Country singer Granger Smith announced that he would be leaving country music to pursue a career in ministry. Smith will complete his current tour, then stepping away for an undisclosed amount of time.
Smith shared a video on Instagram about his upcoming plans as a minister and what drove him to that decision. The caption of the video said:
“This message is so difficult to post. The words for this caption are so hard to find. Not because I don’t believe in the truth of them, but because this marks the end of the longest era in my life! Touring…24 years of it.
“This summer will be my last tour. I am so encouraged and hopeful and excited and joyful about the next chapter, but to a large extent, I have no idea what it will look like. I just want to glorify God the best way that I can. I want to learn and grow and serve my local church and allow my pastors to equip and affirm those next steps. Lord willing, I want to be used to help people find their purpose.”
In the video, which featured Smith speaking directly into a camera, he explained the reasons that drove him to make this decision and the goals he hopes to achieve along the way. Granger said:
“I have felt a strong desire to pursue ministry, and this doesn’t mean I’m gonna start a church or a crusade or a revival. This means that me and my family are gonna serve our local church, we’re gonna pour into that church as members, and have my pastors and elders pour into me and disciple me and teach me as I sit under their wise teaching. And then, Lord willing, one day they can affirm me into the next steps of what that might look like to glorify God best from my platform.”
“I’ve also been attending seminary…and that just takes a ton of time to pursue my MA there. This is a time of learning and growing for me and that may explain to some of you why I’ve appeared maybe distant, especially to music lately.”
Granger Smith hilariously detailed the reactions that his announcement is likely to see, putting them into four categories. Fox News shared the quote which says:
“The first group will say, ‘Oh, praise God, that’s amazing. What an example.’ The second group’s going to say, ‘Oh no, I’m going to miss your music. I’m going to miss your touring.’ The third group is going to say, ‘Oh, go follow your little sky God. You’re probably just making money that we don’t know about as a preacher.’ Then the fourth group is going to go, ‘Granger who? No one cares.'”
Granger is probably right that some fans won’t like or understand his decision, but he is correct that his commitment to faith inspires many fans. His tour will undoubtedly increase the audience’s buzz, as fans take advantage of what may be their last chance to hear Granger Smith live in concert.
The featured image is a screenshot from an embedded Instagram video.
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