Pastor Andrew Smith

The other day one of my sons told me he would like to learn how to ride a bike.  I was pumped!  This was going to be one of those great father/son moments together where I get to bestow some of my fatherly wisdom and advice.  In exchange my son would gush with appreciation of my insight and direction.  Yeah right.

Within a few minutes he was mad, I was frustrated, and I think both of us wanted to melt the bike down for scrap metal.  He had it stuck in his mind what would work in order for him to ride a bike and really was not all that too interested in what I had to say.  I kept my cool.  I spoke kindly to him about what to do only to find my father/son experience quickly taking a nose dive like the picture on The Beastie Boys debut album cover.

And then it happened.  The next words that came out of my mouth I realized were more for me than Him.  “If you’ll just listen to me, do what I say and trust me you will be fine.”  And I wondered how many times God had uttered those same words to me.

“Trust me, listen to me and do what I say and you’ll be fine.”  My son thought he knew what was best, but he didn’t.  He thought he would be better off figuring it out himself, but he wasn’t.  All he needed to do was listen, trust, and obey.

I wish I could tell you he jumped right up on the bike and rode off like a champ, but he didn’t.  Instead he opted to hang it up for the night and try again another time.  He’ll get it.  One day he’ll fly through the neighborhood without even thinking about peddling or balancing but he’ll have to listen, trust, and obey first.

You know what, God really does want the best for me and you too.  But we’ve got to listen, trust, and obey.

walk on,

Pastor Andrew  

I’m back but not in a creepy Jack Nicholson The Shining kind of way.  I took a little blogging break but I promise I’ll try not to do it again.  I really do want to keep this updated, fresh, and insightful and taking a month off really doesn’t go to help that happen, does it?

Anyway, I picked up a little book by John Stott entitled The Radical Disciple and it’s got a lot of food for thought… I highly recommend getting it.  Basic premise, “what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?”  And it’s a good questions to ask.  It may seem a little elementary but the implications of honestly looking at what it means to follow Jesus and then looking at our own lives can be revealing to say the least.

Boiled down, we’re a disciple of 1 of 5 things:

1. Relativism — what works best now for me
2. Pluralism — I’ll take a little bit of what everyone suggest, bake it up, and that should do the trick
3. Materialism — “All I need is this paddle game… and this lamp.”  See Steve Martin’s The Jerk  if you don’t know what I’m talking about, but I’m sure materialism is pretty self explanatory.
4. Narcissism — Self love
5. Jesus — see Romans 8:29

Being a disciple isn’t just bearing the title Christian but a doer, follower, and obedient to the leading of Jesus.  His grace is sufficient so take a hard look… what are you a disciple of?

walk on,

Pastor Andrew

In the 1996 movie The Ghost and the Darkness Charles Remington, played by Michael Douglas, gives Col. Patterson, Val Kilmer, some invaluable advice.  At one point in the movie Col. Patterson goes into the wilderness looking for the renegade lions with a new rifle.  Soon into the hunt he finds himself staring down the sights of the rifle at one of the renegade lions.  The lion turns, makes eye contact, Patterson pulls the trigger… and nothing!  A misfire.

Remington later pulls Patterson aside to let him know how foolish it was for him to go into battle with an untested firearm.  Patterson had never fired the rifle to guarantee its trustworthiness in battle and when he needed it most it let him down.  He was lucky to get out of that situation alive.

One of the striking commonalities with David’s three mighty men is that they were all battle tested (2Samuel 23:8, 10, 12).  These men had proved themselves when the heat was turned up.  One, single handily took down 800 men with a spear (23:8), another stood his ground with David when everyone else retreated (23:9, 10) and still, the third stood his ground while others ran away from the fight (23:12).  In every case, these were battle tested and proven men.

As a leader you’ve got to know who you’re going into battle with.  Have they been tested?  Have they proven themselves trustworthy?  Or are you headed into the battles of everyday life, leadership or whatever you’ve been called to with untested men?  You don’t need many around you but the ones that are need to be battle tested!

walk on,

Pastor Andrew 

Friends, close friends are far and few between.  I’ve honestly been shocked when I meet someone who says they got an entourage of close friends that rolls some 10-15 deep.  I just wonder, “How in the world are you that close to so many people?”  The answer is, they really can’t be.

As I’ve looked at David’s mighty men in 2Samuel 23:8-39 the second lesson to be learned is there were only a few.  Yeah we’ve got a list of some 30 valiant warriors but there were only three that David considered mighty.

Any number of others were no doubt instrumental in David’s life but when it came down to it he wisely selected three that he was obviously closets to and knew the best.  And it’s not just something David was known for but even Jesus himself had three out of the twelve he was closer to than the rest.

It’s easy this day and age to have a laundry list of acquaintances but who are those closest to you… those you would consider mighty?  Who are the people who really know you — the good, bad and everything in-between?  Who are those few you can let your guard down, be transparent with and who ask you the tough questions?  The thing is, we can’t be like this with everyone.  We don’t have the time nor is it wise to be this vulnerable with too many.

You may have a lot around you, but who are your few?

walk on,

Pastor Andrew 

I’ve been absolutely seized by what God’s teaching me through 2 Samuel 23 and wanted to share what I’ve been pondering because I think it’s applicable for so many in a variety of ways.

In 2 Samuel 23:8-39 we have a list of some the baddest warrior men ever compiled in one place.  Not only is this an account of David’s mighty men but it serves to teach us a lot about leadership whether you’re leading a fortune 500 company or wrangling kids at home.  I don’t care who you are or what you do, we all need a few mighty people around us.

The first that struck me is that even among David’s most mighty warriors, his elite three… there was a leader.  Among three men who were unrivaled warriors and leaders there was one, a leader among leader.  Even among the mighty men They Had Rank.

Josheb-basshebeth was the man!  With a spear he alone wiped out a small army in a day (2 Sam 23:8).  This was THE guy who had David’s back in war and we can see why.  So, who has your back?

If you’re married it better be your spouse.  When everything else seems to be crashing down on you he/she is the one you want to go back-to-back with when the enemy seems to be pressing in.  If you’re single who do you know has your best interest in mind, will go the distance with you and you know will be there when everyone else may tend to fade away?

Who is the one?  In this day and age our relationships are either altogether nonexistent or so varied and many there’s no real substance to any one of them.  It’s good to have acquaintances, a good group of friends or even a few that are real close… but who is the one.

Even among David’s mighty men… they had rank… there was one.

walk on,

Pastor Andrew

For about the past year or so I’ve really gotten into running.  Before that, I hated it.  I use to hate it because I didn’t know anything about pacing.  I hit the road or trail like a bat out of hell only to find myself gassed less than a mile into it… and then a veteran runner gave me some advice.  He told me I should be able to keep a minimal conversation going while running.  That little bit of advice changed everything.

Now, I love to run.  It’s therapeutic and rejuvenating not to mention good for me.  But pacing goes a lot further than just dealing with running.  Pacing if not applied to living leaves us sprinting resulting in exhaustion!  If we don’t learn to pace our days, our schedules, commitments and responsibilities we’ll find ourselves barely making it from day to day.  We’ll end one day just praying to have the energy for the next… and that’s not living, that’s surviving.

For me, I had to start paring down some commitments, saying “no” and being more intentional about scheduling my calendar so my calendar didn’t start scheduling me.  This life we live is a race.  A race we need to find the right pace for so we can run strong.  Consider the good and bad things that weigh you down and prevent you from running the race you’ve been called to run.  And then, begin to experience the Spirit infused endurance that frees you to set your pace to Jesus (Heb 12:1-2).

walk on,

Pastor Andrew

I’ve been having some pretty intense conversations lately that are causing me to consider who and what has influenced me over the years.  You don’t realize but all of a sudden you find yourself on auto pilot responding to people and situations without asking how you came to that answer or conviction in the first place.

No this isn’t about my faith-basics like Jesus, the Bible or theological essentials that you would take a bullet for, but rather socially and culturally arrived at convictions I’ve picked up over the years… and frankly, some of them grieve me.

Even though some recent conversations have been heavy, investigating what and who has influenced me has been liberating!  It’s like hacking through an overgrown field only to find yourself coming to a breathtaking clearing.  At the same time some of this hacking away at influences has me discovering boundaries that have stood the test of time and I’m glad they have influenced me over the years.

At the end of the day, we must keep asking, we must keep investigating — we must keep determining what is influencing us.  What is it for you?  If it is anything other than the bedrock of the Bible (Matt 7:24-27), the shifting sands of time, people, cultures and personal opinions will sooner than later leave us all asking, “Who or what is influencing me.”  Because something is, it’s just a matter of determining what.

walk on,

Pastor Andrew

Lao Tzu, 6th century BC Chinese philosopher, is known for a lot of things one being his statement about any long journey.  He said:

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

I’ve recently heard some people from the church I pastor to friends I’m close to talk about where God’s taking them.  I’ve also heard from others who seem overwhelmed, not in a good way, with life in general.  Everything from never ending to-do lists to endless “good” things that could be done which are suffocating their capacity to accomplish the truly “GREAT” things they should be doing.

And whether it’s noticing God’s leading in your life or simply making it through today… they all begin by placing one foot in front of the other. 

If you’re not where you’d like to be spiritually, take notice of where you used to be and where you are today.  Remember and appreciate the steps God’s directed you in because what He’s started He’s all about completing (Phil 1:6; 2Cor 3:18)!

And if it’s about never ending lists and the “good” competing with “great,” step back.  Pray, evaluate and ask God for the grace to move forward… one foot in front of the other!

walk on,

Pastor Andrew

I got a call from a friend who was ecstatic yesterday.  She had the opportunity to lead a friend of hers to Jesus.  This was a friend she has lived with, loved on, rejoiced with and even suffered with.  In short they’ve done LIFE together.

And after years of joy and pain this person wanted what my friend has.  She didn’t want a list of books read, classes taken or seminars attended but rather whatever it was that made my friend different.  My friend isn’t in vocational ministry but that doesn’t mean she’s in anything less than full-time ministry… her life is ministry.  And because her life is ministry - being loved, loved and following Jesus - her friend saw that the gospel works!

Oh, that others would see our lives, our convictions in Jesus come to life and desire what we have!  The gospel isn’t moralistic how-to’s or behavioral do’sand don’ts but rather life in Jesus, acceptance into His Kingdom and that the gospel really does work!

walk on,

Pastor Andrew