Wayne Smith ministered at the highly regarded Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky for 40 years. The church had grown under his leadership to nearly 4,000 members. Several years ago, Wayne was invited to Georgia to speak at a ministers conference. One attendee at the conference said, “We were all country preachers, and we held Wayne in such esteem that we felt intimidated being around him.” But it was at that meeting that men of God got a glimpse of what being real was all about.

    When Wayne was introduced, he got up with tears in his eyes and said, “Men, I’m in trouble. Some leaders in my church took me out to eat the other day and told me my preaching was shallow and I needed to study more, and now I’m hurting.”

He was humble, open, and honest.

    Wayne B. Smith could have gotten up in front of all those ministers and acted like he had it all together, dispensing expert advice on church growth and seemingly having everything figured out, but he didn’t. He was humble, open, and honest. As a result, the preachers gathered that day were truly encouraged and helped.

    Someone has observed that if you pretend to be perfect, people will admire you at a distance, for a while. But if you are honest and humble, they’ll love you up close for a lifetime. God used Micah reminds us of this truth powerfully when he said: “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV) Walking humbly with God allows us to be authentic. How real are you? Isn’t it time to drop your pride and quit your hide and walk humbly with your God?

Copyright (c) 2001, Timely Truths Ministries. Used by permission.
Title: "Authenticity"
Author: Brent Nidiffer and Jamie Shell
Publication Date: July 17, 2001

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