16 Jan 2016 ‘I am Fire, you are Stone’ – Conway pastor releases solo album

by Levi Gilbert

On Nov. 24, 2014, Abe Smith was wearing yellow socks. 

He remembers them because they were MediChoice non-slip hospital socks, and he was wearing them because he was having major back surgery — a spinal fusion.

“We had our son, Ezekiel Kai, in March 2014 [before the surgery], and three weeks later, I was crawling on the floor or using a walker to get around. It was horrible,” Smith said. “I couldn’t even hold my son for more than a couple of minutes in his first year of life due to back pain.”

The back troubles were a low point for Smith and affected every area of his life — his marriage, his parenting, his career as a worship pastor at New Life Church. It was a time of pain, in more ways than one, but in retrospect, no experience was wasted. 

On Friday, Feb. 5, Smith, 37, will release his first solo album, “Fire and Stone.” The album is a transparent look at his life, and the inspiration behind several tracks was born from the struggles of 2014.

“The album is mostly a story of my life,” Smith said. “Each song is about a piece of it. The title track, ‘Fire and Stone,’ is based mostly off of the strength of my wife, Sierra, and how we fit together as husband and wife.” 

The Smiths have been married for six years, and like most real marriages, that time has included magnificent highs and devastating lows. 

“‘I am Fire, you are Stone’ is one of the lines in the title track,” Smith said, speaking to the lyric’s reference to the trying times before and after the surgery. “Through all of it, with the help of my in-laws, Daryle and Jewel Walker, we got through it. I’ll tell you, my wife is amazing. She had her understandable moments of frustration, but she pushed through it and held us together. She was the stone. The foundation.”

Smith moved to Conway a little more than 10 years ago. Originally from Tacoma, Wash., Smith met a pastor from New Life Church in Conway during an internship in Colorado. The encounter brought Smith to Conway as a worship pastor.

“In ministry, people are always looking to you for answers, and so you always hope that you’re giving the right ones,” Smith said. “[In 2014] we were going through a major life struggle that a lot of people didn’t know about and still trying to lead people to safety and the shore — like a lighthouse. Sierra was the stone foundation, and I was the light on top — both of us standing strong and doing what needed to get done to guide people to safety as the storm raged around us.”

That sentiment reflects the theme of the whole album, which is to reach “people that need to know that they aren’t alone in their struggles. My intention is not that it just be good music, but that it really connects people with the heart of God.”

Smith was 15 when he first started taking guitar lessons. Soon after, his church needed a guitar player.

“It was a smaller church that had met in a school at the time. They would give me the set list the week before, and I would have to learn it by that next weekend. It was torture. Certainly trial by fire,” Smith said.

More than half of his life has been devoted to music, and even now after more than 10 years of being a worship pastor at NLC, Smith still would say he’s unsure of his gift.

“I still struggle with that sometimes — with my own insecurities,” Smith said. “I’ve just pretty much enjoyed music my whole life, so it stuck for me. I’m not even really sure what I would do otherwise, so I really hope this is a gifting.”

In front of a microphone, you’d be hard pressed to see any insecurity in Smith, who almost always appears poised and confident from the stage. But, again, that’s kind of the whole point and the heart behind the album — exposing life’s everyday insecurities for what they are.

“It’s a group of songs about my life and my faith in God,” Smith said. “I don’t always like the term ‘Christian album.’ I know there are times when we need to group music in categories to understand the premise of what’s being talked about, but this album is just about life. The good, the bad and the standing in a hospital room in my hospital gown with yellow socks trying to walk across the room without exposing anything to anyone . . . What if we could all just sit down and talk about the crazy things that are happening and write songs about them and show there’s still hope for us all?”

But, after being a musician for more than 20 years and being a part of music projects produced by NLC Worship, why do a solo album now? 

“Yeah, I ask myself that a lot lately,” Smith said. “It’s really been a dream of mine and on my bucket list for a long time to do a solo album and the opportunity came up so I knew I had to go for it.”

Given his Washington heritage, you might assume there will be some grunge-like influence all over this album, but it’s really more of a Central Arkansas production at its core.

“I come from a Seattle grunge/wannabe Creed background, but it’s not like that,” Smith said. “It’s more alternative/pop. We listened to a lot of Switchfoot, Coldplay, NeedtoBreathe and a bunch of stuff that [producers] Josh and Michael Hoover knew that I had never heard of. But we tried to not keep it in a box. Some of it even feels like a movie.”

The music and some of the vocals were recorded at Josh’s house in Conway, and many of the musicians featured in the album call Central Arkansas home.  

“The Hoovers have always been good friends of mine and are amazing guys. They really took the album to the next level for me,” Smith said. “They played most of the instruments and helped arrange most of the songs. I really could not have done it without them. They are starting to launch some of their own music under the name Acansa.

“Brandon Shatswell, Ben Ghormley, Charles King, Tracy Robbins, my good friend David Bunting, and of course, my beautiful wife, Sierra — all of them helped with vocals on various parts. Reymark Franke plays some killer violin, and my son even makes a, uh, well hidden appearance.”  

The various collaborations gave way to creative decisions that might not have otherwise developed. A case in point is the second song on the album, which blends Smith’s story with the Hoovers’ instrumental influence.

“The second song has no words and is about something that happened before I was born,” Smith said. “The Bible says God knew us in our mother’s womb, even before we were born, and that he has plans for us. I’m glad for that because my mom had gone to the doctor when she found out she was pregnant and was told that I should be aborted because she would spend the rest of her life taking care of me due to me being mentally challenged. She went home and talked to my dad, and they had to do some soul searching. They gathered their church small group together to pray, and she felt this peace come over her. She went back to the doctor for her next appointment, and he said that everything was fine. It was a miracle.” 

The collaborations also forced Smith to fight one of his own major weaknesses. 

“I sometimes take on too much on my own and want to do everything on my own,” Smith said. “My wife often tells me she didn’t marry me to have a roommate, she married me to have a helpmate. There are so many people around us that have a skillset that we don’t have. If we would just collaborate with one another, we can accomplish some amazing things.”

“Fire and Stone” is available for pre-order now on iTunes (which includes three tracks for instant download) and will be released Feb. 5. After release, CDs will be available to purchase at any of New Life Church’s 10 campuses across Arkansas or at Zetêo Coffee in Downtown Conway. 

Originally from Johnson County, Levi Gilbert now calls Conway home. A 2010 graduate of the University of Central Arkansas, Levi became involved with 501 LIFE in its early days and now serves as the magazine’s associate editor. He and his wife, Brittany, have two sons. Follow Levi on Twitter for more local 501 stories. Send him story ideas at [email protected].