Things Above

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! [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/things-above-donation/] Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! [https://www.friends.edu/undergraduate/theology-humanities/christian-formation-and-ministry-bachelor-of-arts/] Related Episodes: 1. Live By The Spirit [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/07/16/live-by-the-spirit/] 2. Conversation with Michael Stewart Robb [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/06/19/conversation-with-michael-stewart-robb/] 3. False Frames [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/06/04/false-frames/] 4. Everything Okay Forever [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/05/14/everything-okay-forever/] 5. Awe Filled Appreciation [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/04/16/awe-filled-appreciation/] The post Your Project [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/08/06/your-project/] appeared first on Apprentice Institute [https://apprenticeinstitute.org].

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! [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/things-above-donation/] Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! [https://www.friends.edu/undergraduate/theology-humanities/christian-formation-and-ministry-bachelor-of-arts/] Related Episodes: 1. Conversation with Michael Stewart Robb [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/06/19/conversation-with-michael-stewart-robb/] 2. False Frames [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/06/04/false-frames/] 3. Everything Okay Forever [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/05/14/everything-okay-forever/] 4. Awe Filled Appreciation [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/04/16/awe-filled-appreciation/] 5. Conversation with Ian Morgan Cron [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/04/09/conversation-with-ian-morgan-cron/] The post Live By The Spirit [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/07/16/live-by-the-spirit/] appeared first on Apprentice Institute [https://apprenticeinstitute.org].

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.” [https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Among-Us-According-Willard/dp/150648073X] 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! [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/things-above-donation/] Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! [https://www.friends.edu/undergraduate/theology-humanities/christian-formation-and-ministry-bachelor-of-arts/] Related Episodes: 1. False Frames [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/06/04/false-frames/] 2. Everything Okay Forever [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/05/14/everything-okay-forever/] 3. Awe Filled Appreciation [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/04/16/awe-filled-appreciation/] 4. Conversation with Ian Morgan Cron [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/04/09/conversation-with-ian-morgan-cron/] 5. Solitude [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/03/13/solitude/] The post Conversation with Michael Stewart Robb [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/06/19/conversation-with-michael-stewart-robb/] appeared first on Apprentice Institute [https://apprenticeinstitute.org].

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! [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/things-above-donation/] Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! [https://www.friends.edu/undergraduate/theology-humanities/christian-formation-and-ministry-bachelor-of-arts/] Related Episodes: 1. Everything Okay Forever [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/05/14/everything-okay-forever/] 2. Awe Filled Appreciation [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/04/16/awe-filled-appreciation/] 3. Conversation with Ian Morgan Cron [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/04/09/conversation-with-ian-morgan-cron/] 4. Solitude [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/03/13/solitude/] 5. Trusting and Training [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/03/06/trusting-and-training/] The post False Frames [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/06/04/false-frames/] appeared first on Apprentice Institute [https://apprenticeinstitute.org].

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.” [https://lexhampress.com/product/299483/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! [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/things-above-donation/] Learn more about the Christian Spiritual Formation degree Scholarship at Friends University! [https://www.friends.edu/undergraduate/theology-humanities/christian-formation-and-ministry-bachelor-of-arts/] Related Episodes: 1. Awe Filled Appreciation [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/04/16/awe-filled-appreciation/] 2. Conversation with Ian Morgan Cron [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/04/09/conversation-with-ian-morgan-cron/] 3. Solitude [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/03/13/solitude/] 4. Trusting and Training [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/03/06/trusting-and-training/] 5. Conversation with Alison Cook [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/02/19/conversation-with-alison-cook/] The post Everything Okay Forever [https://apprenticeinstitute.org/2025/05/14/everything-okay-forever/] appeared first on Apprentice Institute [https://apprenticeinstitute.org].