by Rhett Smith | Feb 7, 2019 | Intentional Living, Podcast
As I mentioned in a previous podcast, I thought I would take some time this year (on occasion) to stop and reflect on my reading of the bible, and how it connects at the intersection of theology and psychology. So in this episode I want to take some time and just...
by Rhett Smith | Jul 17, 2017 | Anxiety, Podcast
This past May I had the opportunity to speak at Pepperdine University for the annual Bible Lecture’s series. It’s primarily a gathering of a combo of lay and professional ministry leaders, and as this event I was able to talk to them about one of my...
by Rhett Smith | Oct 10, 2011 | Marriage
The annals of history are filled with people who have done great things (inventions, writings, art, building, etc.) at great cost to their personal and family life. So it was not a surprise when I read Steve Jobs’ biographer Walter Isaacson say the following: Mr...
by Rhett Smith | Jul 12, 2011 | Leadership
A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine shared an article with me on my Facebook profile called, How to Land Your Kid in Therapy. It is a fascinating read for sure, and well worth your time. But I was especially taken by this passage: Paul Bohn, a psychiatrist at UCLA...
by Rhett Smith | Jun 1, 2011 | Leadership
We talk a lot about boundaries in our culture. “Boundaries define us. They define what is me and what is not me. A boundary shows me where I end and someone else begins, leading me to a sense of ownership. Knowing what I am to own and take responsibility for gives me...
by Rhett Smith | May 23, 2011 | Marriage
“Many years ago I was driven to the conclusion that the two major causes of most emotional problems among Christians are these: the failure to understand, receive, and live out God’s unconditional grace and forgiveness; and the failure to give out that unconditional...
by Rhett Smith | Apr 27, 2011 | Therapy Practice
Several weeks ago I was at The Hideaway Experience doing co-therapy along with another former ‘pastor’ turned therapist. It’s not unusual to find therapists and counselors who were former pastors, but I think that vocational movement is often looked...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 17, 2011 | Leadership
A book that I read about seven years ago, and have flipped back and forth through on occasion in the last few years…I have just recently picked back up again and started re-reading it because of my interest in the integration of theology and psychology,...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 8, 2011 | Therapy Practice
In all wars, whether large or small, whether carried out on battlefields, city streets, living rooms, or faculty lounges, we come across the same basic exclusionary polarity: “us against them,” “their gain–our loss, ” “either us or them.” The stronger the conflict,...
by Rhett Smith | Feb 1, 2011 | Marriage
“What books do you recommend we read in our premarital counseling?” That has been a question I have been getting a lot of recently. Whether it’s a Facebook message from a friend, an @rhetter comment on Twitter, or some email I receive from someone...
by Rhett Smith | Dec 15, 2010 | Intentional Living
Exchanges between friends on Twitter often raise some great questions. On November 24 Tyler Braun posted the following: Challenging post from @MarkBatterson on maintaining margin: http://bit.ly/gMJmjP // I lose it far too often. My reply to Tyler was: @tylerbraun...
by Rhett Smith | Oct 22, 2010 | Technology
“The technology is rewiring our brains,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse and one of the world’s leading brain scientists. She and other researchers compare the lure of digital stimulation less to that of drugs and alcohol than to...
by Rhett Smith | Oct 4, 2010 | Leadership
This is the final post in a five-part series on Youth Ministry, Boundaries, and Burnout. Be sure to check out the four previous posts, Youth Ministry as a Stepping Stone (Fail), Looking at the Population You Serve, Have a Schedule, and Where’s Your Identity. If...
by Rhett Smith | Jun 1, 2010 | Intentional Living
This last February I had the opportunity to travel to Haiti with Adventures in Missions and some really amazing people. You can read some of the posts that I wrote about that experience here. I was hoping to get back to Haiti by this point, but I had to decline a...
by Rhett Smith | May 12, 2010 | Marriage
I recently just finished a really great book by Ronald Rolheiser, The Restless Heart: Finding Our Spiritual Home in Times of Loneliness. In one section of the book Rolheiser writes about a conversation he had with a nun. In that conversation the nun said the...
by Rhett Smith | Apr 19, 2010 | Leadership
Unfortunately, one of the ministry lessons that has been drilled into my head over the years is that numbers matter. Specifically large numbers. I was rarely asked by my supervisors how an event went, or what stories I could tell about the ministry. It always seemed...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 31, 2010 | Intentional Living
[image by epSos.de] God is Not Safe, So Why Do We Play So Safely There are lots of books, stories and examples displaying how we tend to play life too safely at times, and the need for us to overcome this complacency. One of the examples that is always in my mind is...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 17, 2010 | Leadership
No, the irony is not lost on me that my last post was called ENOUGH: Put Down Those Ministry and Self-Help Books and Pick Up A Novel. But remember my caveat: So you don’t have to give up on your ministry and self-help books, but put them down for a season, and pick up...
by Rhett Smith | Jan 13, 2010 | Men
[image by iwona kellie] I’ve recently been reading a really phenomenal book by Richard Rohr and Joseph Martos, The Wild Man’s Journey: Reflections on Male Spirituality. One of the things that I have continually be thinking about is the distinction the...
by Rhett Smith | Dec 17, 2009 | Leadership
On Tuesday I posted the first part of my interview with Adam McHugh (“Introverts in the Church” — Interview with Adam S. McHugh/Part 1), whom you can find blogging and writing here. As I’ve already said about a million times already, his new...
