Pastor Judah Smith doesn’t mind being challenged by the men he ministers to as the Seattle Seahawks chaplain.

The lead pastor of the City Church in Seattle, Washington said his beliefs have been questioned by both Seahawks players and coaching staff.

“Can I say I’ve had players challenge me who love Jesus.They’re like, ‘hey man here’s the truth,” Smith said on ESPN Seattle’s Brock Huard podcast, Above & Beyond recently. “‘Hey man are you only about celebrities? [Did] you take this job just because you want to be around famous players?’”

Smith has had his fair share of celebrity encounters and has been known to have close relationships with entertainers like singer Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. The preacher recalled questioning why the athletes he ministers to questioned him about his intentions with celebrities and soon got an answer.

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— Judah Smith (@judahsmith) July 18, 2018

“‘I look at your Instagram. I don’t know what’s the size of your church again,” Smith told former NFL QB Huard on his podcast. “And I can either go, ‘hey man what do you think..or I can go, ‘can we talk about that? Why do you feel that way?’”

Smith said he has been challenged about being publicly silent on specific issues and questioned about who he has voted for. Aside from Seahawks players, he said coaches have confronted him about doing a better job when being interviewed.

Instead of taking offense to the criticism that he receives, Smith said he relishes in those types of exchanges.

“A lot of lead pastors are surrounded by their own staff and I get the privilege of having a coach confront me about what he heard on a podcast,” he said. “I’m like this is really good for me and it’s going to help me grow in my love for Jesus and hopefully the way I represent him.”

 

(image via screen grab)