Seth Stewart

Seth Steward is the Editor-in-Chief at Spoken Gospel, a ministry that creates online resources that help show how every passage of Scripture points to Jesus. He is a husband and father, a writer and speaker, and a dedicated chef for his family.

In this interview, Seth opens up about the grief he’s experienced over the loss of his son and shares parts of his journey in getting free from a joyless faith plagued with crippling guilt. You’ll hear how his practice of Sabbath includes not only rest but also intentional celebration and joy and learn about how his 10-year-old taught him the best lesson in slowing down.

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?

I’m a little bit of a mutt without a hometown. I’m a missionary kid; I grew up in Scotland and Scandinavia and traveled to about 30 countries. Of all the places I could’ve settled, I call a suburb in Oklahoma “home.” Honestly, my favorite meals are the ones I cook myself and share with others. Feasts. Parties over good food and good wine at my dining room table are where it’s at. The first of two favorite meals in the last couple of years was a potluck I hosted at my house. The theme was “Takeout.” Our friends brought pizza, burgers, Indian curries, Thai curries, fried rice and orange chicken, and I’m pretty sure there was an Italian dish or two. It was a celebration of the best food from around the world, and my homeless heart was happy. The second of my two favorite meals was when I invited all my friends, made my own beer and turned my entire 6-foot dining room table into a giant charcuterie board.

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 love to read and run. Thanks to audiobooks, I can do both at the same time. Not far from my house is a lake with several miles of mountain bike trails. So, on unhurried weekends, I like to drive out there, turn on a good book (I’ve been on a sci-fi kick recently, but there are also a lot of theology books and podcasts in my queue), and run. But there’s a point in almost every run where I’m forced to pull out the headphones. More important than the next plot point is the wind blowing past, the slap of the shoes and the road in front of me. Perhaps it’s something about being outside or being surrounded by trees, or simply being alone and unconnected, but it’s often in those moments that I find myself praying. For whatever reason, when I’m on my feet and outside, talking to God feels most natural and conversational.

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?

It’s funny that Superman’s greatest weakness was a rock from his destroyed home planet. Something that should’ve been a reminder of this true home was what stripped him of his power and agency.

My kryptonite is the son I lost, Ruben. I keep a copy of the eulogy I wrote him in my bedside table. It reminds me that one day I will see him again, and my family will be complete. But it also reminds me that my home has been destroyed. My home is missing a child, my wife and I are missing a son, and my other kids are missing a brother. There are days when that grief is overwhelming, and the only thing to do is cry. On other days, like today, grief lurks like an unchecked to-do box that I’m trying to avoid. Right now, it’s reminding me that the letters on his gravestone are fading, and I need to replace it with something more permanent.

The longer I’ve lived with grief, the more I have grown to embrace it. Even God has grieved the loss of a son. Yet God’s grief was redemptive, wasn’t it? Resurrection came after loss. This is why Ruben’s name means so much to us. It’s Hebrew for “behold, a son.” His name is a constant reminder that death and grief have been overcome in Jesus.

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?

Right now, I’m the Chief Editor for Spoken Gospel. I spend most of my days using podcasts and YouTube videos to show people that the Bible is NOT a list of rules but a profound story about a man named Jesus.

Growing up, I had a complicated relationship with the Bible. My Dad was a pastor, and I was a classic firstborn, type-A, rule follower. My early approach to the Bible was rigid, black and white, and deadly serious. When I was about 10, I took following God’s words so seriously that I had made a list of things I was not supposed to even think about. It included swear words, girls’ bodies, warlocks, demons and about half a dozen other things. And every time I thought about one of the things on the list, I would feel such an overwhelming sense of guilt that I would ask God to forgive me...over and over and over and over again. I didn’t know the words back then, but I had a form of moral OCD (sometimes called Scrupulosity). For years, I suffered from crippling guilt, compulsive prayers and a joyless faith.

It wasn’t until college that I understood what Jesus came to do for little Pharisees like me. I remember a pastor saying, “God doesn't love you any less when you mess up. And God doesn’t love you any more when you obey him perfectly.” It was like lightning hit me. Because Jesus had died for me, I didn’t have to mentally beat myself up anymore. I cried.

From that moment on, I’ve been trying to write about the freedom found in Jesus and how the whole Bible, even the parts in the Old Testament, reveal and hint at this great news.

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?

Wow, what a profound question — one that I’ve wrestled with for a long time. For some context, when I was growing up, there was a strong emphasis on the, let’s call them, “mystical” aspects of Christianity. As a child and young adult, it felt as if the truest and best apologetics for God’s activity in my life were subjective feelings, emotional highs and powerful worship experiences. Clearly, God works through our emotions, highs and the power of music. And, by God’s grace, I’ve had many such experiences. But I also feel a deep desire for more concrete, less ethereal and more grounded ways to experience God’s presence and power.

Recently, I’ve found God gets my creative juices flowing through (of all things) biblical commentaries. There’s been something fairly transformative about having a Bible open and a Bible nerd who can spend pages discussing small phrases and, sometimes, single words. Commentaries have taught me to slow down. Elsewhere, I’m a fast reader; I like to get to the point and take away action steps. But Christians have spent their lives puzzling, discussing and gaining wisdom from God’s words. I’ve found there’s something divinely invigorating about slowly brushing up against the wisdom of past sages.

I’ll add here that my 10-year-old daughter has probably taught me the lesson of slowing down better than anyone. I had just read the story of Zaccheus, and she asked: “Why does Zacchaeus climb a sycamore? What’s the point of that detail? I would have just said ‘tree.’”

In my haste, I’d never thought of this question. And as it turns out, Luke references sycamores twice, within only verses of each other: once in the Zacchaeus story, and once more in Luke 17. In Luke 17 the disciples are overwhelmed by the level of forgiveness Jesus demands of them. And they beg Jesus to give them more faith for the task. But Jesus responds by telling them that they only need a mustard seed’s worth of faith to forgive a sycamore’s worth of pain (Luke 17:6).

And it’s in the very next chapter that we’re introduced to Zaccheus. A mustard seed of a man standing in a sycamore. A man needing miraculous forgiveness for the ways he was a traitor to his people and had stolen from his neighbors. My daughter asked the right question. The word sycamore is supposed to help us slow down and attune ourselves to what the Holy Spirit is up to.

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?

Recently, my family started trying to observe the Sabbath. Every Friday evening, when we sit down for dinner, we say a prayer and start a countdown. When it hits zero, we all slap our hands on the table and yell, “NO CHORES!” For the next 24 hours, we try to prioritize activities that are restful, worshipful and celebratory. Normally, we start with a special dessert; I tried my hand at Pavlova last week. Increasingly, I’ve tried to turn my phone off during this time as well. To help bring some intentionality to our Sabbath keeping, we save one percent of our monthly income to party with family and friends. Last time, we actually saved up for three months and planned three parties in a row! Desserts with some close friends, a feast with a group of people we didn’t know well yet, and a happy hour with all of our neighbors.

Rest and celebration are profound events. On the very first pages of the Bible, we’re told the universe begins with a pattern of work followed by rest and celebration. Rest reminds us that we are not God. God never needs to rest. Practicing the Sabbath is a way of remembering we are human. But the Sabbath is also a way to join God in his divine joy. God spends the first weekend of the universe's existence (not resting as we do) but celebrating the goodness of what he has done. The Sabbath has become a profound way for our family to remember our humanity in a world where technology makes us feel like machines. It’s also become a vehicle to join in the joy and celebration of God.

QUESTION #7: FOCUS

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.

I’ve found a ton of clarity and focus in the recent BibleProject series working through the Sermon on the Mount. I told a group of close friends recently that while I know how important Jesus’ sermon is, I don’t believe it occupies a space in my mind, imagination and morals the way it should. BibleProject did a great job of helping explain the teachings of Jesus in such a way that they no longer feel like isolated teachings but a deep wisdom I need to think about often and massage into every part of my life.

I’m not sure you’ve had a recent “aha!” moment, but there were many times throughout BibleProject’s series that I found myself realizing just how profound and transformative Jesus’ teachings really were. It felt like I was hearing them for the first time.

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?

Well, at Spoken Gospel, we’re moving into a translation phase. The goal is to translate our free, Jesus-centered Bible commentary into languages with few to no resources. It’s a huge undertaking and strikes deep into my missionary–kid heart. I want the world to know why Jesus is good, beautiful and true. And I’m really excited that Spoken Gospel is taking these next steps.

Personally, I hope to write a book soon that helps people read and understand the hardest parts of the Bible. If you’ve ever wondered what’s going on with Gershom's foreskin or the mutilated concubine, I want to write something that puts tools in your hands so you can understand your Bible and why stories like that are in there.

Finally, and this is more personal, I hope to become an elder at my local church. I’m currently an “apprentice,” and I just want to serve my church well for the long haul.

Seth observes that in Genesis, “the universe begins with a pattern of work followed by rest and celebration.” Many of us know God’s invitation into Sabbath rest, but the idea that he calls us into divine joy and celebration in our experience of the Sabbath is less familiar. What does Sabbath look like in your life? Is it a day off of work to tackle tasks that piled up during the week or maybe a day to catch up on missed sleep? Spend some time asking God what his idea of Sabbath looks like in your life. What joy is he inviting you to celebrate with him? What does true rest look like?