

Things Above
Apprentice Institute
A Community of Learning Centered on Discipleship
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 25, 2022 • 16min
Doubt
In this episode, James Bryan Smith thought from above is, “there are benefits to doubt.” Smith gives us three reasons to explain why there are benefits to doubt in our faith. The first reason is doubt allows you to make your faith truly yours. The second benefit is doubt helps faith take root. His third reason is that doubt is a gift to make our faith deeper.
Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here!
Related Episodes:
1. Conversation with Amy Bragg Carey
2. Jesus Is Lord
3. Gift Love
4. Conversation with Michael Wise
5. Kronstadt
The post Doubt appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

May 11, 2022 • 25min
Conversation with Amy Bragg Carey
James Bryan Smith has a Things Above conversation with Dr. Amy Bragg Carey. Amy is the fourteenth president of Friends University and is currently in her seventh year as president. She previously served as vice president for institutional advancement at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Minn. She brings to Friends a strong background in development, marketing and communications, and enrollment management. Her doctoral study, completed at Azusa Pacific University, focused on the turnaround of small private universities and the factors that contribute to their success.
Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here!
Related Episodes
1. Jesus Is Lord
2. Gift Love
3. Conversation with Michael Wise
4. Kronstadt
5. Trifle
The post Conversation with Amy Bragg Carey appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

May 4, 2022 • 15min
Jesus Is Lord
James Bryan Smith’s thought from above this week is, Jesus is Lord. Smith opens the episode with a reading of Colossians chapter three to help illustrate his thought from above. To close the episode, James reads a passage from Dr. Scot McKnights commentary on Colossians.
Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here!
Related Episodes:
1. Gift Love
2. Conversation with Michael Wise
3. Kronstadt
4. Trifle
5. Both And
The post Jesus Is Lord appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

Apr 27, 2022 • 20min
Gift Love
James Bryan Smith talks about two kinds of love, “gift love” and “need love.” In this episode Smith’s thought from above is, to love one another just as Jesus has loved us. “Need Love”, is a kind of longing love much like romantic love. “Gift Love” is God’s love, it doesn’t need anything in return. Smith helps explain each of these “loves” in more detail and closes the episode with a passage from John 13:34.
Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here!
Related Episodes:
1. Conversation with Michael Wise
2. Kronstadt
3. Trifle
4. Both And
5. Authentic Change
The post Gift Love appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

Apr 13, 2022 • 36min
Conversation with Michael Wise
James Bryan Smith has a Things Above conversation with Dr. Michael Wise. Michael Wise is an internationally recognized expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He frequently lectures on the Dead Sea Scrolls from coast to coast. Dr. Wise is ordained as a minister in the Evangelical Free Church and regularly teaches adult Sunday School classes. He recently completed a second Ph.D., in the field of Classics (ancient Greek and Latin literature), at the University of Minnesota.
In this episode, James asks Michael about three observations he has about the dead sea scrolls. Michael and James end the episode talking about our death to sin, and since we have been raised with Christ we are no longer held captive to sin.
Interested in donating to the Things Above podcast? Donate here!
Related Episodes:
1. Kronstadt
2. Trifle
3. Both And
4. Conversation with Brian Zahnd Part 2
5. Authentic Change
The post Conversation with Michael Wise appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

Apr 6, 2022 • 14min
Kronstadt
James Bryan Smith’s thought from above comes from Saint John of Kronstadt. In this episode, James reads an excerpt from the writings of Saint John of Kronstadt. Smith uses this passage to help us look for traces of mercy.
Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here!
Related Episodes:
1. Trifle
2. Conversation with Marlena Graves
3. Both And
4. Authentic Change
5. Conversation with Brian Zahnd Part 2
The post Kronstadt appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

Mar 30, 2022 • 23min
Trifle
James Bryan Smith’s thought from above in this episode is, don’t trifle with our God. Smith recounts a story where Dallas Willard asked him a question that he could not answer. The question was, does God ever let us get away with anything?
James goes on to explain why we want a God who is both just and merciful. He closes the episode with a story about legendary basketball coach John Wooden to help explain his thought from above.
Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate Today!
Related Episodes:
1. Conversation with Marlena Graves
2. Both And
3. Authentic Change
4. Conversation with Brian Zahnd Part 2
5. Everything is a Gift
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Mar 16, 2022 • 31min
Conversation with Marlena Graves
James Bryan Smith has a Things Above conversation with author and speaker Marlena Graves. James asks Marlena about her latest book, “The Way Up Is Down” and why she wrote the book.
Marlena is a writer, deep thinker, and speaker who is passionate about the eternal implications of our life in God. She is a lover of beauty – especially the beauty of her family, others, and creation. She received her M.Div. from Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, New York, and is pursuing her PhD in American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH where she is researching the influence that American culture has on Evangelicals’ view of immigration, race, and poverty.
Related Episodes:
1. Both And
2. Authentic Change
3. Conversation with Brian Zahnd Part 2
4. Everything is a Gift
5. Witness
The post Conversation with Marlena Graves appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

Mar 9, 2022 • 22min
Both And
James Bryan Smith’s thought from above this week is; The way of Jesus is Both And.” In this episode, James tells a story about his one message, the grace of God. To help explain his thought from above, Jim states that grace is God’s action in our lives. Smith gives two stories to help further explain his thought from above.
Interested in donating to the Things Above podcast? Donate here!
Related episodes:
1. Authentic Change
2. Conversation with Brian Zahnd Part 2
3. Everything is a Gift
4. Witness
5. Conversation with Curt Thompson
The post Both And appeared first on Apprentice Institute.

Mar 2, 2022 • 21min
Authentic Change
In this episode, James Bryan Smith tells us how we can experience an authentic change in our spiritual life. He begins the episode with a quote from 2nd Corinthians chapter three verse eighteen. Smith uses this verse to help explain how we are able to see the glory of God through Jesus. James closes the episode with a story from author and speaker Marlena Graves.
Interested in donating to the Things Above Podcast? Donate here!
Related Episodes:
1. Conversation with Brian Zahnd Part 2
2. Everything is a Gift
3. Witness
4. Conversation with Curt Thompson
5. God is on Your Side
The post Authentic Change appeared first on Apprentice Institute.


