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Scott Smith is a speaker, host, spoken word artist and founder and director of the non-profit ministry Ripe Creatives. Ripe Creatives seeks to spread the good news of the gospel through creative expression by developing platforms and events for Christian artists to represent Christ in creative spaces, & encourage the Church to love, serve & reach the community around them. We have been friends for almost 15 years and it has been a blessing to watch him follow his calling and passion over those years into a deep place of purpose and intention. He is one of the most inspiring, selfless and loyal guys that I know, and was also a groomsmen in my wedding :)
You can connect with him on Instagram @Scott7Smith and make sure to check out the ministry Ripe Creatives at ripecreatives.com
What is your purpose in life?
In a word: Jesus. My ultimate goal in life is to live in light of His love for me. The way that gets fleshed out in my current rhythm of life is primarily through my family, relationships & connecting with people and helping create space for them to walk out their own purpose and gifting. At the core though — my life and purpose revolves around recognizing what God has done for me and trying to respond to that reality every day.
How did you come to discover your purpose?
I spent a large part of my life running away from God’s consistent pursuit. When I finally surrendered my life and gifts to Him, He slowly began helping me discover my unique purpose of connecting with and serving others in specific ways. It has truly taken years to land in this stream/rhythm of “discovered purpose.” Going through seasons or instances of pruning or redefining more specifically what my purpose is has taken a lot of time. I’m not sure if we ever truly arrive but there are always steps to find our specific narrow path.
How do you connect purpose to everyday life and work?
My work with the ministry Ripe Creatives is deeply connected to what I believe my purpose is. It is helping create space and opportunity for artists/creatives to walk in their purpose and steward their gifts. Every day I spend time developing relationships to help artists get opportunities to leverage their talents, gifts & abilities for the purpose of mission in the city.
How do you remain vibrant, encouraged and energized?
The first step is being rooted in my identity. I really try to live from a place of trusting God with all my heart and not leaning on my own understanding, but acknowledging him in all my ways and letting him direct my path (proverbs 3:5-6). From there it’s all about continuously inviting God into my process whether that’s creating art, casting vision for an event, or investing in a relationship that leads to opportunities for myself or others.
What is one thing that you do everyday that is a necessity for your success?
This might sound like an out of the box answer, but I think it’s a true hallmark to the way that I define success personally: love my wife. Our Ripe community defines success as fruitfulness. Being committed to home-life as part of my primary role on earth has allowed me to have a greater sense of joy, freedom and hope in my work & ministry.
Any other thoughts or words of encouragement!?
Over a decade ago, Jon Tice told me to “find out what you’re passionate about and do that. Because that’s what the world needs — people who are passionate about what they do.” I really believe these past 30 months or so has been a culmination of trying to live into that advice from Jon. I’d challenge whoever is reading this to do the same!
Thanks for reading!
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