Sometimes the subject of sharing your faith can be so uncomfortable can’t it? If you are anything like me thinking about it just brings back memories of missed opportunities. I recall times I have made excuses or simply just been too scared. The easy answer is to try not to think about it too often but easy answers are rarely the right ones! Recently however I have been reading a book which has been a real encouragement on the subject. (If you are part of New Life you have heard me quote it from the pulpit a number of times in the past few weeks.) “The Unexpected Adventure” recounts experiences form the lives of authors Lee Strobel (The Case of Christ etc) and Mark Mittleberg (Becoming a Contagious Christian) in sharing their faith.

A couple of things that make this book different for me: Firstly the incidents are set out in 42 self-contained chapters of 5 or 6 pages each. This makes it really easy to read whether as part of your devotions, on a Bart journey, or in a few moments grabbed in-between the demands of energetic children. Secondly is that not every incident culminates in a “ commitment moment.” Many of the stories end in an unknown future, giving us a powerful reminder that often we are just a link in the chain and only our Heavenly Father knows where the chain begins and ends.

However, as the title suggests, the pages of the book are littered with “the unexpected” in ways that really encourage us to see how often the apparent response is so far removed from what turns out to be God’s purpose for the encounter. This is a book that anyone who recognizes God’s call to share his or her faith should read. I know you will find multiple situations in which you can identify with and a fresh and exciting vision of what is possible with God. Yes, there is an adventure out there waiting for you and I to join!

I have an extra copy that I will award to the first account of a new faith sharing adventure shared as a comment to this blog post. But whether or not you win the book, please share your stories because their power to encourage others is far beyond what you imagine