Episodes

In this episode James Bryan Smith has a Things Above conversation with author and priest, Tish Harrison Warren. James and Tish discuss a multitude of topics around their books including, liturgy, spiritual formation, and more! Tish Harrison Warren is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America. She has worked in ministry settings for over a decade as a campus minister with InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministries, as an associate rector, and with addicts and those in poverty through va...

“In difficult times you should always carry something beautiful in your mind.” – Blaise Pascal At some point in our life we ask ourselves the question, Who am I? We can spend our whole lives trying to solve this question and still never feel satisfied with the answer. In this episode, James Bryan Smith gives his answer to that question with a thought from above. The thought from above is this: We are who Jesus says we are. While studying the Bible, James came across a verse that stopped him in...

James Bryan Smith opens this episode with a story about the first church he served in as a youth pastor to help explain this thought from above. We are all different but we are one. The church had just gone through a split due to a disagreement among the members. Smith asked his mentor, Dallas Willard for some advice on what to do during this time. Dallas said, “When we disagree it’s precisely not the time to divide. This is the time when we have the chance for God to do something great.” Jame...

In this Things Above episode, James Bryan Smith has a conversation with Carolyn Arends. Carolyn has released 12 albums and is the author of 3 critically-acclaimed books. 15 of Arends’ songs have become top 10 radio singles on the Canadian pop and US Christian charts. Arends has earned 2 Dove Awards, 3 Juno Nominations, and was recognized as the West Coast Music Awards’ Songwriter of the Year. Her prose has been recognized by The Word Guild, The Evangelical Press Association and The Canadian Chur...

“The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart – this you will build your life by, and this you will become.” – James Allen The thought from above for this episode is, “you are designed for a divine destiny.” James opens up the episode talking about the recent discovery of 2,000 year old Date seeds (link to the article at the bottom of the page). Smith uses the story of the Date seeds to help us understand this weeks thought from above. The Date seeds, had ...

Our thought from above in this episode is, “faith shines best in darkness.” James Bryan Smith tells us the story about one of his students who was struggling with her faith, just before heading off to Seminary. This student was experiencing, what Smith would call, a dark night of the soul. James goes on to explain how we all experience a dark night of the soul at some point in our lives, but it is in these nights that we grow in our faith more than we can ever understand. “In the dark night of t...

James Bryan Smith has a Things Above conversation with Michael John Cusick. In this episode, they discuss a multitude of topics all related to the soul. How do we understand our soul and how do we help to restore it? Michael is a Licensed Professional Counselor, spiritual director, speaker, and author of two books including Surfing for God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle and Somebody’s Daughter: An Experiential Guide. Having experienced the restoring touch of God in a dee...

The thought from above in this episode is: “God doesn’t call the qualified, God qualifies the called.” James Bryan Smith explains the thought from above in detail through his own experiences, and from others in the bible. Smith begins the episode talking about an experience he had as a student at Friends University in his campus fellowship group. A few of the group leaders asked James if he would share his testimonial story with the group and he accepted but was worried because he did not feel ...

James Bryan Smith begins season three of the things above podcast with this thought from above: “we are indebted to hope.” In this episode James talks about our life through the spirit in the passage in Romans 8. As he goes through the passage, Smith explains how we have been adopted into the family of God and what that means for us. At the end of the episode Smith closes with a quote from Paul in Romans 15 “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind tow...