A quick conversation with Judah Smith can easily turn into a Sunday sermon. There’s a good reason for that. Smith is the leader of City Church in Seattle.
On any given Sunday he can be found preaching to a congregation of thousands in his hometown or filling up hotel ballrooms in Los Angeles. He’s amassed a Twitter following that rivals that of Hollywood’s A-list and, since we’re on that subject, he’s rubbed shoulders with quite a few celebrities himself, mentoring the likes of Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and singer Justin Bieber.
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Smith is helping to usher in a new age of church leaders, ones who stream their services online, pray for their favorite football teams at the beginning of each sermon and engage with their congregation on Facebook and Instagram just as much as they do in church. They’re approachable, inviting and building a new church population, people that are curious about Jesus but maybe too intimated to step foot through their chapel’s doors just yet. According to Smith, that’s the exact idea behind his new book, Life Is __.
“We had the [book] Jesus Is __ which I was thrilled to see that a few people read to be honest,” Smith said of his first New York Times bestseller. “The only kind of response that I got back that I made sure to pay attention to was that for someone that doesn’t know Jesus or know God and His story, it could be a little intimidating. So I thought, ‘Well, what if we had a book that was kind of like a prequel to Jesus Is __ that asks a question that isn’t intimidating to anyone?’”
The result is Smith’s second landing on the shelves, one that hopes to connect us to something we all have in common: life. “It’s a conversation starter,” Smith explained. “We’re all on the earth at the same time, so let’s have a conversation about why are we here. What’s the point of it all? Why are we sucking oxygen on earth all at the same time? What is life all about?”
To do that, Smith employed some of the same techniques he uses to lead his congregation every week. “To be honest, it all comes out of life and community. We cover stories of me, my wife and my kids and the community that we’re in and the things that we do in life. We’re kind of using those to bring metaphor to what I think the Scripture teaches.”
Guiding people to God is a calling that was placed on Smith at a very early age. His father, Pastor Wendell Smith, founded the church he now calls home and it was at one of his father’s seminars that a young Judah felt led down the same path.
You’ll be a voice to your generation |
“He did this thing for five years called the Dragonslayer Seminar. It was definitely the ‘80s and it was super cool, but it was about purpose and destiny and vision for your life. I was sitting there during one of those seminars and I knew the seminar word for word, every story, every punch line. It’s hard to explain because it’s inexplicable, it’s a spiritual phenomenon. I was like 9 or 10 years old and I knew, this sentence was just imprinted on my heart: “You will be a preacher to your generation, you’ll be a voice to your generation.’”
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From getting his start preaching as a teenager in Alaska of all places to leading thousands in worship every Sunday morning, Smith has seen the church evolve and grow, thanks to things like social media and even shows like NBC’s A.D. The Bible Continues. The pastor was invited to be a guest on Beyond A.D., the after show talk show for Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s biblical epic and he admitted to getting emotional about the entire experience.
“I watched episode three like everybody else it seems in America and I was so moved by how it’s humanizing these ancient, biblical characters,” Smith said before recapping how he watched the show’s latest episode. (Note: A.D. and airplanes don’t mix.)
“I cried like three times in this latest episode. I’m in an airplane, I get up, go to that little itty bitty bathroom and just sit back there crying. I’m so emotionally unstable. I’m in the bathroom crying, sitting there like ‘Jesus, I want to pray more, I want to talk to you more.’”
According to Smith, that reaction is a testament to the power of the show and the power of faith. “I love Mark and Roma and their platform and who they are,” Smith said. “I’m a big proponent and I want to be a team player. Anyway that we can display and tell the greatest story ever told, I think it needs to be amplified and encouraged.”
It also helps that his good friend and E! correspondent Jason Kennedy has taken up hosting duties on Beyond A.D. “We ran the risk of having possibly too much fun,” Smith said of his time on the talk show, which airs every Sunday after A.D. and features members of the cast and special celebrity guests who work to break down each episode after it’s aired. “Jason Kennedy, besides being one of the most gifted amazing people, is one of the funniest human beings in the world, so we tried to keep it together. For those of you that might watch the show, we do a lot of laughing. Hopefully it’s somewhat constructive but it’s just so cool. What an awesome day to live in that we have an after show of a show that’s about the Bible!”
Smith’s biggest hope is the current growth in the church can continue. “Christianity is the fastest growing movement worldwide. It’s extraordinary how many people are deciding to follow Jesus and I think one of the things that excites me about where the church is and where it’s heading is that we seem to all be coming together.”
“That’s what excited me about where the church is today, we seem to be landing on the essence of our story and the point of our story. The cornerstone of our story is Jesus and his unconditional, relentless love that has no prerequisite. It’s present, it’s for us, it’s towards us no matter who we are or what we’ve done. That is amazing.”
