on Ruth’s house will go smoothly and that she will be able to move back in soon.
Please keep MBC Loudoun’s IMPACT ministry in your prayers as we look for new opportunities to serve the community and to share the gospel with those who desperately need to hear it.

by Mike Reed, Director of Student Ministries @ MBC Loudoun

John tells us an amazing reality in 1 John 3:2 where he says “we will see Jesus as He is.” What this means is that we really don’t yet have a picture of Him in all His reality. He is more than we can imagine or understand, and while what we do know of Him is wonderful, when we see Him for the first time in heaven, we will be astonished. We are presently “looking through a glass darkly” as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 13:12, and all that we see now is but a shadow of that which is to come.

Pray that your desire to Jesus will increase today. When He was here on earth, Jesus was among those who were despised and rejected, and our picture of Him is colored by that. He had no home to call His own. He had a few close friends, but was a mystery to most people. In other words, He was misunderstood frequently. His destiny was a bloody cross. But, in heaven, when we see Him for the first time, He will be at home, surrounded by all those who love Him. And, then, we shall really “see Him as He is.” What a sight that will be!

by Wendy Jo Melcher, Access Coordinator @ MBC Loudoun

Thank you so much ListServe Team for blessing the Billings family during their difficult time. The kindness and support that you have shown is greatly appreciated! If you would like to follow Luke’s progress, you can go to the CaringBridge site by clicking on this link: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lukebillings For those of you who don’t know the Billings, they have been attending MBC for several years. Their son, Luke, is part of our Beautiful Blessings Sunday School class here at Loudoun’s Access Ministry. Luke needs to attend the Johns-Hopkins Medical Center for an 8 week program at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. If anyone else would like to support this family through making meals, please visit http://www.takethemameal.com/meals.php?t=DQIZ1660

by Susie Battle, Director Ministry Teams @ MBC Loudoun

Our first 2011 Weekend Host Teams Leadership Meeting was dynamic. The people the Lord has called to lead at MBC Loudoun are impressive and a blessing, and it was great to spend some quality time together.

We kicked off the year with our Weekend Host Teams tradition – the Ebenezer jar. When the Lord gave Israel victory after a 40 year struggle with the Philistines, Samuel took a stone and named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us” (1 Sam 4-7). So we begin each year taking a stone, writing on it our Ebenezer, and giving God the glory and credit He’s due for helping us in ministry thus far at MBC Loudoun.

We then talked about an intriguing use of words in Scripture. The same Greek word is used for persecute in “Bless those who persecute you” as is used in the preceding verse for practice in “practice hospitality.”

It changes the intensity, dynamic, and intentionality – rather than simply practicing hospitality, it seems to be more like intentionally and intensely pursuing hospitality. {This passage tied in conveniently well with Valentine’s weekend since it is about love in action.}

So our charge is to be more laser-like in our pursuit of hospitality, remembering that those we’re serving could be making some very real and life-altering decisions based upon their church experience. It’s a mighty charge, and one we are privileged to take on.

During Turkey Outreach, MBC Loudoun encountered a couple that really tugged on our heart. When their baby was born last month, our church community rallied to gather baby supplies for them. We want to continue to lift them up in prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your many blessings. Thank you for the safe delivery of Adelaide and Derek’s son Ashton. Thank you for allowing a humble group of sinners but followers of You to be part of your plan in blessing the little guy’s beginning.

Thank you Lord for the blessing that has been the outpouring of support for this young family. You know Father, the gifts, the prayers, the desire to encourage that has been offered by so many. Thank You for working in our hearts and lives, thank You for inspiring us to share You with others.

Help us to always realize Lord, that this is about You and bringing awareness of you to an unknowing population and for those who do know You, to show them your love, grace and mercy. Thank you for allowing us to be your ambassadors, your hands and feet and your heart Lord. Help us to continue to reach out to them as You would have us do Lord, not of our own volition or motivation but because You are prompting and leading. Thank you for the blessing that the volunteers have been who have offered in addition to the needs, they have offered home visits, encouragement visits, visits to set up some of the items that were received. Thank you for the loving and giving hearts of our church community that always so faithfully answer the call to assist.

Lord may our efforts fall on receptive hearts. You above all else know this young couples hearts… you know their needs, their hopes and their fears. Help guide us as we seek to make them aware of You. Help us to continue to step out of our comfort zones to be the servants for You that we need to be…that will boldly proclaim Your name in word AND deed. Bless this young family Lord as they start out with so many hurdles ahead of them. May their home not just be filled with love for each other and this new blessing but may their hearts become more aware and grow in their love for You.

Help them to see Lord that these gifts, these efforts are all from You as You seek to grow a relationship with them as You do with all of us Lord. Please protect and guide this young family Lord and create in us hearts that see things as you see them and love as you would love and provide as you would provide Lord.

Help us Lord, to always remain faithful to You, help us to have the courage to go wherever You call us, to be whatever You call us to be and to Love all of those You call us to love.

In Jesus’ Name…… Amen.

by Jim Supp, Campus Pastor @ MBC Loudoun

So I have a confession to make: I am not a perfect parent. There – I said it. I feel so much better. Now I know that intuitively you already know this, but I often live under the perceived pressure that as a full-time Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ I need to have the basic categories of life skills wired. I mean, how much credibility would I have as a pastor if I were a crummy husband, father, neighbor…..? So, I often feel I need to ‘perform’ at higher levels than other Christ followers. All too often however, I realize I am just a cracked pot (2 Corinthians 4:7) like everyone else. Like today for example – we were having breakfast and getting ready to move into a time of talking about God’s word. Our family theme for the year of 2011 is “Speak Like Jesus.” In other words, make every effort to speak to others in such a way that it’s as if they were the words of our Lord flowing from us. We were about to read our memory verse together out loud as a family when Natalie jumped in and raced through it before anyone else had a chance to follow along. (I have no idea how she came to be so competitive. Mmhmm.) “Natalie Joy – could you please wait for all of us to join in?” I said, with the best “speak like Jesus” tone I could muster.

Well, that was the end of it. Natalie shut down, put her face in her hands and was unable to be coaxed back into the discussion. “I ruined the day for everyone!!” she declared. Ah, yes. I love it when a Monday morning starts out this way. Seeing the situation as virtually unrecoverable, after unsuccessful attempts at consolation, we said our perfunctory prayer, jumped in the car and headed for school. Breaking the silence after several moments into our journey, I glanced back and said “I love you, sweetheart. I’m sorry we started out this way.” She responded by saying “But Daddy, you had such a mean face.”

So apparently it is possible to “speak like Jesus” (at least I thought my tone was calm and non-condemning) and still do so with a mean face. I guess Daddy needs an additional theme for the year that has something to do with facial expressions. I am looking for a verse to go along with that. But of course it is not really about the words, or the tone, or the facial expressions per se, it’s about the heart that fuels those external realities. And so Daddy’s process of sanctification shows another glaring deficiency.

Fortunately I have discovered that kids are very forgiving, eager to reconcile and move forward. So after a time of prayer for my parenting I did what every Daddy of a 7 year old girl does to reconcile – I spoke her language by making her a card. I drew a picture of the two of us on the front with smiling faces and a big sun up in the corner. Inside I asked for her forgiveness for my mean face and told her she was my most favorite 7 year old in the whole world. I dropped it off at her school and asked them to deliver it to her class, and headed off to, of course, church.

Tomorrow morning we will try it again. Maybe we will all do better at trying to “Speak Like Jesus.” — If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God – 1 Peter 4:11.

by Susie Battle, Director of Ministry Teams @ MBC Loudoun

Team Trifecta Lunch – celebrating our Weekend Host Teams volunteers who have been serving all three years since MBC Loudoun launched!

We shared our memories from the launch of the campus…

… and what we’re looking forward to in 2011.

It was a great time of community!

The menu revolved around “3″ – 3-cheese lasagna, thrice seasoned rolls, triple veggie salad with 3 choices of dressing, triple chocolate cream puffs, and tres leches cake.  Yum!

We thank the Lord for our volunteers’ partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now!