Clay Smith
@claysmith79
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Pastor @johnsonferry (ATL). Trying to help people find truth, belonging, and purpose in Jesus. Dedicated to my family, health, leadership, and my local church.
Marietta, GA
Joined November 2020
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Pinned Tweet
Success in ministry is not about how many people are following you, but in how many people are following Jesus.
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If you are a pastor whose defense for not going to Seminary is "well, Jesus didn't go to Seminary", remember..... you are not Jesus.
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Here’s a top 10 list of all the ways the crazy events of this past week have changed the mission of the church and what we are to focus on:
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I attend a lot of Pastor 's conferences & the theme is usually: "don't quit, it's hard, but hold on." (a needed message for sure)
I would also love to attend a conference one day where the theme is: "can you believe we get to do this?, what a privilege, this is awesome."
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Sometimes I hear younger pastors romanticize church discipline and I think .. you’ve obviously never had to do it.
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If you are a pastor, you are NOT a CEO, an "influencer", a life coach ; though your job may require skills learned from all three. If you are a pastor you are a SHEPHERD. Feed, lead, guide and protect the sheep.
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Pastor: If you read the Bible text prior to the sermon, do it well. Make it come alive with your voice and inflection.
A text well read is a sermon once preached.
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The best way to incentivize your church to bring their Bibles on Sunday is to preach in such a way that they actually need it.
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I wish the pilgrims had eaten Ribeyes that first Thanksgiving.
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I've had a few preaching opportunities lately speaking to those 25 and under. What I see, anecdotally, is a generation hungry for depth, truth and interpretive precision.
They don't want fluff. They want the good stuff. Give them the real Bible. Not a fortune cookie.
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Church boards constituted with leaders who don't attend the church is absolute lunacy.
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I have preached most Sundays for the last several years. Yet, Sunday after Sunday, I feel inadequate to the task. I guess that's the point. Without God, I'm just spewing words. I pray the Holy Spirit shows up and does what I cannot. Please.
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Having a critical spirit is a cancer that will kill your soul. And I've given in to it at times. Putting others down, looking for faults rather than building others up. Assuming the worst. It feels like a win by "speaking truth" but it often ends up being a loss for the Kingdom.
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Can we all just pray for
@pastorrolland
& his role as
#sbc
EC Chairman? Talk about a thankless job and one with circumstances few (meaning: no one) would sign up for. Oh, and a church to pastor through a pandemic on top of that. Brother, we appreciate and thank you. Keep going!!
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Love this. I'm so grateful for a national leader who begins his day in prayer to the Lord.
@SpeakerJohnson
gave me a tour of the Congressional Prayer Room.
"We'll be using it every morning."
"This will be my discipline to come in here and seek the Lord's guidance for what we do each day."
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New Apple pregnant man emoji.
We've reached a new level of idiocy.
Men don't become pregnant with children. They raise them, love them, nurture them, challenge them. But they don't birth them.
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I fear we have an impending leadership crisis for churches in the next 5 years. The current pool of future leaders/pastors is alarmingly thin. We need to call out the called. We need our kids & student ministries to be developing leaders who will lead us forward in the future. 🙏🏻
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Leadership is pretty easy when you are not the one in charge.
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Public shaming is not the way of Jesus. Even if you're right.
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Had the privilege of baptizing my youngest daughter today (and totally lost it). What a blessing to be a dad and to see God working in my girls' lives.
@JohnsonFerry
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The church that can’t worship must be entertained. And men who can’t lead a church to worship must provide the entertainment.
A.W. Tozer
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Obsessing over the people who no longer come to your church is mostly a waste of time. Look out for them of course. Offer on ramps for them. But after two years, odds are they aren't coming back.
Focus on the people who are with you.
Focus on the future.
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The most radical thing a Christian can do is to actually act like a real Christian.
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This coming generation has a desire to have an immediate seat at the leadership table. I applaud this ambition. But to a generation driven by everything "feeling fair," I would humbly suggest that you earn the right for your voice to be heard with hard work & a teachable spirit.
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Am I the only one who takes five or six books home with me over Christmas break thinking I am finally going to get to read them? But usually end up reading none of them?
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I love pastoring a multi generational church. We need both the zeal and idealism of the young, but also the wisdom and historical perspectives of those who are older. We are better together.
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Instead of going to church to "get something out of it", go to church to "put something into it".
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I think the next decade could be incredible for the Church. There are so many opportunities to share and show the gospel. The world is broken. Secularism is proving itself untenable. Jesus is the answer. He is building His Church. There are LOTS of reasons for joy. What a time.
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Leadership is easy when you're not the one who is in charge.
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It's ironic that the Church today idolizes young leaders, but it seems like most pastors do their best work in their 60s.
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Pastor: the greatest gift you offer to your church is a vibrant, personal walk with Jesus.
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Hard to believe it's been two years. What a crazy two years. But I love this church. Love these people!
@JohnsonFerry
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The last 2 decades of church life have tried to convince pastors that our mission is to develop leaders. But I disagree. We are called to make disciples of Jesus. Some will be leaders. Some have a gift of leadership. But the Church is in dire need of disciples who make disciples.
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The great tension of pastoral ministry:
It's not your church, but you are
responsible for it.
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A lot of pastors struggle to preach during Christmas because they feel like "they have nothing new to say." Well, at the risk of oversimplification, maybe that's the point? Perhaps what people need most is the basic story; how the incarnation came to be. Preach the text.
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Twitter loves to dunk on the church. Honestly, most churches are pretty awesome, loving, caring people.
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One of the fun games we play when traveling to the
#SBC22
. "Pick out a pastor." On the plane? In the airport? They are pretty easy to spot 😂😂
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"Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire."
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
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You can preach to people over the internet, but you cannot pastor them.
Agree or disagree?
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Re: Preaching
IMO - most really good 40-45 min sermons would be great 30-35 min sermons. Not a rule of course. But a better economy of words almost always yield a better result.
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Despite all the noise on Twitter, 95% of our theological tribe is awesome, serving Jesus & trying to get the gospel to all peoples. Loving people & striving to live holy lives. Grateful for so many
#SBC
pastors and lay leaders. Let’s press forward, together, into a great future.
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The "convention" of Southern Baptists has been tested of late. My hunch, however, is that we are far more unified than social media might suggest. We are committed to the Great Commission, to Biblical fidelity and to making disciples of all nations. Our compass isn't broken.
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If the "god" you worship never tells you "no", it's a god you've made up.
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Hiring a new pastor or staff member requires that you do your best to evaluate their:
Calling
Chemistry
Competency
Capacity
Character
All 5 matter. In any order.
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The Church on Twitter is a dumpster fire.
The Church in real life is pretty awesome, filled with mostly joyful people hungry for God's Word.
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Goodness: So many "takes" on the revival. Let's just pray for it, give it the benefit of the doubt (until it proves otherwise), and pray it happens in our own churches.
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Do you ever cut your grass and then just stare out the window and admire it for a while? Me neither
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You can be a pastor without knowing church history. Just not a very good one.
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Studying the history of fundamentalism (
@SWBTS
). When the Church takes a "militant" stance, it starts building fortresses and erecting walls against the culture. The short term cries of "faithfulness" usually end up leading to nothing but putting the salt back in the salt shaker.
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I'm all for the, "let's have healthy rhythms and take needed breaks."
But I equally like to hear, "let's work hard and sacrifice our lives for something greater than ourselves."
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I get why seminaries/colleges have shifted to online degrees. A lot of people would never go without that option. But I still hold that in person education is the best holistic experience for the learner. Online is better than nothing. But in person is still best (IMO).
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Some of the great heroes in the local church today are the volunteers (laymen) who spend hours throughout the week, preparing Bible studies to teach to others on Sundays. They don't get the publicity like a pastor. But God knows.. And they are invaluable.
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You can watch a church service online.
But you cannot be the church online.
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What a challenging day to be a pastor. So many situations in which you simply can't win. You say ___ and one group gets offended. Say ___ ,the other. A good reminder that no one is sufficient for this task. Jesus is the true in great Shepherd of His Church. Let's look to Him.
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It's so encouraging to hear the reports of revival at Asbury. It's natural to be skeptical & time will prove the legitimacy of its claims. But for now I'm choosing to believe God is at work and I pray it's the first of many such instances of God's people repenting & renewing.
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With each passing week, we see the incompatibility of the Christian worldview with today's secular ideology. Choppy waters are ahead. Faithfulness and courage are necessary.
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This is insane. God help us. Let's show these kids who they really are; made in the image of God. Not this foolishness.
Jen Psaki says sex reassignment surgery and puberty blockers for KIDS is “a best practice and potentially lifesaving.”
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Respectfully, this is not the way. The mission to reach the world with the gospel is paramount. But treating abuse survivors under the guise of them being a small % is not the path towards healing. Imagine being one of them & reading this. I think we can do better.
SATF report troubling. SBC has about 14.5 million members. Total accused & convicted abusers over 20 year span - about 700 persons. This translates to about .00005 of our total membership.
#RememberTheMission
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Whole body discipleship includes
Feet – Do the places I go glorify God?
Eyes – What am I putting before my eyes?
Hands – Where am I serving with my hands?
Heart – What am I passionate about?
Brain – Am I being conformed to the image of Christ?
Mouth – What am I saying/typing?
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Every Sunday is someone's first Sunday at your church. So much is at stake: Let's pray they hear the gospel and discover true life change through Jesus.
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It's ok to be a Christian & be patriotic. The former obviously trumps the latter. But many speak as if our loyalty - as believers - to the Kingdom of God negates any sense of loyalty to our country. It's possible to do both. They aren't equal. But it's possible to do both.
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If you liked Easter Sunday, guess what?.... We're doing it again next Sunday.
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It was great to have
@bryantwright
back at
@JohnsonFerry
today. I'm grateful for his friendship and legacy of leadership,
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I pray God gives us the President He wants us to have for the future of the
#SBC
. I also pray that we don't mimic the ways of a lost political world in how we conduct ourselves in the process. We are all on the same team, not objects for opposition research.
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It is sickening to see the volume of affairs, scandals, and moral misgivings that are associated with our public officials: on both sides. We are better than this. It is time for men and women with strong, moral fiber, to be leading this country.
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The best way to learn to be a lead pastor (whichever title you like) is to go be one. There are lessons you'll never learn until you feel the pressure of that seat.
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This has been a trying season for pastors. When I feel overwhelmed I frequently think of Martyn-Lloyd Jones, who preached to a diminutive congregation at Westminster Chapel (London) in 1939, whilst German bombs fell around them.
Then I think to myself, this isn't that bad.
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Somewhere, about 5pm on Saturdays, pastors begin the feel the weight of Sunday morning. The joyful burden of preaching, leading and protecting grab the heart. Shepherding isn't limited to Sundays. But it's Sundays where most pastors do their most significant work.
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As a pastor, it's so important to remind yourself that your calling is not your identity. My identity is not as a pastor. It's a calling I'm proud to steward. My identity is a child of God. My calling is temporary and contextual. My identity is permanent and eternal.
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IMO, Our greatest human teachers for the future of the Church are those living in Africa and Asia. There many are focused - not on elections and Supreme Court decisions - but on mountain moving prayer, repentance, revival and a "give up everything" attitude to following Jesus.
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Maybe it's just me, but I get 100x more out of reading biographies about great leaders (usually dead ones), than I do reading leadership books that give lists of principles.
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People without Christ aren't the enemy.
They are the mission.
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Can we just amend all future SBC orders of business to start with guided prayer? So needed and a wonderful expression of unity in the Spirit.
#SBC21
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The grind of preaching is not in the delivery, but in the preparation.
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The best way to conquer biblical illiteracy in your church is to teach the Bible.
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I'm thoroughly convinced that JOY is the most needed leadership trait in our day. Not fake, happy-clappy pseudo-joy. I'm talking about Holy Spirit drenched joy whereby you don't feel the need to prove or defend yourself in the eyes of others. You are truly satisfied in God.
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One of the great gifts of regularly hanging out with people in your church is realizing the irrelevance of most the silly pastor debates that surface on Twitter.
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A pastor mentor of mine once told me, "If you want to be a leader, you are giving up your right to a good night's sleep."
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Why is it that many Christians of our generation no longer speak of personal holiness?
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And while we are at it, Isaiah 6 is also not about the Great Commission. It is a text about God's impending judgment on Israel.
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God does not honor Absalom's in ministry. By that I mean insecure, attention-seeking, would be leaders who tear down those who built the platforms on which they now stand.
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Lots of passive aggressive
#sbc
tweets that imply the misgivings of others in our Convention; without giving names, details, quotes or specifics.
This is not the way.
DM, pick up the phone, grab a cup of coffee.. or just talk in Nashville.
We are all on the same team.
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Disagreeing about who should be leading a church/organization/denomination is not a reason to break fellowship. You don't have to agree w/ them. You don't have to vote for them. But at the end of the day... that proposed leader is a brother/sister in Christ. We are the same team.
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A lot of people attend church on Easter out of cultural expectations and/or to please a loved one. I'm glad they come. They've probably listened to the gospel dozens of times.
But who knows? Let's pray this year is the first time they actually HEAR it.
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We have put a renewed church wide focus on evangelism (purpose)
@JohnsonFerry
in this last year. Our student staff has been actively sharing Christ in local public schools (through groups like FCA) I heard today that they have seen 140 students accept Christ. Simply Amazing!!
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