Rowland Smith
11 min read ⭑
“God has put a desire within me to work on large efforts. However, I’m often reminded why I do these things when I’m blessed with a small, real-world, personal story. It often appears in an email, a post on social media, or a text. I believe the Holy Spirit brings someone along to take my head out of the clouds and remind me that faith lives on the streets.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
My food preferences speak to my Southern background as much as they do to my independent personality. You see, I grew up in the deep south of Little Rock, Arkansas, but hail from Colorado now, where the sticker on my 4-Runner reads, “Not a native, but I got here as fast as I could.” While I still appreciate a good meal of biscuits and gravy or well-done BBQ (beans are the secret to my judging), I’ve converted to southwest flair and cuisine. Nowadays, street tacos are the way to win me over!
Colorado Springs has enough western foody flair to garner a few good taco trucks around town. If you ever come to visit, I’ll tell you that the “red one” (Taco Time) is the best in our city, although the competition is tough.
I’m not saying you can’t get a good street taco in a restaurant. There’s a handful here I could name, but there’s something secret inside a food truck. I don’t know what it is because I’ve never owned one, but the distinctiveness is definitely there.
Maybe it’s the extra grease in the air, the fact that the food sits close to exhaust fumes (scary), or something else. But whatever the reason, a food truck puts out better tacos.
I also like the way you order from a taco truck. Your Styrofoam container usually allows you to “build it how you like it.” I’m always interested in what my guests order when we visit the “red one.” What will they construct?
This says a lot about me as a person, too. I’ve always enjoyed constructing my own thing. I work with three organizations, am finishing a doctorate, and write books as I can—all in between fly-fishing, wrenching vintage cars, and kids plus grandkids. (There are always five to six oars in the water when we all go out in the boat.) I like to construct life from many different experiences.
All that to say, if you want good street tacos, come see me. We’ll hit Taco Time.
Metin Ozer; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?
I grew up around my grandfather’s car dealership and loved hanging out in the shop where cars were worked on. He had about 10 bays back there with mechanics, wash bays, and a parts department.
This is what probably led to my interest in vintage cars and learning to “wrench” engines myself. Several years ago, I started working on one project at a time, and since then, I’ve done a few cool vintage cars. My current project is a 1953 British MG TD. Working on cars, bringing them back from the dead, and then driving them around and showing them at car shows really helps me unplug from ministry and other areas of life.
My other love is fly-fishing. Living in Colorado Springs, I’m a short 45-minute drive away from some of the best trout water in the country—maybe the world. It’s easy to take for granted the fact that the beauty of the Rockies is an everyday part of my context. Disappearing into a canyon, where cellphones don’t work, and spending the day on the river refreshes my soul and also connects me to God’s creation in ways that other rhythms of my life simply can’t.
I always loved that line in A River Runs Through It: “In my family, there was no clear line between religion and fly-fishing.” That often seems very true for me.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
Stress, stress, stress. This probably comes from wanting to say yes to too many things. I’ve been told this is just part of my “makeup.” I’m an Enneagram 7 (the Enthusiast) and an apostolic, entrepreneur-bent risk-taker. I’ve been wondering lately if knowing our self-recipe is a better tool to protect ourselves from ourselves.
I did become a bit more aware of my inclination during COVID. I was forced to slow down, and so the kryptonite went away. Not being able to do things made me slow down and “feel.” All of a sudden, I had time to think, rest, and feel my own thoughts. As a result, the stress subsided.
One of the things I did to deal with my own weakness was to engage in some life coaching during the pandemic. This allowed me not only to look at my own rhythms that cause stress but also to do some latter-year planning in my own direction. As I’m entering what author Brian Sanders calls the “mystic” phase of life (which sounds much cooler than “60s”), engaging this focused work on my life has helped tremendously with my own stress level.
This question is interesting because it makes me realize how we all try to get rid of our kryptonite issues. But perhaps being aware of them can keep us centered.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
My biggest mountaintop right now (30 days away as I write this) is my doctorate at Fuller Theological Seminary. I’ve been at Fuller for several years now. I earned my master’s degree there, I’ve been in a doctoral DMISS program for four years, and I’ve also done some teaching there. I love Fuller and my journey there, but I do feel like I’m ready for some other pursuits. The degree will open some doors, so I’m exploring how I can best utilize it.
I’ve published two books, and I’m planning three more. I’ll keep writing, for sure. My dissertation put some of my writing on hold for the last year or so, but that will ramp back up. I love the craft of writing (not sure if shows here or not, though it may expose why a good editor relationship is crucial).
I’ve been toying with the idea of writing fiction. It seems like a whole new thing to learn, character development, plots, and storylines.
I’m very intrigued by writers who started later in life. I’ve even been told that the older you are, the better equipped you are for fiction writing. I guess life experiences, perspective, and seeing people live out various lives can help inform your writing. So maybe that’s how it will be for me, as well.
I love my work right now, too. I’m the national director for Forge America, an organization that radically shaped my own life. It’s an honor to provide visionary leadership there. I also work at a church in Colorado Springs that’s attempting to redefine “church” into a community of people who are actively participating in God’s kingdom. This leads to questions that are bigger than “What’s next Sunday’s service going to look like?”
I’m having fun, and my calendar stays as full as I want right now. The future looks interesting.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors, or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
It’s in the smaller stories.
I spend much of my time (partly because I’m wired this way) working on bigger movement ideas. I help lead a national missional training organization, I lead a city micro-church network that’s just getting started, I’m on the pastoral staff of a church, I teach students at a seminary, and I write books and blogs.
These are all great things to focus on, and God has put a desire within me to work on large efforts. However, I’m often reminded why I do these things when I’m blessed with a small, real-world, personal story. It often appears in an email, a post on social media, or a text. I believe the Holy Spirit brings someone along to take my head out of the clouds and remind me that faith lives on the streets.
It lives in people on a day-to-day basis, maybe more so than strategic movements and the impact of organizations. The Holy Spirit often taps on my shoulder and says, “Hey, don’t lose your incarnational focus on people.”
I remember a chance encounter a few weeks back. We live downtown, and it’s not uncommon for the homeless to walk down our streets. A gentleman I had seen several times was having trouble with his cart because it had snowed. While talking to him, I learned that he was mostly blind and trying to get quite a distance. We put his cart in the back of my truck, and I drove him where he needed to go. During the conversation, we exchanged names and short histories and became friends. I now have Israel’s cell number and he has mine. I’m convinced these kinds of encounters and reminders are from the Holy Spirit. Without them, I might too often have a 40,000-foot view of life.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin’ best for you right now?
I often talk about our “missional practice” in life as the forgotten spiritual discipline. Jesus told his disciples directly, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21, ESV).
Why don’t we teach “sentness” when we talk about discipleship or spiritual disciplines? After all, Jesus took his disciples around neighborhoods so they could practice as they learned. Tables and food with sinners and tax collectors became the primary tool of discipleship and discipline.
I know that sounds preachy, but for me, this has added life to my faith. If I become too consumed with myself and my personal relationship with Jesus, I get wrapped up in seeking more knowledge, more introspection, and more “connection” with God. But what I’ve learned in my own walk is that Jesus is out there on the streets. So if I want to connect with God, I should go where he is.
That’s why I have a hard time working in my church office. If you want to find me, it’s best to look around the city in coffee shops. There’s something about being out in the midst of life with other people that reveals the kingdom of God in a tangible way.
Maybe it’s the way God wired me, but I find that surrounding myself with the rhythms of life and seeing where I can participate with God in his mission as a “sent person” is the greatest discipline I can practice.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources—lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff, too. What are three resources that have impacted you?
I’ve found some real paradigm-shifting material in the so-called missional camp:
1. I encourage every church leader and pastor to read The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. This book is not that new, but it’s revolutionary in the way it frames church, mission, and our participation with God in announcing the kingdom to a culture that needs it.
2. I don’t want to be self-serving by sharing this—and in a way, I’m not—but I helped edit a book by multiple authors that I think is incredibly pivotal for our time. Red Skies: 10 Essential Conversations Exploring Our Future as the Church brings together 10 of the best authors and thinkers on various cultural topics post-pandemic.
The book asks each author to answer the question, “What should the church pay attention to in order to be ‘good news’ over the next two decades?” There’s a podcast that goes along with it that interviews key thinkers in ecclesiology, missiology, and theology.
I hope that doesn’t sound self-serving. Read the book for its authors, not my intro. You’ll get insights from people like Alan Hirsch, Michael Frost, Len Sweet, Lisa Rodriguez-Watson, Michael Adam Beck, Jay Kim, Rich Robinson, Oneya Okuwabi, Deb Hirsch, and others.
3. I love podcasts. I listen to a lot of different ones, but my favorites are podcasts that discuss the historical context of the church, our faith, and the Scriptures. A few of my regular favorites include Holy Post, The Bible for Normal People, Kingdom Roots with Scot McKnight, and the Forge America Podcast.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season—and tell us what it’s done for you.
My greatest resource isn’t a book or material object. It’s community. I’ve found real strength in the teams I work with, the church community I worship with, and my family. Ever since the pandemic, I think I’ve realized how much I need people and community. Being separated for that year or so caused liminality that could only be traversed by re-entering community with a new lens and perspective. I don’t take people for granted any longer, especially my family and kids. Also, we had our first grandchild enter the world last year. Grandparenting is something I never expected to love so much. It’s such a big part of who I am now. I have big plans on living well with my granddaughter and possibly other grandkids in the future.
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
I’m exploring the final 10-15 years of active ministry. I read a great little book from Brian Sanders (of Tampa Underground fame) that was called The 6 Seasons of Calling. It really helped frame a season of life I’m entering (the mystic phase).
This is a season when I can help encourage, teach, and facilitate younger leaders in their callings. I’m quite excited about this because I get to cheer on the next generation of leaders and help set them up for success. This also includes empowering female leaders and leaders of color. The evangelical church has for too long looked too white in the United States—at least in terms of who gets a voice. I hope to change some of that landscape in the future.
Part of these plans involves finding a place in the right higher-ed environment where we can shape new ways of teaching, new discussions, and the inclusion of praxis as we educate leaders in the church. Too often, we focus on preaching skills and knowledge but leave leaders unable to navigate times like we’re facing now. It’s no wonder the church was ill-equipped to deal with COVID. Pastors had no idea how to respond except to put services on YouTube. Because of that, we may have missed a huge missional opportunity as we grasped at the church’s survival. I know that sounds a bit critical, but I think most church leaders have lacked some of the practical theology and ecclesiology needed in ministry today. I hope to engage in this conversation in the future.
When you think of “missions,” what comes to mind? Traveling to another nation to preach the gospel? Planting churches in hard-to-reach villages? Taking Bibles to nations with strict, anti-Christian governments?
All of these are important tasks, but they aren’t the only ways to walk out Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew 28. Being missional can also mean giving to and sharing God’s Word with a person in need or simply striking up a kingdom-focused conversation with another person in your local coffee shop.
Every action we take to help people see Jesus and the good news is missional. So what does your mission look like today?
Rowland serves as the national director of Forge America, pastor of missional culture at Pulpit Rock Church, and affiliate faculty at Fuller Seminary. He, his wife, and four adult kids live in Colorado Springs, where they’re missionally involved in their community as well as provide leadership to The Pando Collective, a kingdom movement network of missional practitioners and churches. He’s also the author of Life Out Loud: Joining Jesus Outside the Walls of the Church and lead creator and curator of Red Skies: 10 Essential Conversations Exploring Our Future as the Church.
