Paul W. Smith was an on-staff editor for Gospel Publishing House for over thirty years before retiring April 1, 2018. During this tenure, he worked on Adult Sunday school curriculum, books, magazine articles, letters, and other publications that were produced by the General Council of the Assemblies of God. Still an ordained minister, he serves as ministry leader for a Celebrate Recovery chapter in Republic, Missouri. He keeps busy doing freelance editing and page layout, and trying to downsize a lifetime of memorabilia and books.
You can find Paul on:
Or check out his work at celebraterecovery.com.
Resources
Celebrate Recovery in Republic, MO
Celebrate Recovery's 8 Recovery Principles
Episode Audio:
Chapter 1 - God's Work in Us Is Never Done
A Christian’s testimony is a powerful thing. Much like the Bible, it’s a record of the great work that God has done in our lives to seek and save us from the power of sin and death. When we hear another’s testimony, we are encouraged because we see how God has faithfully acted in their life, and we are reminded that God has promised to work just as faithfully in our lives as well. But testimonies aren’t just stories of conversions. They are stories of salvation, of how God over a lifetime redeems those whom He loves. Coming to faith in Jesus Christ is just the beginning of the work He ultimately wants to do in each of our lives. So today and this week as you hear from Paul, I hope you see that no matter what we face, we have a faithful Father who walks with us through the everyday moments of life, longing to be with us, and to make us more like Him.
Chapter 2 - Finding Hope in a Hopeless Depression
The everyday moments of life are filled with disappointments, regrets, pain, and sadness. It's an inescapable part of our lives under the influence of sin. And when we give our lives over to Jesus, we expect these problems to disappear. We believe if we serve him faithfully that our problems will never return or that somehow our lives will be free from injustice. In this second part of Paul's testimony, we get a glimpse at God's work in a life, even when that life was filled with depression and hopelessness for years. But the good news is God's work in us is never done. And he often brings people around us who can help us find healing. This gift of the body of Christ is exactly what Paul found in a ministry called Celebrate Recovery.
Chapter 3 - Recovery Never Takes a Break
When God does a work in our lives, we have an expectation, or perhaps a hope, that God will instantly take away our struggle completely. But as we observe devout Christians of the past and present, it seems that God rarely removes all our struggles from us instantly. God does an initial work in our lives that restores hope to us or provides an initial healing, but then we still have to wrestle with continued cravings or sever weaknesses. And we ask God “why?" We want to be free of our burdens all at once. And although we can’t know the answers for sure, we can see in stories like Paul’s how God is faithful to continue the healing process in us, even if it lasts for years.
Chapter 4 - Using Spiritual Disciplines as Part of Your Recovery (Ep 49.4)
When we're in the middle of recovering from a crisis or trauma, sometimes the last thing we want to hear is that the spiritual disciplines can help. But the truth is these practices can help develop our relationship with our creator and other people around us. And it's these relationships, especially our relationship with our Father that brings healing. In this chapter, Josh and Chris reflect on their conversation with Paul Smith and how spiritual disciplines play an integral part of the recovery process.