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Sam Smith - Fellowship of Ailbe
Sam is a transplanted Southerner who moved to northern California during grade school. Although a church-goer, it was during his first year in college that he sensed something not right with his soul. Through friends who invited him to a Christian college ministry, he was challenged that faith in God included becoming a "follower" of Jesus along with accepting His offer of forgiveness. In John 8:31, he read, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
In the summer of 1972, while sitting on a beach in Florida, Sam asked Jesus be the Lord of his life, and from that point, God began unfolding his life's purpose.
Sam serves as the managing editor of the Worldview Church. He has been an Evangelical Free Church pastor for over twenty years and is a graduate of Cal State University (BA), Denver Seminary (MDiv) and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (DMin). His Kingdom missional focus is to provide training to evangelical leaders to see relationships covenantally and live accordingly. He lives in beautiful northern Michigan with his wife, Meredith; they are the parents of five children.
Specifically, the dilemma of being asked to participate in a so-called “same-sex” wedding is either running the risk of alienating those whom they must show God’s love or displeasing the Lord. God has structured relational bonds after a pattern that reflects His relationship with His people. It is called “covenant” that speaks of roles and…
The Fellowship of Ailbe, or simply the Fellowship, derives its name from an Island stop-over where Irish missionaries came to be refreshed. What makes this 6th century retreat a symbol our 21st century Fellowship is that its members—active pastors and chaplins—glean from patterns of spiritual formation and missional engagement that arose through Patrick’s (early 5th…
This morning I prayed with two Fellowship of Ailbe (FoA) members, and our united hearts strengthened my soul during this season of change and testing. Every Christian needs others who both know one’s struggles and who will come alongside to intercede and offer encouragement. Even more, so do spiritual shepherds of the Lord Jesus’ Church…
How can we distinguish what are the “things that are above” as opposed to “things that are on the earth” that Colossians 3:2 draws a contrast? I am not a dualist and therefore know that everyday tasks can have a God-glorifying potential.
When we approach one of life’s cross-roads--be it accepting a call to a church, pursuing additional education or partnering in a ministry endeavor—pastors already understand that both faith and discernment are needed. However, rather than acquiesce to what seemingly is the providence of God, the Lord’s Spirit is coaching us to doggedly pursue a mission…
In 1998, I began meeting one day each month with ten other Evangelical Free Church pastors in the Puget Sound region (Washington State) to forge my personal mission statement. For the first four months a facilitator led us through Focusing Leaders Network, a guided assessment for discovering the best applications of each one’s giftedness. We…
Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32) A few unwelcomed experiences, that seemingly contradict God’s character, will push you into liminality, a twilight zonish like perplexity where you ask,…