Things Above

James Bryan Smith’s thought from above this week is, “God is looking for you.” In this Christmas-themed episode, James talks about how God invites us into a relationship with him through the Holy Spirit. Smith quotes a sermon from St. Augustine to help explain his thought from above. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Conversation with AJ Swoboda and Nijay Gupta 2. Love Has You 3. Deny 4. Conversation with Aundi Kolber 5. Integrate Like Jesus The post God is Looking for You appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith has a Things Above conversation with AJ Swoboda and Nijay Gupta about their book, “Slow Theology.” In our fast-paced world of outrageous headlines and knee-jerk reactions, we struggle to hear God’s voice amid the noise. Despite constant connectivity, our lives lack true spiritual connection and depth. A. J. Swoboda and Nijay Gupta offer a practical theology guide for building resilient faith through Christian discipleship. Addressing spiritual deconstruction and doubt with honesty, they show how to fortify your faith against cultural challenges through eight transformative spiritual practices, including ● taking your time in prayer and Bible study, ● building patience for your spiritual journey and faith formation, ● slowing down your thinking and decision-making process, ● finding peace with unanswered questions rather than demanding easy solutions, and ● facing spiritual difficulties head-on instead of avoiding them. This Christian living book helps weary believers reconnect with God and neighbor through intentional spiritual growth. With a foreword by Glenn Packiam, it’s perfect for devotional reading, small group study, or anyone seeking authentic faith formation. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Love Has You 2. Deny 3. Conversation with Aundi Kolber 4. Integrate Like Jesus 5. Your Project The post Conversation with AJ Swoboda and Nijay Gupta appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith’s thought from above in this episode is, “Love Has You.” Smith talks about the impact five authors have had on his spiritual life. These five authors are: Ian Morgan Cron, Michael Cusick, Aundi Kolber, Alison Cook, and Curt Thompson, M.D. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Conversation with Aundi Kolber 2. Integrate Like Jesus 3. Your Project 4. Live By The Spirit 5. Conversation with Michael Stewart Robb The post Love Has You appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith’s thought from above this week is Christ is lower, still. In this episode, James talks about an acronym he uses called DENY. Depend on God. Embrace God. Nurture and Yield to God. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Deny 2. Integrate Like Jesus 3. Your Project 4. Live By The Spirit 5. Conversation with Michael Stewart Robb The post Deny appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith has a Things Above Conversation with Aundi Kolber about her book, “Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode–and into a Life of Connection and Joy.” Aundi Kolber believes that we don’t have to white-knuckle our way through life. In her debut book, Try Softer, she’ll show us how God specifically designed our bodies and minds to work together to process our stories and work through obstacles. Through the latest psychology, practical clinical exercises, and her own personal story, Aundi equips and empowers us to connect us to our truest self and truly live. This is the “try softer” life. In Try Softer, you’ll learn how to: Know and set emotional and relational boundaries Make sense of the difficult experiences you’ve had Identify your attachment style―and how that affects your relationships today Move through emotions rather than get stuck by them Grow in self-compassion and talk back to your inner critic Trying softer is sacred work. And while it won’t be perfect or easy, it will be worth it. Because this is what we were made for: a living, breathing, moving, feeling, connected, beautifully incarnational life. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Integrate Like Jesus 2. Your Project 3. Live By The Spirit 4. Conversation with Michael Stewart Robb 5. False Frames The post Conversation with Aundi Kolber appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith’s thought from above in this episode is, “Integrate Like Jesus.” This week, James follows up on his previous episode, discussing God’s deep longing for us. Smith explains the four modes of being we live in: family, work, play, and entertainment. He describes how Jesus engaged in each of these modes and why they are essential. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Your Project 2. Live By The Spirit 3. Conversation with Michael Stewart Robb 4. False Frames 5. Everything Okay Forever The post Integrate Like Jesus appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith’s thought from above this week is “pay attention to your project.” In this episode, James addresses some big questions about the project of our life and why it’s so important we understand what a spiritually fulfilling life looks like. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Live By The Spirit 2. Conversation with Michael Stewart Robb 3. False Frames 4. Everything Okay Forever 5. Awe Filled Appreciation The post Your Project appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith’s thought for this week is, “Live By The Spirit.” In this episode, James quotes several passages from C.S. Lewis’s book Mere Christianity to help explain his thought. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Conversation with Michael Stewart Robb 2. False Frames 3. Everything Okay Forever 4. Awe Filled Appreciation 5. Conversation with Ian Morgan Cron The post Live By The Spirit appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith has a Things Above conversation with author Michael Stewart Robb about his book, “The Kingdom Among Us: The Gospel According to Dallas Willard.” Despite perennial attraction to his teachings, Dallas Willard’s theology has not been easy for his readers and colleagues to figure out or piece together. His approach to theology was an odd one. His five bestselling books on the Christian life were a “side job” to his quiet career as a professional philosopher. To what, if not to his profession, can one attribute the lasting attraction of his books? On one hand, it is Willard’s rhetorical skill and his cross-disciplinary knowledge–philosophical, psychological, biblical–regarding the central issues of human life. But more importantly, his books all proclaim a gospel which in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries can be especially hard to hear. Willard spoke of this gospel in biblical terms, “the gospel of the kingdom,” a gospel of spiritual living. The Kingdom Among Us presents a comprehensive account of that gospel.But it is much more than mere interpretation. By examining both Willard’s writings and hundreds of hours of audio recordings, Michael Stewart Robb both recovers and expands Willard’s theological vision. The book will help long time readers of Willard’s books make sense of his position in professional theology and philosophy. Robb’s reconstruction of a gospel of spiritual living will help scholars, theologians, and philosophers make sense of Willard’s “side job.” But all readers will encounter in these pages the most complete picture available of one of the giants of modern Christian spirituality. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. False Frames 2. Everything Okay Forever 3. Awe Filled Appreciation 4. Conversation with Ian Morgan Cron 5. Solitude The post Conversation with Michael Stewart Robb appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

In this episode, James Bryan Smith’s thought from above is, “Find freedom from the false frames.” This week, James talks about three false narratives that he had to change in his life. Smith uses the image of a frame to help explain his thought from above. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Everything Okay Forever 2. Awe Filled Appreciation 3. Conversation with Ian Morgan Cron 4. Solitude 5. Trusting and Training The post False Frames appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith’s thought from above this week is, “Jesus makes everything okay forever.” In this episode, James discusses a recently-read book titled “The Thing That Would Make Everything Okay Forever: Transcendence, Psychedelics, and Jesus Christ.” The author, Ashley Lande, wrote this to describe her book: For years, psychedelics were my religion. All I ever wanted was The Thing That Would Make Everything Okay Forever, the panacea, the cure for what plagued me. From those first moments when I tasted the earthy pulp of a psilocybin mushroom, it was love. Psychedelics were my sacrament. They shot me into cathedral vaults. The promise of eternal life through chemicals glittered seductively, but hid a yawning abyss. The Thing That Would Make Everything Okay Forever tells my story of psychedelic devastation and spiritual rescue. It chronicles my trajectory from acid enthusiast to soul-weary druggie to psychedelic refugee. I finally found The Thing That Would Make Everything Okay Forever―in the last place I thought to look. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Awe Filled Appreciation 2. Conversation with Ian Morgan Cron 3. Solitude 4. Trusting and Training 5. Conversation with Alison Cook The post Everything Okay Forever appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith’s thought from above today is, “Practice Awe-Filled Appreciation.” In this episode, James teaches us the spiritual practice of Awe-Filled Appreciation. James gives five examples of why this practice is helpful and how to do it independently. Related Episodes: 1. Solitude 2. Solitude 3. Trusting and Training 4. Conversation with Alison Cook 5. Two Kinds of Faith The post Awe Filled Appreciation appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith has a Things Above Conversation with Ian Morgan Cron about his latest book, “The Fix.” We all suffer from a sense of spiritual homelessness–a feeling that we’re not fully at home in the world. To cope with our painful feelings and life traumas, we search for quick “fixes” that eventually become habitual, self-destructive behaviors that ultimately create more problems than they solve. As a person in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, Ian Cron is no stranger to these destructive habits. It wasn’t until he embraced the Twelve Steps that he found true freedom. He knows from personal experience that Twelve Step recovery is more than just a life-saving strategy for guiding substance users into sobriety. Everybody is addicted to something to numb the discomfort of living in a messed-up world, he says, but the good news is that if you committedly “work the steps,” you will eventually have a vital spiritual awakening that will give you an entirely new and radically beautiful orientation toward the life God has for you. If you long for sustainable healing and joy amid life’s messiness, The Fix invites you to: Journey step-by-step through a spiritual curriculum that has helped millions overcome trauma, pain, and brokenness for over eight decades Understand how the Twelve Steps can be a transformative tool not only for people with chemical or behavioral addictions but for anyone who wants to move beyond self-help to a spiritual awakening Catch yourself in the act of self-sabotaging behaviors and understand how each day is a new opportunity to trade in self-willed reformation for grace-powered transformation   “My original subtitle for this book–Twelve Steps to Unscrewing Your Screwed-Up Life–was a little over the top,” Ian comments. “But anyone who has ever fallen for a quick fix (like drugs, alcohol, porn, overeating, work, religion, people-pleasing, and more) knows firsthand how our self-prescribed treatment plans derail us. They might not be as visible as empty bottles stashed inside a desk drawer, but they are just as life-complicating and soul-crushing.” With his characteristic wit and transparent self-disclosure, Ian guides us in learning how to work each of the Twelve Steps so we will finally be given a “new pair of glasses” through which we will be able to see ourselves, others, and the world in a startlingly new way–and ultimately take hold of the freedom God has been waiting to give us all along. Related Episodes: 1. Solitude 2. Trusting and Training 3. Conversation with Alison Cook 4. Two Kinds of Faith 5. Michael Cusick Sacred Attachment The post Conversation with Ian Morgan Cron appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith’s thought from above this week is, “Solitude is the furnace of the soul.” In this episode, James talks about temptation and how we can deal with it through the practice of solitude. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Trusting and Training 2. Conversation with Alison Cook 3. Two Kinds of Faith 4. Michael Cusick Sacred Attachment 5. All Things New The post Solitude appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

In this episode, James Bryan Smith’s thought from above is, “quit trying, start trusting, and begin training.” Smith explains why we need to quit relying on our efforts to live a Christian life and start trusting in the grace of Jesus to help us live out our faith. Once we move from trying to trusting, we can begin training. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Conversation with Alison Cook 2. Two Kinds of Faith 3. Michael Cusick Sacred Attachment 4. All Things New 5. Know Your Name The post Trusting and Training appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith has a Things Above conversation with author, Alison Cook on her latest book, Boundaries for Your Soul: How to Turn Your Overwhelming Thoughts and Feelings into Your Greatest Allies. Boundaries for Your Soul includes relatable anecdotes, helpful exercises, an engaging quiz, and opportunities for personal reflection. Gathering the wisdom from the authors’ twenty-five years of combined advanced education, biblical studies, and clinical practice, this book will set you on a journey to become the loving, authentic, joyful person you were created to be. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Two Kinds of Faith 2. Michael Cusick Sacred Attachment 3. All Things New 4. Know Your Name 5. Conversation with Matt Johnson Part Two The post Conversation with Alison Cook appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith’s thought from above this week is, “We need two kinds of faith.” In this episode, Smith talks about the two kinds of faith we need to have as defined by the author C.S. Lewis. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Michael Cusick Sacred Attachment 2. All Things New 3. Know Your Name 4. Conversation with Matt Johnson Part Two 5. Conversation with Matt Johnson The post Two Kinds of Faith appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

James Bryan Smith has a Things Above Conversation with author Michael J. Cusick about his book, Sacred Attachment. Michael will be a plenary speaker at The Apprentice Gathering 2025, register here! Michael John Cusick voices the questions and contradictions that are inherently part of living an authentic spiritual faith. With raw honesty and vulnerability, he shares his own zigzagging path to God and reveals how brokenness and pain can become the gateway to experiencing joyful divine attachment. Because God’s love has you, you can put aside fear and loneliness—and you can rest seen, soothed, safe, and secure in God’s presence. Cusick’s gentle, trauma-informed guidance lets you reimagine life with God in a way that repairs wounds and deeply satisfies your soul. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. All Things New 2. Know Your Name 3. Conversation with Matt Johnson Part Two 4. Conversation with Matt Johnson 5. Gratitude The post Michael Cusick Sacred Attachment appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

In this episode, James Bryan Smith’s thought from above is, “Jesus makes all things new.” To help explain his thought from above, James references the book “On the Incarnation” by Athanasius of Alexandria. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Know Your Name 2. Conversation with Matt Johnson Part Two 3. Conversation with Matt Johnson 4. Gratitude 5. Let Nothing Disturb You The post All Things New appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

In this episode, James Bryan Smith’s thought from above is, “Do you know your name?” James’s thought from above comes from one of the unspoken sermons by George MacDonald. Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here! Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! Related Episodes: 1. Conversation with Matt Johnson Part Two 2. Conversation with Matt Johnson 3. Gratitude 4. Let Nothing Disturb You 5. Talk With God The post Know Your Name appeared first on Apprentice Institute.