Episodes

In this episode James Bryan Smith has a Things Above Conversation with Bill Gaultiere. James and Bill discuss the importance of soul care, especially at a time when we are struggling with a global pandemic. Bill is a Psychologist (PhD; PSY12036 in CA) and pastor/mentor to pastors. He writes and speaks to thousands of people every week through the Soul Shepherding website, blog, podcast, and Facebook page. He was personally mentored for many years by Dallas Willard and Ray Ortlund Sr. His recent...

“For those alive in the kingdom of God, the world we live in is a perfectly safe place to be.” – Dallas Willard Life throws us many unexpected things, and we are now living in a time of uncertainty. None of us had planned for the virus to spread this rapidly. It is easy to be discouraged and feel upset at a time like this, but in this episode James Bryan Smith offers a different way to understand what is going on around us. It is easy to to be discouraged but it is also a time to say, “what co...

James Bryan Smith has a Things Above Conversation with his friend and fellow podcast host, Shane Blackshear. Shane is a Jesus follower, blogger, speaker & host of the podcast Seminary Dropout. The Seminary Dropout podcast features interviews with Christian authors, leaders, and thinkers where they discuss a multitude of topics around Christianity and current events. In this episode, James and Shane discuss the day to day decisions when hosting a podcast, as well as their favorite episodes and g...

The thought from above in this episode is: “We know our sin in relation to Him.” Sin is a very difficult topic to talk about. One of the most important things we can do is to think about how we understand it. We tend to be subjective to our own sin but objective towards the sin of others. We are often much more judgmental towards others and less on ourselves, because we naturally try to think well of ourselves. Smith says our fundamental identity is that we are “One in whom Christ dwells and ...

“What repeatedly enters your mind and occupies your mind, eventually shapes your mind, and will ultimately express itself in what you do and who you become” – John Ortberg The Thought From Above in this episode is: “Remember you are dust.” As we continue in the season of Lent we need to be reminded of the importance of the phrase “remember you are dust.” Lent begins with a special service known as Ash Wednesday. During the service there is what is called the “imposition of ashes,” where the min...

In this episode, James Bryan Smith has a Things Above Conversation with longtime friend and author Richella Parham. She is the author of Mythical Me: Finding Freedom from Constant Comparison, published by InterVarsity Press (October 2019) and of the Renovaré resource A Spiritual Formation Primer. Her online home is Imparting Grace; her physical home is Durham, North Carolina, where she lives with Jack, her husband of 34 years. Richella serves on the Ministry Team and Board of Trustees for Renova...

James Bryan Smith begins this episode by sharing a story from Deuteronomy 30:15-19. In this passage, Moses offers some powerful words at the end of his farewell address. Moses essentially says: I have told you about God’s commands and, at the center of them all, is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. He concludes with a warning, “Obey these commands. If you do, you will find blessings. If you don’t, you will find curses.” Smith explains that it can be easy to be frightened ...

In this episode of the Things Above podcast, James Bryan Smith gives this thought from above: "God is happy about you." When Jim's son Jacob was around 7 years old he asked him a question that brought tears to Jim's eyes. Jacob walked up to his dad and asked, "Are you happy about me?" While Jacob's grammar was incorrect his desire was not. He wanted to know, like many of us do, if the person he loved also loved him back. Of course most of us want everyone to think well of us. And it hurts when w...

James Bryan Smith has a conversation with Derwin L. Gray about our identity in Christ and how we can learn to love and see ourselves the same way God does. Labels you have internalized and apply to yourself every day. Labels like Afraid. Or Addict. Orphan. Damaged Goods. Failure. Maybe even Religious. These labels might be sewn into your life with such tight little stitches that they feel like a part of you. They feel like they define you. But that’s a lie. If you let Him, Jesus can remove those...

The thought from above in this episode is: “You don’t have to make it happen.” In the summer of his junior year, James attended an elite basketball camp where he learned a very valuable lesson about the grace of God. At the end of the camp was an all-star game that you had to be selected by the staff to play in. James goal at camp was to make the all-star team and be the M.V.P. in the all-star game. Before the game, the coach gave a speech titled “If it is to be, it’s up to me.” The whole point ...

What will the future be like? Will it be good? What will happen to us at the end of lives? These are questions we all want an answer to. Deep down we desire a future for ourselves and others that is good. But how do we know that in the end it will be good? In this episode James Bryan Smith explores these questions and how we can find answers to them. Smith begins with a passage from Isaiah 65:17-25. In the passage we learn that a day will come when God will create a new heaven and a new earth. I...

In this "Things Above Conversation" James Bryan Smith chats with Casey Tygrett. Casey is the host of the “otherWISE” podcast, a place for gathering wise conversations about living well on the journey with Jesus. He holds both a Master of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Formation degree from Lincoln Christian Seminary. He is the author of two books, Becoming Curious: A Spiritual Practice of Asking Questions (2017) and As I Recall: Discovering the Place of Memories in the Spi...

The "Thought from Above" for this episode is: "No more silly superstitions." In a previous podcast James spoke about how worry is essentially superstition. We think by worrying we will actually have an effect on a situation we are concerned about. For example, when we worry about something and then that something does not happen, we think it did not happen because we worried about it. This then reinforces the idea that our worrying can give us control over the situation. We do this because it al...

The "Thought from Above" in this episode is: Include Jesus in all of your relationships. The relationships we have in our lives are amazing but also challenging. There are times where we want the other person in the relationship to make a change in their life. Even if we are well meaning in our advice, it is rarely helpful and can sometimes drive a wedge in the relationship. Anytime we offer advice or correction in whatever form, it is in fact a form of judgment. In Matthew 7:1 Jesus gives us th...

In this episode, James Bryan Smith sits down with A.J. Swoboda for a Things Above Conversation. A.J. is the author of "Subversive Sabbath" which was Christianity Today's Spiritual formation book of the year. This book pioneers a creative path to an alternative way of existing. Combining creative storytelling, pastoral sensitivity, practical insight, and relevant academic research, Subversive Sabbath offers a unique invitation to personal Sabbath-keeping that leads to fuller and more joyful lives...

The thought from above for this episode is: Remember the Door. In this episode, James Bryan Smith recites a poem by Samuel M. Shoemaker titled, "So I Stand By The Door" Smith uses the poem to help explain his thought from above and how we too can, stand by the door for others. The poem is about being aware of those who have yet to enter into the Christian faith. When we stand by the door, we are not merely standing there and doing nothing. We are standing by the door to help those pass through t...

The thought from above for this episode is: Faith is acting on what you believe. James uses a story about the Prussian missionary George Mueller to help explain this week’s thought from above. George was crossing the Atlantic in August 1877 when his ship ran into thick fog. He explained to the captain that he needed to be in Quebec by the following afternoon, but the Captain said that he was slowing the ship down for safety and Müller’s appointment would have to be missed. Müller asked to use t...

In this episode James Bryan Smith sits down for a Things Above Conversation with author Jan Johnson. James and Jan have known each other for many years and both were mentored by Dallas Willard. Jan is a a writer, speaker and spiritual director who has degrees in biblical studies and Christian spirituality. She has written twenty-three books, including Enjoying the Presence of God, When the Soul Listens, and many magazine articles. She is also a teacher/spiritual director for The Apprentice Exper...

In episode 51 titled "Adversity can be a Blessing" James Bryan Smith tells the story of his friend Tim's biking accident. Tim's story of healing is an amazing one but there is even more to this story. A few months after his accident, while Tim was driving home from church, he noticed a pair of eyes looking at him from the road. Unsure of what he saw, he turned around to go and see what it was. When he arrived he found a man lying on the ground in extreme pain next to a damaged bicycle. The man's...

“When the clock of one’s own crisis strikes, the hour for believing in the benevolence of a greater mystery is near” (Adrian van Kaam) We all go through our lives and encounter times of adversity. In this Things Above episode, James Bryan Smith shares a story of a close friend who suffered a terrible injury but was able to find hope through his adversity. When the clock of crisis strikes in our lives as Adrian van Kaam said, where do we turn? James friend Tim chose to turn to the benevolence of ...

In this Things Above episode, James Bryan Smith explains the concept of a spiritual mirror. Smith learned about the phrase “spiritual mirror” from George Macdonald, a great Scottish writer and preacher in the 19th century. James quotes from Macdonalds book Creation in Christ to help explain the concept of the spiritual mirror. “When we think Christ, Christ comes; when we receive his image into our spiritual mirror, he enters with it. When our hearts turn to him, that is opening the door to him, ...

Josh Larsen sits down with James Bryan Smith for a "Things Above Conversation" about Josh's latest book "Movies are Prayers." Josh is the co-host of the radio show and podcast Filmspotting, author of Movies Are Prayers, and editor and film critic at Think Christian, a website exploring faith and pop culture. He’s been writing and speaking about movies professionally for more than two decades. In this episode, Josh and James dive deep into the impact art has on our theology. Movies do more than t...

Anger and worry are two emotions we deal with on a daily basis. We worry because we feel like it will help us to fix whatever problem we are dealing with. We use anger to make others behave as we want but in the long haul, it is destructive. In this episode, James Bryan Smith explains this glorious thought: relax, Jesus runs the universe. When we face problems, when we feel ourselves becoming angry or anxious, we do well to turn to Jesus, to invite him into our situation, to see our situation in...

In this Things Above conversation, James Bryan Smith interviews William Paul Young. Paul is best known for his book “The Shack” which has sold over a million copies. Young is a native of Alberta, Canada and now lives in Washington with his wife Kim. He is also the author of “The Crossroads” “Eve” and “Lies We Believe About God” In this episode, Paul and James discuss the struggles that came with publishing “The Shack” as well as how it became such a huge success. Paul explains that he only inten...