By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current
The Rev. Michael (Mike) Smith served as an interim pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in Geneseo, and recently returned to the Geneseo church as a guest pastor. He also shared some of the topics in the book he recently wrote, “Teaching the Pastor to Curse,” which he describes as a “collection of humorous and thought-provoking essays that help readers see their daily lives in a new light.”
Pastor Mike is an ordained United Methodist pastor, and in addition to his Biblical knowledge, has a warm-hearted sense of humor.
The Rev. Michael (Mike) Smith, who served as an interim pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in Geneseo, visits with church member Alan Yager at a recent Sunday service at Grace Church when Smith was guest pastor and shared a bit about the book he has recently written. The book, “Teaching the Pastor to Curse” is available to purchase on Amazon.com Photo by Claudia Loucks
He served as interim pastor at Grace Church in Geneseo from January though June of 2022 and added, that “It was one of the most wonderful experiences in ministry that I have had in my 50 years as a pastor.”
The description of his book includes “The author’s style is hard to pin down: part diary, part satire, part travelogue, part personality sketches, part scholarship and part pure orneriness. He will make you laugh, weep, cringe, and think – often on the same page. For over 50 years, Smith has written a ‘Sunday Post’ to share with his congregations and friends. This book is a selection of those writings, including such pieces as The Apostle Paul on an Internet Date, How to be a Manly Man, Driving in Florida, Those Chickens Nearly Burnt My Church Down (happened at Grace Church in Geneseo), The Pope Slaps a Troublemaker, A Ride with Farmer Tom (Tom Hitzhusen of Geneseo), and I Thought My Wife Was Trying to Kill me.”
Statements in the book’s information, About the Author, state: “Mike Smith, despite being an ordained United Methodist pastor, has been a misfit in the church all his life – a discomfort felt by many other pastors and church members. He has thrived by approaching each congregation as a laboratory – an opportunity to experiment with how to practice the mysterious love –demands of Jesus.”
He now devotes his time to writing and consulting. A graduate of Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, then Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C., his writings reflect influences from Benedictine and Quaker spirituality, the holiness movement, and faith-based community organizing. He writes a weekly blog that can be found on his website: www.jmichaelsmith.net. Readers can correspond with him there. He and his wife, Jie Wu, live in Urbana, IL. They are the parents of three daughters and four grandchildren.”