It's not uncommon for Christians to regard church as a passive, personal, or receptive experience — as being about "what I can get out of it." However, church by its very nature is not a personal experience; it's a corporate one. And according to the New Testament, the key attitude we are to bring with us to church is love — that consistent determination to serve, build up, and encourage others. Please join us as Andrew Smith helps us think about how to love our church, whether we're feeling enthusiastic about that or not. We'll consider together how such love can be expressed in a multitude of ways, big and small, Sunday by Sunday, through the ministry that belongs to all of us: the ministry of the pew.

Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Andrew Smith graduated from Middlebury College, Vermont and trained for ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. Since then he has pastored churches in Massachusetts, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. Prior to coming on staff at Central as the Emerging Leaders Program Director for Resound Project, Andrew served as the pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Kennett Square in Pennsylvania for 14 years. He is an avid fan of Manchester United and the Ireland rugby team, and loves kayaking. Andrew is married to Tara and they have two grown children, Fiona (married to Randall; mother of their grandchildren, Nathan and Marcus; living in Boston) and Duncan (living in Scotland).