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Country Star Granger Smith Reveals Bold Reason He’s So Open About His Faith in Jesus
In today’s increasingly secular culture, speaking out about one’s faith can be intimidating. But there’s a simple truth — one that, admittedly, might make some people uncomfortable — that has led country singer Granger Smith to take that risk, regardless of the cost.
Appearing recently on CBN’s “Quick Start” podcast, Smith said he is confident to speak out about his Christian beliefs because “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” a reference to Proverbs 9:10.
“My quickest answer to that is probably the answer that would make other people shudder; it would make other people a little wary of it,” Smith said when asked what motivates his boldness. “But here’s my answer: the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
He continued, “When I say, ‘The fear of the Lord,’ it’s not like a Halloween scary. It’s not like a man with a mask popping out from the bushes. It’s not that kind of fear. It’s understanding Who is sovereign, Who is providential, Who has, as the old Sunday school song says, ‘the whole world in His hands.’ When you trust that and you believe that, and there is a certain aspect of that that says, ‘If I believe in this, why would I fear what anyone else says? Why would I fear anything from man when I have the fear of the Lord?’”
Smith, who recently announced his decision to retire from the music industry to pursue full-time ministry, is unabashed in his willingness to share his convictions and discuss theological topics, both on his social media feeds and when he is out performing shows.
His openness to discuss Gospel themes comes as American society is shifting away from faith.
While a majority of U.S. adults still self-identify as Christians (63%), according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, those numbers are in steady decline. Now, about three-in-10 American adults describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated — a noteworthy drop from the 78% who called themselves Christians in 2007, when Pew began surveying Americans on their religious identities.
At the same time, Americans are feeling progressively hopeless.
In the summer of 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data showing one-in-four adults ages 18 to 24 had considered suicide. Simultaneously, a Harvard Youth Poll of Americans ages 18 and 29 found 51% of respondents admitted that, over the course of the previous two weeks, they felt depressed and hopeless.
Smith’s Gospel-centered message is certainly timely. But, for him, it was born out of necessity.
In 2019, the “Backroad Song” singer lost his 3-year-old son River in a drowning accident. At the time, Smith told TODAY, the horror of losing a child revealed he “didn’t have a good faith” in the Lord.
He told CBN’s “Quick Start” he was relying too much on self-help tactics and not enough on God.
“As you feel physical and, really, emotional benefits from those things — because there’s a lot of good things in self-help [behaviors] — as you feel the benefits, you go, ‘What more can I do? This is great. Let’s just keep adding,’” Smith said. “And what you’re doing is you’re really developing a dependence on yourself — that’s kind of the whole point. … You’re helping yourself and, as you add to that, you’re increasing that dependence and relying more on yourself.”
“It took [the death of my son] for me to to go, ‘There are some things in life that self-help cannot fix or make better,’” he added. “That was the catalyst that happened in 2019, when I lost my son River.”
Smith has written a book, “Like a River: Finding the Faith and Strength to Move Forward after Loss and Heartache,” a memoir chronicling his faith journey through grief and sorrow.
“The book’s called ‘Like a River,’ and so it starts with losing my son to drowning in my backyard when I was there with him,” the singer-songwriter said. “A lot of times, when I was talking about writing the book and people would say, ‘You’re writing a book? What’s it about?’ And I would say, ‘Well, it’s about losing my son.’ … And as I continued to write, I learned, ‘Well, that’s not really what this book is about.’ It’s really not. That’s how it opens and the catalyst to it — that’s how the curtain opens — but really, it’s about me dying and me being reborn and the new path that followed.”
“One of the things that opened up in that rebirth was my son Maverick who was born and Maverick really takes over as the star of the show,” he continued. “By the end of the book, you realize that River got the title and he gets the credit of the cover but, really, Maverick is the star of that book. So it is so much more than, ‘This is a book about losing my son,’ which is what I used to say.”
Sources:faithwire
Actor Mark Wahlberg is crediting his faith for the massive success he’s had in Hollywood.
“My faith, and my family, and just finding good balance,” Wahlberg told Fox News, cataloging the reasons for his success. “But I have to attribute all my success to my faith.”
The “Patriots Day” star made his comments at the opening of his new restaurant, Flecha. He also had the establishment blessed by Bishop Kevin W. Vann of the Diocese of Orange Christ Cathedral.
Wahlberg is no stranger to sharing about his Catholic faith. In addition to being outspoken, he funded and starred in the 2022 film “Father Stu” about amateur boxer-turned-priest Stuart Long.
“You got to stay prayed up,” Wahlberg told fans the year the movie was released. “God bless you.”
Prayer is certainly central to the actor’s life. He has said he starts each day with Scripture and invocations. But Wahlberg doesn’t foist these values upon his kids. Knowing they see his daily example of devotion, he hopes it resonates with them.
“Even with my faith, I don’t force it on [my kids]. But they know that dad can’t start the day without being in prayer, can’t start the day without reading my Scripture or going to Mass,” Wahlberg told NBC’s “Today” in 2022. “And hopefully, instead of forcing that on them, they’ll say, ‘Well, if it works for dad, maybe it’ll work for us,’ and they’ll kind of gravitate toward it on their own.”
The actor’s consistency in his faith has been notable over the years, as he has discussed the impact clinging to God has had in his life. In fact, Wahlberg has repeatedly spoken about the power of faith not only to bring good things into his life but also to help him cope with issues that might unfold.
“As soon as I started putting my faith and focus on God, good things started happening for me,” he told Fox News in 2023. “And even when they didn’t, it gives you the coping skills to deal with things that are inevitable, like loss and failure and those things.”
Wahlberg added, “But, you know, again, my faith and my family, those are the most important aspects of my life.”
Sources:faithwire
It’s a story that needed to be told, says “Sound of Hope” writer and producer Rebekah Weigel, because Possum Trot is not just another small Texas community near the Louisiana border, but a town that chose to live out God’s command to care for the orphan.
“This is such an amazing story,” says Weigel, an adoptive mother herself, adding, “we need to see more churches step in” the way that Bennett Chapel Missionary Baptist Church did.
Back in the 1990s, W.C. Martin, the pastor of the small church in Possum Trot, and wife Donna felt the Lord call them to adopt a child. Martin began preaching to his rural church about what the Bible says about adoption, and the congregation was moved to action. In total, 22 families in the church adopted 77 of the hardest-to-place children in the foster care system.
“There’s probably only a couple hundred people in the community of Possum Trot, an unincorporated area,” Weigel says, “but, you know, they took it seriously, and they did it together as a community. And I think that’s something I really loved about this story, was just the sense of doing it together, like bearing each other’s burdens, and, you know, when one was weak, they came together, and they helped each other, and I think we need more of that.”
Now, the inspirational story of what happened years ago in the little community of Possum Trot is hitting the big screen on July 4 in the feature film “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.” Angel Studios is distributing the film. To learn more and purchase tickets, click here.
Weigel joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the true story behind the film and the experience of telling such a moving story through film.
Sources:BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS
Jennie Allen has had a front-row seat to much of the revival unfolding across America, particularly among young people.
She’s been speaking on college campuses and witnessing Gen Z’s rising interest in faith and the Bible.
“It is so real,” Allen recently told from the red carpet of the KLOVE Fan Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. “There’s no hype. They actually are hungry for God. It’s been the most beautiful thing.”
Allen has seen massive college-age audiences hang on her every word as she shares the Gospel, with the fervor so strong at some schools she’s found herself impromptu baptizing young people in the backs of pick-up trucks — or even in local creeks.
“They are responding to the Gospel,” she said. “And they are showing up in droves. So, it’s been super encouraging that this generation wants God.”
Allen said she first noticed Generation Z’s hunger in 2018 when she spoke at Texas A&M about sin, and the young audience immediately responded in a truly “special” way.
“They were hungry,” she said, noting the intense interest wasn’t lost on her. “They were willing to be honest; they wanted God.”
Allen said the experience of ministering to young people has had a profound impact on her life as well. Today, she’s focused on reaching youths with the Bible’s message of grace and redemption.
“I want to just keep my head down, and be faithful, and not be distracted by many things,” she said. “So, for me, it’s given me such clarity, such boldness. I want to serve God, and I want to serve them well, and I don’t want to hold back.”
Sources:faithwire
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