Granger Smith definitely got everyone’s attention when he posted a message to fans during his final tour stop on Saturday after his recent decision to step away from music to focus on his faith and pursue ministry.
The 43-year-old country singer said he didn’t want fans to see his departure as a retirement and hopes instead when they hear his name they think of the power of Jesus.
“Let’s be clear,” Smith wrote on Instagram. “This is not retirement. That would mean I’m quitting work altogether. It’s also not because I’m burned out or unwell or sick or heartbroken or grieving. I am more at peace and more free than any other time of my life. It’s not for any of those reasons.”
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“Let me tell you the real reason,” he added, quoting a line from the Book of Matthew. “Knowing Jesus and telling others about Him is the treasure of my life. And I want you to know this, so you can have Him as your treasure too. I want my family to experience it and my kids to know this joy. I don’t want a career based upon building a name for myself to get in the way of that, no matter what kind of popularity or career I’ve gained.”
The “Backroad Song” hitmaker said that no number 1 song, album or sold out concert is more important to him than proclaiming the name of Christ, who he said “washed me clean, the one that has freed me from my shame and my guilt. The one that gave me a new heart.”
“I want Him to be known!” the singer wrote. “And I want to know Him more. That is the real reason I’m leaving music touring. From now on when you hear the name Granger Smith, my goal is NOT for you to say: ‘He was a great singer.’ Or ‘a great speaker’ or ‘author’ or not even what a ‘great loss he suffered.'”
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“Instead, when you hear my name, I want you to think, ‘Granger Smith? Oh, I’ve heard of him. What a great Savior we have in Jesus!'” he added. “I hope to see y’all soon on a new kind of stage.”
Smith and wife Amber Bartlett have had four children together, River, London, Lincoln, and a fourth child, Maverick. Three-year-old River died in 2019 due to an accidental drowning.
Related: Granger Smith Opens Up About ‘Agreement’ He Made With Wife Following Tragic Death Of 3-Year-Old Son
