Human School Judah Smith: How to Stay Human When Everyone’s Watching
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:
- How Confidence Gets Built (Or Broken) in Childhood
- How to Stop Performing and Start Being Yourself
- How to Close the Gap Between Public and Private
- How to Handle Criticism Without Becoming Defensive
- How Repair Defeats Comparison in Parenting
- How to Prepare Without Overthinking
- How to Love Your Audience More Than Your Message
- How to Separate the Human From What They Do
- How to Lose the Ability to Make a First Impression
- How to Reach Out to People Who've Hurt You
- How to Make the Table Big Enough for Everyone
Welcome to Human School, where we learn what matters most.
Miles Adcox
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What We Discuss:
00:00 Intro - Welcome to Human School
03:41 Playing Tight End at a Small School: Graduating With 94 People
06:42 Why Judah Quit Football for Tennis (And Basketball)
08:43 Where the Drive to Be the Best Comes From
09:11 "People Like You and Want to Hear What You Have to Say"
12:17 The Day Confidence Broke
14:59 His Dad's Response
20:46 Meeting People Where They Really Are, Not Where You Think They Are
24:50 "I Didn't Believe I Was Smart"
27:48 Imagining the Life of a Stranger in the Audience Before Every Sermon
30:24 The Human Behind the Craft: How Does It Serve You?
36:58 "Here's Where I Get It Wrong Sometimes"
41:14 Working With Celebrities
51:04 Handling Criticism
01:07:12 Repair, Not Compare
01:15:39 Losing His Dad at 30
01:35:26 Why Storytellers Need More Grace and Less Comparison