Genre: Christmas, Other, Pop/Rock, Worship
For fans of: Elton John, Richard Marx, Amy Grant, Delirious
Label: Reunion Records

 1 of 5

Through life's inevitable changes, we live with a dizzying mix of belief and unbelief. As with the man in the Gospel of Mark, we cry, "Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief." Jesus intercedes. Apathy put down, we are emboldened to stand for hope and love.

That's the declarative message behind Stand, Michael W. Smith's 19th studio album for Reunion Records.

"Stand is a call to stand up for what you believe in," says the award-winning singer/songwriter. "It's a call to stand in awe of the One who gave all and to stand outside of the walls of the church rubbing shoulders with the lost. Together, we stand as followers of Jesus sharing a powerful opportunity: To live as a child of God.

"We must live as though we believe we are loved," he says.

Smith releases Stand inspired by experiences culled during extensive international touring last year, as well as lessons at home, including his work as co-pastor of New River Fellowship, a Nashville-area church he helped establish.

"Scripture tells us that as children of God we inherit great things—love, hope, peace—all by God's grace. Long ago people would have said we get to eat at the King's table all the days of our lives. Today, we'd say we are given the power to live with abundant hope.

"But the problem I've seen," Smith continues, "is that the biggest enemy we have as followers of God is that we just don't believe who we are. And I've been right there, too."

"So I'm taking a stand—and I hope others will—to really live what I believe and embrace who I am in Jesus Christ. And then I believe we are called to just get with it. We are called to share our joy by serving the lost. The poor. The sick. The brokenhearted. The least of these. In Christ, we are given the courage and strength to change the world."

next page... |  1 of 5

				Try 3 Issues of Christianity Today Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address Subscribe to Christianity Today and get 3 free trial issues. No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The three trial issues are yours to keep, regardless.

FREE Newsletter Sign up now for the Christian Music Today weekly newsletter:    RSS Feed   RSS Help