Tony Cummings reports on Atlanta-based singer BRANDON SCOTT SMITH

Brandon Scott Smith

Regular Cross Rhythms radio listeners will have heard the moving ballad "So Divine" by Brandon Scott Smith. It comes from Scott's independent mini-album 'Modern Day Prodigal' and is a song written about his wife, Kim. What is particularly poignant about Brandon's song is that he penned it about a wife who stuck with her husband through his painful battle with pornography addiction. In a recent radio interview with Chris Mountford, the Atlanta-based singer/songwriter spoke about his life. "I grew up in the church. My dad was a pastor until I was 11. Unfortunately he was brought up in a very legalistic environment, and so he continued that on in his ministry. God has been doing a work in his life, showing him the freedom that we have in Christ. It's been really cool to see God grow him and show him what relationship with Christ is all about. It wasn't until I was out of college that I really started learning what a relationship with the Lord is all about.

"For the longest time it was the list of rules - dos and don'ts - not walking with the Lord, but trying to live this life that might measure up to God's standards. And obviously we never can. It's been a crazy journey. I struggled with a sex addiction for 20 years or so. It started when I was pre-teen and it had nothing to do with my wife, but it had everything to do with my wife once I married her. Praise God she stuck with me; we went to counselling together, and I would go into a group for the men, she would go into a group for the ladies whose husbands were struggling with sex addiction. God really used that to encourage her that she was not alone in this, and that I was not alone in it either. In counselling we started to learn how addiction works, the cycle of it, all that stuff. But unfortunately there was a time, for a few years, where she didn't know whether I really loved her or whether I loved the addiction more. The song 'So Divine' came out of that healing process that God brought me through, so I could show her and tell her how much she means to me, how much I love her. God has really blessed our marriage since us coming to grips with what it's going to take to get victory over that disease."

Brandon continued, "The key message of 'So Divine' is that Kim is a gift from God to me. I belief he sent my wife to save me, in many ways. I don't know where I'd be, what I would be doing, if she hadn't committed to staying with me, and to working through this healing process with me. She's my partner in life, she's part of me, we're one together, she's my soulmate. We plan on doing ministry around the world together. That song is just making sure she understands how I feel about her."

The singer believes "Love Divine" has a powerful message to all people, Christians and non-Christians. He said, "You know what's interesting? I used a secular rap producer, Billy Hume, to do 'Modern Day Prodigal'. Of all the songs, he said 'So Divine' was his favourite. I really think it's because for the man who really cherishes his wife, who really does believe she's a gift, I think it speaks from the heart of what that man is truly feeling about his spouse. And for the women whose husbands aren't very good about expressing what they feel, it says what they want to hear from their husbands. I think it's universal as it relates to true love, and being overwhelmed at the gift that God has given us."

Brandon and his family are members of Northstar Church located in North West Atlanta. He and Kim have helped plant churches, led many Bible studies and both have a passion for leading people to a deeper walk with God. Brandon spoke about some of the other songs on his mini-album. "The title of the project is 'Modern Day Prodigal'. It's interesting because I'm a worship leader, I don't do a lot of concerts and performances - most of what I do is leading worship. That's really my true heart, to lead people to the throne and to show people how amazing our God is, how he deserves to be worshipped and adored. The whole album is kind of like a journey of the healing process in my life, of what God has been doing in my life over the last couple of years. It opens up with a song called 'Come On With That', which says, 'I don't need to walk on water/I don't need to raise the dead/I don't need to feed five thousand/I'll let you do that instead/All I want to do is show the world how much I love you/All I need to be is everything that you've made me to be/I want the world to see.' The chorus says, 'If you want to use me, I'm okay with that/If you want to choose me, I'm okay with that.'

"The whole premise of the song is my heart and my vision is to change the world for God. He says, 'I don't need you to change the world for me, I need you to just be obedient and just seek me and just listen to me. I can change the world if you will just do what I ask you to do. I'll show you what your role is in that.' I was walking into a church service and they were singing, 'Jesus, I believe in you, and I will go to the ends of the earth, to the ends of the earth.' And I was like, 'Yes, Lord, I'll go to the ends of the earth for you.' It's like almost he was standing right next to me whispering, 'Will you sit still for me? Will you be quiet and listen to me?' It really hit hard. God doesn't need my busyness, he doesn't need my abilities. He'll use them, but what he needs is my obedience. I don't want to be the Martha in the kitchen, too busy to enjoy the Lord; I want to be Mary, and sit at his feet and adore him and worship him. And then he'll tell me what he wants me to do."

Brandon continued, "It's interesting you guys at Cross Rhythms are playing 'So Divine'. Here in the States the first radio single is 'Out On A Limb'. It's one of those songs that's kind of universal. It says, 'You went out on a limb just to love me again/I know you never asked why, you just kept climbing so high to reach me out on that limb/Kept me from falling again/Now I don't want to go back, I just want to learn to love you like that.' It's a song that could be used in the context of what the Lord has done for us, but it's also a song that could be used in the context of what individuals in our lives have done for us. Stuck with us, loved us through the hard times, loved us when we weren't easy to love; kept coming after us even when we didn't necessarily want to be caught. It's just a song about unconditional love."

Brandon is the first to admit that his CD debut is almost profligate with its stylistic variety. "The title track is an electronic kind of sound. 'So Divine' is a slow ballad. 'Come On With That' is a rock song. 'My Thorn' kind of speaks for itself, it has distortion on my voice. After coming through what I've come through, I'm just going to do what the Lord wants, and not necessarily what I think everyone else might want. That doesn't mean that there's not a time and a place to bring to your sound in, reign it in and do a particular type of album. We may do that one day. But this was after coming out of the struggle that I came out of, and my producer, he was all for all for, 'Hey, let's mix it up'. I'm not trying to go to radio with all these songs, so just do it how it feels, natural, and see what happens."