Skip to main content

Art & Creativity Quote by Michael W. Smith

"I've said to others that there were places I had forgotten about that were just so powerful. I've read the Gospels many times, but it's been a while since I've read through a whole book"

About this Quote

Nostalgia is doing quiet work here, but not the cheap kind. Michael W. Smith is talking like a touring musician who’s bumped into a room he used to live in: the “places” he’d forgotten aren’t just memories, they’re spiritual coordinates. Calling them “so powerful” frames faith less as an argument and more as a felt experience, the kind that can go dormant without disappearing. That’s a particularly recognizable move in contemporary evangelical culture, where testimony often hinges on recovery - not of new beliefs, but of old intensity.

The second sentence lands with disarming candor. “I’ve read the Gospels many times” signals credibility inside his audience: he’s not a novice, not dabbling. Then the admission: “it’s been a while since I’ve read through a whole book.” For a public-facing Christian artist, that’s a risky vulnerability, and it’s the point. He’s not confessing disbelief; he’s confessing drift. The subtext is busyness, routine, maybe even the professionalization of devotion - when religion becomes part of the brand, the texts can start to feel like backline equipment: always there, not always handled.

Contextually, it also reads like a reset button. In a media landscape that rewards certainty, Smith offers a softer authority: the seasoned believer who can say, plainly, I got out of practice. That posture invites listeners into the same recalibration, making recommitment feel less like moral failure and more like returning to a powerful place you didn’t realize you missed.

Quote Details

TopicBible
SourceHelp us find the source
Cite

Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Smith, Michael W. (2026, January 15). I've said to others that there were places I had forgotten about that were just so powerful. I've read the Gospels many times, but it's been a while since I've read through a whole book. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ive-said-to-others-that-there-were-places-i-had-166308/

Chicago Style
Smith, Michael W. "I've said to others that there were places I had forgotten about that were just so powerful. I've read the Gospels many times, but it's been a while since I've read through a whole book." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ive-said-to-others-that-there-were-places-i-had-166308/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I've said to others that there were places I had forgotten about that were just so powerful. I've read the Gospels many times, but it's been a while since I've read through a whole book." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ive-said-to-others-that-there-were-places-i-had-166308/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.

More Quotes by Michael Add to List
Rediscovering the Gospels Through Whole-Book Reading
Click to enlarge Portrait | Landscape

About the Author

USA Flag

Michael W. Smith (born October 7, 1957) is a Musician from USA.

30 more quotes available

View Profile

Similar Quotes

Thomas Goodwin, Clergyman
Hans Kung, Theologian