Have you ever felt like you're performing your life instead of actually living it?

Today, Miles Adcox sits down with pastor, author, and communicator Judah Smith for a conversation about confidence, criticism, and the courage it takes to lead with gentleness in a world that rewards strength. Judah grew up as a seventh-generation pastor, watching his father build a church from 20 people in a Courtyard Marriott to a thriving community. But what shaped Judah most wasn't the legacy—it was his father telling him from age seven: "People like you, and they want to hear what you have to say." 

This conversation goes deep into the duplicity that haunts anyone in the public eye—the chasm between who we are on stage and who we are at home.  The label "celebrity pastor" gets unpacked as Judah shares what it's really like to be a safe place for public figures while his own profile grows, navigating interviews that aren't about his message but about his friends. Miles reflects on one of the saddest realities for well-known people: they lose the ability to ever make a first impression again. Everyone makes up a story about who they are before they even open their mouth. 

From breaking tennis rackets to breaking down barriers, from his dad getting on his knees to ask his son to pray for him before he died to parenting his own kids with radical repair instead of toxic comparison, Judah reveals what it means to stop performing and start participating. He shares his preparation method—studying himself full, praying himself hot, and letting himself go—and why he imagines the life story of a stranger in the audience before every sermon. Miles and Judah discuss why the best family moments happen in the environment of repair and why artists are the ones who bring us together when the world gets polarized.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

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Miles Adcox

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What We Discuss:

00:00 Intro - Welcome to Human School