The Care of the Soul

The care of the soul is not a program to be mastered; not an agenda to be followed; not a curriculum in which we advance. The care of the soul is a way of life—a way taught by Jesus, followed by the early church, practiced in communities in the mid centuries and almost entirely forgotten and neglected by the modern church today.This way of life is a clarion call to pay attention to God in the world and in your own life. Soul Care is about awakening to what really matters in life—far, far more than monetary success, personal achievement and individual significance. The more modern we become, the more likely we are to both forget and ignore the old, ancient ways that we see in the Scriptures. In today’s world, we value the fast and swift; the busy and the one who can multi-task efficiently; the strong and convincing.  By returning to our roots, we find a whole, other way to live--a way the ancients knew and practiced--a way that brought them life in the midst of trials and tribulation. We need this hope today, don't we?Our souls are in need of great care because there is great violence happening in the world today and great violence in our inner lives. The world seems so thin—so much turmoil—so much disturbing us. We seem on the brink of war with so many. Our inner worlds are in turmoil too! We’ve become over-medicated; over stimulated and over committed. We can’t do it all. We can’t keep up. We’re not sleeping well anymore and there always seems to be a committee meeting happening in our minds when we try to be silent.  The expectations we care in our minds about our work, marriage, money, relationships and witness to the world can sink us. They are heavy, often conflicting with one another and sometimes confusing. We need help.[tweetthis]The care of the soul is a non-linear, fluid and kinder way of life.[/tweetthis] Soul Care has a predictable movement which involves these developments:- an awakening that we need to tend to our inner life.- a confession that we can’t do this on our own and that we need help.- a humility to become a beginner in something we’ve never been good at but need to master.- a guide to show us the way forward.Perhaps we need to just stop here and say that the reason why there is so much resistance to the care of the soul is because we are not really good at all at: awakening, confessing, being humble and realizing we need a guide. Our culture has shaped us into almost the exact opposite of each of these postures of the heart. We have been led to believe we are already the enlightened ones. We have no need of confessing anything because we feel we have not done anything wrong. We are stiff-necked not bowing to anything or anyone. Thinking that we are the real trail blazers we have no need of guide because there is simply no time to ask anyone for guidance.Caring for the soul is seen first and foremost in the life and teachings of Jesus, himself. Since he said, “I am the way…” we would do ourselves some good here if we remembered that the first followers of Jesus never called themselves “Christians.” They referred to themselves as the “followers of the way.” This is mentioned five times in the book of Acts alone.I’m sorry that the church, in general, is not much help here. Addicted to programs, attendance and performance, we must return to the ancient ways to find our own ways of doing our life. I lament this so often as I travel, experience and witness the unfolding of our American attempt to be the church.  Personally, I feel like we are on thin ice with our smoke machines, performance driven ways and spectator like methods of worship.  I'm so thrilled to share a new and just released resource with you here. Our friends, Mark and Carrie Tedder have now released a way for house churches, missionaries, those who travel; those who can't go to church--a new way to worship. It's called, "Scattered and Small" and you can view it here. It's a way to worship without the frills and trappings and for those who might want intimate, small and more reflective.  I am thrilled to discover churches that embrace the care of the soul for the sake of others as a basic tenet of their life. I'm so glad to say, I know of many and lift of the chalice of my life to greet their life.Throughout the history of our faith, individual men and women have stood up and stood against the tide of culture defining our faith and how to do our faith. Throughout time, there have always been individual voices beckoning us this way or that way and a part of caring for your soul is listening to the voices who speak with authority, clarity and conviction.  Perhaps, you might decide to start reading books published 100 years ago–for in these pages, you will find a more distilled voice–a voice that we can benefit from in today's modern world. Ancient wisdom still lives today and helps us today.Potter’s Inn is a resource to individuals who seek to care for their soul and then offer that same care to others. Our Aspen Ridge Retreat is a place people can come to be trained, receive guidance from our trained spiritual guides, and explore more resources we offer.To get started or to continue in the journey of caring for your soul, I’d like to suggest the following places to dig in:

1. Get and read, Embracing Soul Care and do a daily reading. Use it as couples, in small groups, with a friend or alone. There are short entries to grasp some new thinking. Also, consider reading Soul Custody. Use this as a guide because there is a short study at the end of each chapter.
2. Consider having a spiritual guide—a spiritual friend where you can enjoy conversations that are deep; life-giving and healing. At Potter’s Inn, we offer this through Skype, but also in person at the retreat.
3. Attend a retreat this coming year. Consider the Potter’s Inn hallmark retreat: The Soul Care Experience. It’s a five-day, guided retreat covering the life-giving themes of soul care. The May 2016 is almost full but there is room in the fall retreat in October.
4. Consider the Soul Care Institute, which is a two-year, cohort modeled training initiative led by seasoned veterans in the field of soul care.

Caring for your soul is a spiritual journey that has tremendous benefits for our physical life, our human bodies and minds–who always seem to beg for more!  It is a journey of the heart and mind, where a place of convergence begins to flow onward and inward.Blessings as you move onward and inward in the care of your soul this year!  

Our Dilemma and God's Solution for our Lives

Our solution is life on God’s terms!Every day, I hear the complaints, laments and confessions of people who are tired, worn out and burned out. I am concerned because I hear these messages more than at any other time in my life and work. Being absorbed in the daily hassles of surviving; driven by the tyranny of the urgent and competing demands upon their time, energy and passion, life is demanding. Contentment feels as if it is life on another planet or perhaps only in eternity.We live frayed. We live fragmented. We live divided and we call this way of living the “abundant life.” Deep down, we know that any sense of abundance has eluded us and we resign to live our lives in a quiet resignation of desperation.[tweetthis]The solution to our dilemma is life on God’s terms. [/tweetthis]The fateful dilemma that we have found ourselves living in at this present time is assuaged when we realize that there really is another way of living and a solution offered to us. If we could live a life marked by robust sanity, we'd be crazy not to live our life in a way that promises us a true solution.The life of a person who is following Jesus is first of all a life! It is not ascribing to a doctrinal list of beliefs. Following Jesus is a new way of living—not just going to church; not just saying that we believe; not just adding Jesus into our already crowded lives. Jesus offers us a way of living that cultivates life—a life that is free from the brutal tyranny marked by exhaustion, speed and busyness.The Apostle Paul puts it this way, “In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all” (Romans 8:3 MSG). Our disordered mess is something Jesus came to address, rescue us from and offer us an alternative way that would be radically different from tending the grave clothes of our lives and calling that tending—life.In my work and every day in my work with people, I hear almost the exact same words that Paul again penned for us that describe so well, our every day lives:“I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?” (Romans 7:24).The solution is life on God’s terms.Life on God’s terms is marked by several characteristics, that if embraced and practiced —actually yield a life that is marked by peace from our inner angst; well-being rather than sub coming to the malaise of our current condition and a life that is satisfying and fulfilling. The life lived by Jesus, described by the writers of the New Testament and actually lived out by men and women in other generations can be ours today. Many of us are so absorbed and exhausted by our day-to-day lives that we have forgotten and possibly ignored the fact that there is a solution for us.To live this life—to attain this new life—we must wake up from the lull of our sleep and the numbness our current condition has resulted in and start to live in a whole new way. We can live oblivious to this way of life and daily choose to try to survive—rather than thrive.The life lived by Jesus and revealed in the Scriptures is marked by several important distinctions.

1. A life of rhythm. A life of rhythm is a life where we engage in our work and activities but then we dis-engage. We are not always on, available and obsessed with the doing of our lives. We discover a rhythm that is sustainable; a rhythm that fosters life within us not one that we endure with a slow, steady leak—draining us without any re-filling. Our obsession with work/life balance shows our predicament. We would rather try to “manage” our lives which few can do, to live in a rhythm where we are “on” then learn to truly “cease.” We see in Jesus’ own life a clear way of living that sustained and strengthened him to finish well—not burn out or give up or resign to a fate that was not his own choosing. Choose a daily and weekly rhythm. Choose to honor this rhythm and live in this rhythm for a month--a full 30 days and see what a difference you will experience.
2. A life with attention to the soul. Our interior life needs attention. Otherwise we will ignore the place where true life begins and emerges from—inside us. When we examine the life lived by Jesus and offered to us, we learn that Jesus used silence and solitude to foster the life within. He pulled away from noise, people and things and entered lonely places (Luke 5:16). There, in the quiet and stillness around him and within him, a deeper way of living is born—a life more meaningful than all of this hurried existence we experiences. Inner silence is that place where peace, contentment and satisfaction is cultivated. Without attention to our inner life—we will live obsessed with outer markers of success and live divided; rushed; and annihilating our souls. All spiritual writers agree on this one and fundamental point. Silence and solitude promote well being and without silence, it is virtually impossible to live the life Jesus came to offer us. A healthy life—a life that is living well—is a life that honors the interior life. What results is an active life—a life of giving out but a life also of intake, receiving and being. Practice 15 minutes of quiet every say and one hour of silence and solitude every week. Build this into your life. Turn off your technology and fast from being on and available.
3. A life of priority. Jesus made it clear—first things first. By this he raised our consciousness to live with a vertical perspective—a life continually focused with a Kingdom perspective. This is a perspective that we first establish in our lives—to live for what really matters. We then learn to re-focus and return to this way of seeing life as we lose focus, get consumed and need to return to our real and right priorities in life. We simply get back into the way of living with God as our solution and the ways of Jesus as our proven ways that nourish life. We can lose perspective and we can get off track—yet, we can also return and change our direction. We move away from “managing our lives” and spinning plates to a whole and other way of living. Wake up to the spiritual dimension of life and grow your soul by doing first things first!
4. A life of prayer. When we learn to live by prayer, we live in a deeper, more reflective and less reactionary way of living. A life of prayer is a life of going to our inner room—our hearts and learning to pray with words and without words. We experience the God who is truly with us in our day-to-day living and we turn often and quickly into a posture of prayer that becomes a place of life and encounter. So many of us struggle here. Having never been taught how to pray, we limp along. And implement new ways of being with God through prayer.
5. A life of living in a healthy way. True life is living with true health in mind. We honor our bodies. We rest them. We tend to them. We give the body what it needs to live and to live well. Since we are what we eat—we live with this in mind. We learn to make choices with our body that sustain us—rather than deplete us. We receive through good sleep, good movement and good nourishment. Since our bodies are the “temple” we live in a way that matters and does not abuse the physical address of our souls. Eat. Move. Sleep. These are the big three ways of honoring the physical dimension of our lives.
6. A life of forgiveness. We live making mistakes, messing up and stained by sin. The life of Jesus is a life of continual turning from the results of our failures with God, others and self and living clean. Forgiveness is at the core of the teachings of Jesus. We forgive our enemies. We forgive those who hurt and disappoint us and we learn that we can forgive ourselves. The journey towards forgiveness is a necessary pilgrimage to live a life of peace. There is no peace without forgiveness. We let go of hurts and failures. Sin is assuaged and we live without self condemnation that plagues so many of us. Sit quietly and see if your attention is drawn to someone you need to move towards and take the initiative to forgive today.
7. A life of serving others. The Dead Sea in the Middle East is dead because there is no outlet. The waters pour into this basin but there is no place for the sea to give out. A healthy life is a life of making outlets to give our lives to others and then we realize that this paradox happens. As we give—we are the ones who also receive. The hymn writer said, “Because I have been given much, I too, must give.” The life of Jesus is not an escape from human need and misery. It is a life of giving love, mercy and a simple cup of water to those in dire need. Choose to give to something to someone every day and certainly every week.

 Each of these seven distinctions require choices and action steps. We come to realize that this distinctive and living this way may not really be our normal way of living. But we can create a new normal—a life that is marked by these very normal and realistic, yet life altering ways of living. We sometimes live our lives on auto-pilot thinking that we do not have to give attention to some or all of these markers of true life. Yet, as we practice each marker—as we give each distinctive daily, weekly and monthly attention, we live our own healing and participate in our own transformation. As we live a whole “other” way—we discover that we are living a whole and other kind of life—a life marked by the ways of Jesus and a life sustained by God’s Spirit within us.What we need is a plan---a way to do this new life.  I believe that if practiced and embraced, these seven distinctives will yield the life we long for--the life we are attempting to live.  Take each of the seven distinctives and make a plan to begin to practice each one. These are not things to "add" to an already over committed life. The answer may well be to take away other things that over promise and under-deliver the life you want to live.For each distinctive, consider taking something out of your life and life style so that you can replace it with the markers that will sustain you and cultivate the life you long for right now.It's time to wake up and start living!     

Unpackaging The Jesus Life

It’s profound that the initial followers of Jesus were never called, “Christians.”  They were called, “followers of the way” (see Acts 9:2, 19:23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).  Evidently the new ways Jesus offered were so significant compared to their own futile ways that their name even reflected the direction in which they chose to travel in life. They followed the Jesus ways. The followed, the Jesus ways because the Jesus ways led to actually experiencing the Jesus Life.Today, in our tolerant, afraid to offend anyone at any cost way of living, we have lost the way that leads to life. We’ve become the tired ones; the weary ones; the burned out on religion ones that Jesus came to help. Over the next several days and blog entries, I’m going to give you an overview of each of the ways I describe that we need to live—to return to actually reclaim and recover what we’ve lost. If it’s life we want and most desperately need, then we will need to return to the one and many ways that Jesus lived his life. First, let me address the obvious question I’m getting:  Are there just eight ways we need to follow in order to live the abundant life you describe in your book? No, there are many ways that Jesus lived his life out for us to see as a model—as a way for us to live. In my book, I do not discuss some of the most obvious; most written about or sung about ways. For example, I do not talk about reading your Bible or praying or witnessing or going to church. There’s a plethora of books and sermons on such things I simply did not want to add my voice to this already crowded bookshelf. What I did in my new book, The Jesus Life was to explore eight ways that I ‘ve not seen written about, rarely talked about or spoken about—yet they are as obvious as the nose on your face. It does not take a degree in rocket science to be a follower of Jesus and to actually start living a better life than you’re living at the moment. But it will require a course correction. In the book I talk about the easy goal of simply trying to improve your life by 25%. Think of this way, what letter grade would you give your marriage, your closest friendships, your family life, etc. ?  What if it was possible to improve your life from a “D” to a “B”. That’s what I’m talking about in the book. Get the book. Start reading it and let’s have a discussion about it on the blog. Along the way, I’m going to offer a few incentives to encourage us to begin to follow the ways of Jesus. For example during April, we’re offering $50 gift certificate to a grocery store to be best written or video story that explains having a family meal together and what happened in the meal time. The rules are explained on our homepage www.pottersinn.com under “buzz.” Throw your questions to me and I gnaw on them and give you some feedback—the best I can about the life I think we’re all so desperate to live. But first, you have to get the book. Why don’t you order a few extra right now during the book’s release at Amazon.com and give them away to a few people you like and one or two you’re struggling with right now (the honest chapter on difficult relationships will help you here). And let’s get started living a life that is more in the way Jesus lived than how we’re doing it at the moment. --------------------------Here's the Amazon link to buy your copy now and get started:http://www.amazon.com/The-Jesus-Life-Authentic-Christianity/dp/143470064X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332966572&sr=8-1 

Jesus Without the Paraphernalia!

In a remote area of the Copper Canyons in the Mexican state of Chihuahua lives a reclusive people group named the Tarahumara. This tribe has the remarkable ability to run fast, run long distances, and run without injury over rugged mountainous terrain. Their racing method defies the billion dollar industry of Nike, Adidas and other footwear businesses that have spent years developing an ideal shoe filled with gel, air pockets, rubber or other secret elements. What defies logic, money, scientific research and common sense is that the Tarahumara run barefoot. That’s right! They run on their unprotected God-given feet. In the running world, this tribe is now legendary. Christopher McDougall’s bestselling book, Born to Run, tells the story of these greatest long distance runners. Now runners around the world are embracing the novel idea that to run fast and without injury, all one needs to do is run without any encumbrance; no gel sole, no novel tread, and no laces, buckles or clips.I share this because when I read McDougall’s book, I saw a similarity in what has happened to those of us who call ourselves Christians—followers of Jesus—but who have picked up so many add-ons, extras, rules, regulations, tips and techniques about how to live the Christian life. What if we could just go back to the barefoot rabbi himself and follow him to see how he lived his life? What if actually following his simple ways could lead the to life we are in search of?Imagine Jesus--without all the add-ons! Imagine Jesus without all of the religious paraphernalia!  Imagine following the God in the flesh man who came to show us the way. No trapping. No programs. No techniques. Just Jesus.How is that we have become so terribly lost in our world, void of actually experiencing exactly what Jesus came to give us--life?  I suggest it is that we have embellished the truth by 200+ denominations all insisting on their own way as the right way. We fight rather than follow Jesus. We study rather than follow. We add on because we don't trust that his way is really enough in our world.To live the Jesus Life, we are going to need to go back and dump out our spiritual back-backs where we have stored wrong information, old assumptions and notebooks crammed full of tips and techniques. Why not grab lunch or coffee with a friend and ask:  What add-ons do you think you may have incorporated into your relationship with Jesus? What can be jettisoned?--------------------------------------------------------------------------In The Jesus Life, I argue that we lost our way and that since Jesus called himself "the way"...then we will need to go back and actually follow his ways if we want to experience his life. Please join us on the journey by ordering a copy---hey why not order several copies of The Jesus Life.  If your order through us, we'll give you absolutely FREE a copy of Embracing Soul Care, which is a daily devotional to read and is an excellent tool to care for your soul as your re-think Jesus and all he came to give us!  Click on the offer on the right and you'll be taken to our bookstore through Potter's Inn. We have the books in stock RIGHT NOW and will ship them out to you ASAP!Or here's the link the Amazon where you can order and get a special "pre-order" price which will certainly increase when the book is released through Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/The-Jesus-Life-Authentic-Christianity/dp/143470064X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331571855&sr=8-1

In Search of the Abundant Life

Our best hope for actually experiencing this abundant life is for us to go back to the One who said “I am the way, the truth and the life.”[1] The problem is that many of us have majored on only one-third of this amazing, self-disclosing, God-revealing decree. It seems we have developed a fetish for the truth. Churches offer what they think is the right doctrine instead of helping people discover the life Jesus came to give. We fight over dogma insisting that believing the right thing will yield the right life.  The truth is the Pharisees in Jesus day did the same thing so many Christians are doing today. We are on information overload. We go to Bible studies, attend seminars and have heard thousands of sermons but this one reality remains: information and the amassing of information, no matter how true it is does not lead to life transformation.

This is not the age of information…

This is the time of loaves and fishes.

- David Whyte

 We have believed that the pursuit of truth alone will yield a life worth living, and so we have emphasized doctrine over life, facts over vitality, and information over transformation. Because of our relentless pursuit to get everything right, we’ve gotten it all wrong.Transformation is an experience. It’s something that happens to a person that alters the trajectory and quality of life from that point forward. It’s transformation that we most need to live the life we most want.It saddens me that my own church is embroiled in a denominational squabble which is now on the news and TV. We can build our theological silos and hunker down in them but the fact remains, that what most people are looking for is life--a life that is vital, real and sustainable. Here's the bottom line, it's Jesus who offers this life--not a denomination--not even a single church!  What worries me when churches squabble is that we move off center of the real message of Jesus. We get sidetracked in lesser messages; splintering people and making mountains out of molehills. Because I've been through this squabble once in my life in a former denomination which split, I just simply will not get involved in this one. There are far too many people who are surviving than thriving and my life's purpose is about helping people THRIVE!  I want people to experience The Jesus Life!-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I'm excited that the Jesus Life is in the warehouse--and at the moment in trucks moving across the country--soon to be showing up in your local bookstores. Potter's Inn is offering a very special offer to our friends!  If you buy your copy of The Jesus Life through Potter's Inn, then we'll send you FREE a copy of my book, Embracing Soul Care, which is a daily devotional; a 360 journey around your heart and soul. Each entry is topical and comes with three questions which go below the waterline to help you think through your own life more clearly. You get two books for the price of one. The Link on the blog takes you to the Potter's Inn store when you can purchase this special offering--and only through Potter's Inn!It's our way of saying thanks!

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[1] John 14:6

Three Forces to OverCome to Live a Better Life!

There are at least three important forces to overcome to begin to live a better life--what I am calling The Jesus Life!First, living The Jesus Life is counter-cultural.  Our culture has gone wild and the mainstream of the cultural flow has almost nothing to do with Judeo-Christian heritage.  Everything is permissible but not everything is advantageous to our spiritual lives. We have to remember this premise and we must be on guard about the fact that culture is perhaps shaping our minds and hearts more than Jesus Christ. To live the Jesus Life requires an upstream effort to swim against the cultural tides and ebbs and to simply attempt to live differently. You can’t live like the world does and expect to reap the fruits of the spiritual life. It’s just that simple.Second, the Jesus Life is counter-intuitive.  Shaped by the world, our tendencies are these: to live life alone; to pursue wealth at the expense of everyone and everything; to cram our lives full of events, meetings and obligations that we have no time to pause, slow down and live out of a healthy center of our souls. We live frayed lives not whole ones. We live divided, now satisfied and we live empty rather than fulfilled. To change this deadly pattern, we must learn to practice some spiritual exercises that will get our hearts and souls back into shape.  I can’t run a marathon right now even if I wanted to. I’m not in shape for such a thing. But if I wanted to, then I’d need to practice and build up new reserves and muscles to be able to complete the task. The Jesus Life works in exactly the same way. We can’t live like Jesus without the practice of doing what he did. This is why in the book, The Jesus Life, I go into detail about living life differently in eight specific ways. We nourish the Jesus Life by doing simple things that foster the life to grow within us.Third, the Jesus life seems counter productive in a world that constantly shouts at us this sick mantra:  “Achieve, Acquire and Do!” Doug, a friend of mine said these three words are the haunting whispers he hears every single day and every single  year of his 60 year old life. He wants a different life now. The first life didn’t work. This is how many of us feel these days. But to life the Jesus life, we must understand that the world has a different standard of productivity than Jesus did. For Jesus, his standard was a healthy, whole and fulfilling life---all adjectives trying to wrap their proverbial arms around Jesus’ best expression for life—the abundant life.The abundant life is not the busy life. It is not the Baptist life and it is not the American life. We have to strip down our understanding of what Jesus truly meant when he said, “I came that you might have life.”  Jesus wants us to live—and to live before we die—right here and right now.I’m excited that The Jesus Life is now ready for release. You’re invited to live a new life—the life God wants for us—The Jesus Life.____________________________________________________________________________________________________BREAKING NEWSHere's a link from AMAZON to "look inside" the book and even pre-order! We'll be offering a great deal through Potter's Inn regarding getting your copy of The Jesus Life. Potter's Inn will give you a FREE copy of Embracing Soul Care by Stephen W. Smith when you order The Jesus Life. This will only be able for people who order through the blog! Keep looking because the offer will be up and running--maybe later this week!Amazon Link, click here: http://amzn.to/wVfMUj“The Jesus Life stands to become the trusted primer on following Jesus well. It’s a rich meal, well prepared. Give yourself to this book and you’ll feel like you’ve got a hand to hold, a cheerleader, and a reliable guide on the only path that really matters.”

Paula Rinehart, author of Strong Women, Soft Hearts and Better Than My Dreams

The Jesus Life Gathers Momentum!

 

 We thought you might like to read some of the reviews and endorsements coming in for The Jesus Life.  The book releases in April 2012 and the marketing for the book and message will begin in January 2012.  Hope you enjoy and help us spread the news about The Jesus Life by forwarding the blog and news to your friends!“Steve Smith always knows where the water is, and in The Jesus Life he taps a deep well. It’s embarrassing how badly most of us have missed what is at the heart of this book: that Jesus’ truth is not only in what he said but in how he lived. Our age has bred, to an alarming degree, the spectacle of connoisseurs of theology who remain mere spectators of transformation. It has produced more God-knowers than God-lovers. This book is a potent remedy.”

Mark Buchanan, author of Spiritual Rhythm and Your Church is Too Safe

 “Steve Smith cuts through the religious paraphernalia and daily clutter that obstructs our path to lives of purpose and power, and he clearly explains the simplicity of The Jesus Life in the Kingdom of God. He has deep insights into how we have come to live the way we do, in church and out. With refreshing realism and wide-ranging knowledge, he helps us identify dear illusions that bog us down and introduces us to simple steps and arrangements that enable eternal living. The directions he gives are self-validating. We have only to ‘just do it.’ The Jesus Life would be ideal for real spiritual progress in small groups in church and in community. Serious individual engagement with it will bring assurance that the life praised in our songs and scriptures can be ours.”

Dallas Willard, author of The Divine Conspiracy

 “I hear so many Christians despairingly cry out, wanting to know why they are not experiencing the abundant life that Jesus promised. In The Jesus Life, Steve Smith crafts a way back to finding this life. If you are hungering for this life, get this book and read it!”

Bob Arnold, executive director, Metro-Maryland Youth for Christ

“I have made it my custom to search for books that escort me onto the path of deeper repentance. I do this because Acts 5:31 calls repentance a gift and because Martin Luther rightly counseled that ‘our Lord and Master Jesus Christ … willed the entire life for believers to be one of repentance.’ The Jesus Life advanced my steps toward deeper repentance. This book bade me press truth into the cracks and crevices of my life for a much-needed turning from self and to Jesus. I am thankful for Stephen’s good work.”Joseph V. Novenson, pastor, Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church“The Jesus Life stands to become the trusted primer on following Jesus well. It’s a rich meal, well prepared. Give yourself to this book and you’ll feel like you’ve got a hand to hold, a cheerleader, and a reliable guide on the only path that really matters.”

Paula Rinehart, author of Strong Women, Soft Hearts and Better Than My Dreams

 “The Jesus Life is a link between knowing Jesus and living Jesus.  Steve Smith uses the daily experiences common to us all to guide us into the absolute livability of Jesus.  This book is thoughtful and engaging -- every page introduces us to a life that is rooted in Someone who is the beginning, middle and ending of all our stories.  After reading this book the Jesus life became more than a book title.  It is becoming an accessible way of life that I long for with renewed hope to be the sum and substance of my story.” Sharon A. Hersh, M.A., LPC, sought-after speaker and author of many books, including Bravehearts, The Last Addiction, and Begin Again, Believe Again.“We’ve tried everything to live life to the fullest only to find out that we lost the way life was meant to be lived. Steve Smith shows us eight practical ways Jesus lived his life that will help us recover the life that we have lost.”

Mark D. Linsz, treasurer, Bank of America

 In The Jesus Life, Stephen W. Smith provides a profound new contribution to our traditional understanding of discipleship. When we first come to Jesus, either as a new convert or to affirm a faith we’ve grown up with, we are asked to “commit our lives to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.” To this faithful proclamation, the doors of heaven open wide to us. Unfortunately, however, many of us understand this commitment primarily in doctrinal or belief dimensions. No one explained that commitment to Jesus as Lord includes the commitment to His way of life. Traditional discipleship programs teach us what to believe, how to study the Bible and pray, and how to live a moral life, but they leave off how to live it out in a way that leads to abundant life. Stephen W. Smith provides biblical and practical ways to live into abundant life the way that Jesus modeled it. The Jesus Life is an essential read for all new believers and, because most of never learned this other half of discipleship with we became Christians, it is an essential read for the rest of us as well.R. Thomas AshbrookImago ChristiAuthor, Mansions of the Heart