This weekend I will be returning to Washington, DC and will be attending a Homecoming/Homegoing of sorts to celebrate the life of a Pastor, Friend and Mentor. Rev. Sam Smith was my pastor when we lived in Danville, IL. My Dad was on his staff as the church's Minister of Music.
Years later he invited me to do my college internship with him in Washington, DC. My parents would visit the church, return and try to explain to me what a wonderful place it was. I was somewhat hesitant; maybe a fear of the unknown, a new city, considering obstacles I would face in picking my internship destination and getting that approved. A college choir field trip to DC First, directed by George Dunbar, during my senior year (my first senior year :) ) again was providential and helped to remove the mystery and mystique surrounding the situation. I fell in love with the place immediately and now had faces and names to put with my prayers about returning there for the internship. My request was approved! The director was leery at first, but upon learning that Sam Smith was behind it, soon acquiesced.
The tradition in March was for candidates to attend a lunch, with bags packed, ready to go out to parts unknown. They and their new pastor would dine and dash to a church in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, or Wisconsin. Only then did they find out where they were going for the next two months. Instead, I dined and drove the 700 miles alone to my new assignment. When I arrived though, I was really made to feel at home. I was in seventh heaven. I could not have found a better learning lab myself. The Lord was gracious.
Washington, DC First Church of the Nazarene (since then National C.O.T.N. and now "Mosaic: A C.O.T.N.") was "the church home for 450 people from some 45 different nationalities. Incomes range from those barely subsisting on welfare to a few earning more than $200,000 a year." It was a pleasure to watch Rev. Smith thrive in this setting. It's not always easy in such a context or an urban setting. Rev. Smith could "honestly say that the benefits of ministering in the city far outweigh the frustrations: 'I love the diversity. Within minutes of each other, I might be in a millionaire's mansion and a welfare home. I enjoy helping those people learn to love each other.'"
Regarding his preaching: "He learned that 'the farmer who's been alone on his tractor all day wants to know you're preaching to him personally. If you use notes, he'll tune you right out. He needs intimacy. In the same way, city people are starving for intimacy and love. Their real needs are the same.'
So Sam has kept his country preaching style - using few notes, lots of self-deprecating humor and colorful stories, and avoiding literate phrases that some may not understand. He firmly believes that 'the best sermons are preached where the pain of the people and the truth intersect.'"* It was fun to sit behind him each Sunday and watch the sermon unfold in this way.
Rev. Smith took his chances again and hired me to return after graduation. Following his retirement, Ed Felter was given the nod. He allowed me to stay on during his tenure. 3 1/2 years spent in ministry in the Nation's Capital was a dream come true.
So it will be bittersweet to make the trek but trek I must. One more trip to DC alone and back Home.
For more on Rev. Smith see -
http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?sid=10000023&id=10006599"
The Church Without Walls"
*excerpts & photos from "The Pastor in the Big City", Lyndee Breeding, Worldwide Challenge, Campus Crusade for Christ, Inc., March/April 1990, pp. 26-31.
