Kim Walker-Smith - Brave Surrender: Let Gods Love Rewrite Your Story

PRAISE FOR Brave Surrender

I so love Kims heart for worship and her passion to help others encounter the love and redemption of the Father. Brave Surrender is a book of beautiful truth and personal stories that will be an encouragement and inspiration to all who read it.

Kari Jobe

God had a great surprise and gift for the church when He created Kim Walker-Smiths voice. She sings with a passion and abandon unlike any other Ive known. However, this kind of freedom doesnt come without struggle, without pain, or without a fight. Thank you, Kim, for being so honest and open with your story. I know this book will be a lifeline to so many in their own journey of faith.

Chris Tomlin

What most people know about Kim Walker-Smith is what theyve experienced as theyve heard her lead worship on an album or on stage. Countless numbers of people have been impacted by her voice and the anointing on her life. But what most may not know is the woman behind the voicethe daughter, mother, wife, friend, preacher, and leader Ive been privileged to know since she was eighteen. What has most impressed me is not her ability to lead worship, but her willingness and hunger to embrace growth and allow God to shape her life. Up close and personal, Ive watched her walk with Jesus off the stage. Through mountains and valleys, in hard times and good times, she has consistently positioned herself in full surrender to God. In Brave Surrender, Kim invites us on the same journey of intimately knowing the love of a Father who will never leave us or forsake us and calls us to trust Him completely. With raw honesty and vulnerability, Kim inspires us to experience a freedom that can only come through surrender to a Father who surrendered all for us.

Banning Liebscher, founder of Jesus Culture

Brave Surrender is a majestic telling of the unparalleled power of Gods love. Kim Walker-Smith vulnerably opens up the scenes of her life, allowing us to dive into the experiences that led her to understand the splendor of surrendering to a good God. Read and know that Gods all-consuming love is waiting for you.

Lisa Bevere,New York Times bestselling author

Kim Walker-Smiths book grants us a glimpse into Gods work in her life. For all who seek to discover their gifts, find healing for their hearts, and minister to others, this wonderful book is a terrific resource.

Max Lucado, pastor and bestselling author

ZONDERVAN

Brave Surrender

Copyright 2019 by Kim Walker-Smith

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ISBN 978-0-310-35399-7 (softcover)

ISBN 978-0-310-35403-1 (audio)

ISBN 978-0-310-35401-7 (ebook)

Epub Edition February 2019 9780310354017

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Any internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The events and experiences detailed herein are all true and have been faithfully rendered as the author has remembered them, to the best of her ability. Some names, identities, and circumstances have been changed in order to protect the anonymity of the individuals involved.

Author is represented by the literary agency of The Fedd Agency, Inc., P.O. Box 341973, Austin, TX 78734.

Cover design: James W. Hall IV

Cover photo: Mary Claire Stewart

Printed in the United States of America

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 /LSC/ 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my childrenWyatt, Bear, and Maisie.

You give me the strength to keep fighting

for the best version of myself.

I pray that you will also find Jesus

in every hardship you face

and never forget how loved you are.

CONTENTS

It was a Friday night in July 2006the first night of our annual Jesus Culture conference. I stood just offstage, peering out from behind a thick curtain at the people filling the auditorium. A hum of nervous anticipation coursed through me like electricity.

Our teamworship leaders Chris Quilala, Melissa How, and I, along with our bandwas about to record our second live album, We Cry Out. This time we were filming as well. After the success of our first album, Everything, we couldnt wait to see what would happen with this one.

When we released Everything, none of us had any intention of going on to become a band and record multiple albums. Our sole purpose had been to give kids something to take home from our conferences that would help them enter into worship again. From the reports of youth leaders and kids themselves, we knew they were having amazing times of connecting to Jesus in worship at our conferences. The kids eagerly told their pastors about the ways they were experiencing Gods presence and love, and their response had been consistently evident in their loud and physically expressive worship. However, when they went back to their homes and lives, it seemed they were struggling to hold on to that connection with the presence of God.

By the time they came to the next conference, we felt as though we had to help them go back and pick up again at the beginning of their journey into intimacy with the Lord. The first session usually seemed flatthe kids would all kind of stand there and stare at us like they werent sure what to do with themselves. It seemed like there was a lot of distraction in the room, and their faces and body language clearly said they werent really excited to worship.

As a team, we understood from our own relationships with Jesus that sometimes life (stress, work, school, and the like) can pull all our attention from that relationship. Our connection to Jesus is not a onetime thing; it is something to fight for and nourish. It was in these moments of worship that the teens developed intimacy with Jesus, and we thought it would be incredible if they had a recording of the worship to take home and help incite their hunger for more of Him.

Wonderfully, that is exactly what happened! Everything became a huge successin terms of sales numbers, but also, and more importantly, in fueling kids devotion to the Lord. We heard countless testimonies from kids who described how the moments we recorded on the album had led them into fresh encounters with Jesus and stirred their passion to keep running after Him.

Parents were emailing us to tell us how their teens were spending time praying and worshiping Jesus in their bedrooms at home. They told us that their kids insisted on listening to the CD in the car every time they had to drive somewhere, were eager to talk about Jesus, and were excited to go to church.

When we had arrived at the venue earlier in the day for the Jesus Culture conference, we were happily surprised to hear kids worshiping together outside as they waited in line to enter the building. As the first session was about to start, they rushed to the front, crowded around the stage, and were shouting praise before the first song could take off.