The Way of the Father: Lessons from My Dad, Truths about God
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-03 14:31:21
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Michael W. Smith
- ISBN：1954201028
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Summary
Grammy Award winner Michael W。 Smith's The Way of the Father offers a deeply personal reflection on his father Paul Smith's legacy and its profound effect on every area of his life。 Through the life and lens of his earthly dad， the multi-platinum selling Christian artist gives glimpses of a Father in Heaven that anyone can approach and experience。
Michael W。 Smith， multi-platinum artist， celebrated songwriter， producer， best-selling author， and acclaimed actor， himself a father of five adult children and grandfather of sixteen， calls upon his humble experiences of growing up in a small West Virginia town to share his father's story。 Each chapter identifies a quality and characteristic of his dad that came out of an obedient and sacrificial life， committed to serving his Abba Father， including:
Finding truth in tragedy
Loving unconditionally
Persevering through pain
Bringing righteousness to the world
Influencing and inspiring generations
Discovering identity and approval in Christ
Paul Smith was a familiar face in the crowd at Michael W。 Smith's concerts over the years。 A kind and joyful man who would sing， dance， and worship to the singer's countless number one hits， with his countenance beaming brighter than the spotlights on the stage， Paul would often introduce himself to those nearby and talk about how proud he was of his son。 From the artist's early days as a struggling musician in Nashville to his death in 2015 （the year his son's album sales surpassed 15 million）， Paul was always Michael's biggest fan。
Michael shares how his dad inspired and encouraged him using biblical principles and virtues。 Now， Michael passes on these same truths through stories， testimonies， origins of songs， and personal insights from his family life and thirty-five plus years of touring as a Christian artist。 He hopes that by sharing his father's legacy， readers will come to find that no matter who our earthly parents have been in our lives， our Abba Father will never fail us。
The Way of the Father will likewise challenge readers in their faith journeys so they will one day hear， "Well done， good and faithful servant。 You have fought the good fight， run the race， and have been found faithful"--just like Paul Smith heard on the day he was called home to be with his Father。
Michael W。 Smith， multi-platinum artist， celebrated songwriter， producer， best-selling author， and acclaimed actor， himself a father of five adult children and grandfather of sixteen， calls upon his humble experiences of growing up in a small West Virginia town to share his father's story。 Each chapter identifies a quality and characteristic of his dad that came out of an obedient and sacrificial life， committed to serving his Abba Father， including:
Finding truth in tragedy
Loving unconditionally
Persevering through pain
Bringing righteousness to the world
Influencing and inspiring generations
Discovering identity and approval in Christ
Paul Smith was a familiar face in the crowd at Michael W。 Smith's concerts over the years。 A kind and joyful man who would sing， dance， and worship to the singer's countless number one hits， with his countenance beaming brighter than the spotlights on the stage， Paul would often introduce himself to those nearby and talk about how proud he was of his son。 From the artist's early days as a struggling musician in Nashville to his death in 2015 （the year his son's album sales surpassed 15 million）， Paul was always Michael's biggest fan。
Michael shares how his dad inspired and encouraged him using biblical principles and virtues。 Now， Michael passes on these same truths through stories， testimonies， origins of songs， and personal insights from his family life and thirty-five plus years of touring as a Christian artist。 He hopes that by sharing his father's legacy， readers will come to find that no matter who our earthly parents have been in our lives， our Abba Father will never fail us。
The Way of the Father will likewise challenge readers in their faith journeys so they will one day hear， "Well done， good and faithful servant。 You have fought the good fight， run the race， and have been found faithful"--just like Paul Smith heard on the day he was called home to be with his Father。
Reviews
Christine
，
"People want to experience authenticity， not celebrity。 They desire interaction with integrity， not entertainment。 They want to know their lives have a purpose。 We have the privilege of sharing the good news that they can know the One who holds their hope and their future。。。 worship is not about about singing a handful of songs once a week， but about our day-in-and-day-out interactions with people。"More than a list of lessons passed on from a father to his son， this book is about the quiet examp "People want to experience authenticity， not celebrity。 They desire interaction with integrity， not entertainment。 They want to know their lives have a purpose。 We have the privilege of sharing the good news that they can know the One who holds their hope and their future。。。 worship is not about about singing a handful of songs once a week， but about our day-in-and-day-out interactions with people。"More than a list of lessons passed on from a father to his son， this book is about the quiet example Michael observed in his dad and how that pointed him to the character of his heavenly Father。 I began the book expecting the former but appreciated the latter。 It is largely a book about Michael and his journey，thoughts and observations so if that is what you are looking for you will certainly enjoy this short， insightful read。 It may just make you appreciate your Father all the more。Thank you to Net Galley for giving me a chance to check it out！ 。。。more
Marcia Richardson
，
Awesome bookThis book by Michael W。 Smith about the lessons he learned from his father was a good thing to read and learn from。 You should go read it for yourself。
Terry
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I have always loved Michael W。 Smith’s music and have been fortunate to go to several concerts。 On one occasion， his Dad was in the audience and the love Michael had for his Fad was so evident。 This book gives more inside to the incredible parents Michael was blessed with。 He lovingly tells us that our Heavenly Father loves each of us so much more。 The legacy passed down generation to generation is heartwarming and profound。
Analie
，
This is a wonderful book of short， inspirational life lessons。 I wasn't sure if I would relate since I didn't have an encouraging earthly father。 To my surprise， I felt warmed by Michael W。 Smith's descriptions of his father's unconditional love and by his deep convictions of God's love and kindness for each of us。 This book would be a great gift for anyone， even if they didn't have a great father。 This is a wonderful book of short， inspirational life lessons。 I wasn't sure if I would relate since I didn't have an encouraging earthly father。 To my surprise， I felt warmed by Michael W。 Smith's descriptions of his father's unconditional love and by his deep convictions of God's love and kindness for each of us。 This book would be a great gift for anyone， even if they didn't have a great father。 。。。more
Meagan
，
I've been a Michael W。 Smith fan since I was a kid， so getting to read/review an eARC of one of his books was a bit of a pinch-me moment！ "Can this really be？！ Michael W。 Smith？！ Noooo way。" LOL。 And yet， here we are。Smith's music is often a go-to for me， and a few songs of his defo would make it on my "soundtrack to my life" （if I made such a thing）。 I've seen him in concert twice over the years; "Friends，" "Agnus Dei，" "Place in this World，" and more are staples on my "list of most influential I've been a Michael W。 Smith fan since I was a kid， so getting to read/review an eARC of one of his books was a bit of a pinch-me moment！ "Can this really be？！ Michael W。 Smith？！ Noooo way。" LOL。 And yet， here we are。Smith's music is often a go-to for me， and a few songs of his defo would make it on my "soundtrack to my life" （if I made such a thing）。 I've seen him in concert twice over the years; "Friends，" "Agnus Dei，" "Place in this World，" and more are staples on my "list of most influential Christian songs。" So reading this was an absolute joy， with insight into his growing-up years， family relationships （especially with his dad， of course）， and current activities。Brimming with Scripture and heartfelt stories， this quick read （<2 hours for me） is a welcome addition to the bookshelf。 It's particularly timely with Father's Day coming up in just over a month as of this writing; I think it would be a great gift for any of the dads out there， as well as the people that love them。 :）I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Joy Mason
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Great bookThis book is well written。 It has helped me realize and remember how much Jesus l loves me。 I also thank God for Michael W。 Smith and his wife for their love for God， family， and Michael using his gift of music to us all！
Josh Olds
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Even though I don’t listen to the radio that much anymore （you can thank podcasts， audiobooks， and the lack of a commute for that）， the K-LOVE jingle will forever be imprinted in my memory from my childhood: “Positive。 Encouraging。 K-LOVE。” I’ve always had an appreciation for Christian music， but I’m musically illiterate。 God gave me talents and the musical realm is not one of them。 So imagine my surprise when I discovered that K-LOVE was starting their own publishing imprint—and that a memoir （ Even though I don’t listen to the radio that much anymore （you can thank podcasts， audiobooks， and the lack of a commute for that）， the K-LOVE jingle will forever be imprinted in my memory from my childhood: “Positive。 Encouraging。 K-LOVE。” I’ve always had an appreciation for Christian music， but I’m musically illiterate。 God gave me talents and the musical realm is not one of them。 So imagine my surprise when I discovered that K-LOVE was starting their own publishing imprint—and that a memoir （of sorts） from Michael W。 Smith would be their inaugural title。The Way of the Father is a sometimes-meandering， often-personal memoir in which Michael W。 Smith shows the influence—both directly and indirectly—of his father， Paul Smith， on his life and career。 The book is pretty much chronological， moving from Michael’s younger years through the death of his dad in 2015。 I appreciated the earlier chapters a bit more， as Paul plays a more prominent and direct role in those early years。 In reflecting， I think that might be because that’s the stage of life I’m about to be in as a dad。 And also because， again， musically illiterate me is more taken in by the simple stories of fatherhood than the “how we got the band together” motif of later chapters。In fact， on first reading， I felt like the farther The Way of the Father went along， the more it strayed from its initial premise as a book about the lessons Paul taught his son and became a more typical memoir about Michael W。 Smith。 Still an interesting story， but a bit of a bait-and-switch。 As I’ve thought on that， though， I’ve come to the conclusion that I was wrong。 Like any good father-son relationship， it evolved over time。 Michael grew up， became more independent， and started his career。 He left his dad behind， in one sense， but in a much greater sense he took his dad with him as a product of every lesson his dad had ever poured into him。 Paul， the person， fades a bit from the narrative， but the lessons that shaped his son live on and influence the story’s path。The Way of the Father begins each chapter by outlining some lesson from Paul Smith。 Michael W。 Smith then takes that thread and draws it through some experience in his life， whether on a direct route （such as his Little League stories） or an indirect route （such as the time Bono convinced Christian leaders to use their platforms to care for the impoverished in Africa）。 You get a behind-the-scenes look at the makings of Smith’s music career and how integral his parents’ support was in it。 You see the pride and love that Paul had for his son and how Michael uses that love as an analogy for the love God has for us。 Just the premise of a man in his sixties sitting down to write about his father made me want to call my own parents and ask them questions and listen to stories about their own parents。The Way of the Father is a beautiful tribute to Paul Smith that reflects the Father’s love for his children and shows Michael’s love for his dad。 。。。more
David Schroeder
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