My Road Leads Home is a project of Rising River Media, an independent, non-profit, Christian publishing and media company. That’s right! In addition to making documentaries, we also publish books. This page features a selection of our currently available books. Find the book you want and simply click on the link to view it on Amazon. All books are available in both Print and Kindle Editions! Our books are written to encourage people who are practicing (or considering) organic house church, with particular emphases on discipleship and serving “the least of these.” You can discover more about our books on our Amazon Author’s Page.
30 Days And 30 Ways Of Doing Good
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you can.” – John Wesley, Founder of The Methodist Church
30 Days And 30 Ways Of Doing Good is your daily guide on a journey through issues affecting our community, with articles written by people who are hands-on involved and making a difference. Take your Church, Sunday School Class, youth group or service club on a 30-Day journey through Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty, Human Trafficking, Justice, Veterans, Refugees, Adoption & Foster Care, Seniors, At-Risk Youth, And Much More! Discover practical steps to get involved, to make a difference and to engage in kindness and good deeds toward those in need. And be prepared to be personally challenged with a daily spiritual reflection that calls each of us to think higher thoughts about serving those in need. Designed to educate, motivate and inspire, 30 Days And 30 Ways is an opportunity to rise above generalities, to meaningfully connect with issues and people, and to build lasting community by serving others with good deeds which make a difference. Your personal journey into greater kindness and good deeds begins here!
Alex’s Amazing Kingdom Adventure
Join young Alex and his three friends – Little Lamb, Brave Lion, and Wise Wolf – as they set out on an adventure together to discover the Kingdom of the Great Shepherd and to receive their Kingdom hearts. Gale Smith illustrates her original and wonderful story of Alex and his three friends with 21 beautiful original pastel chalk illustrations. This book offers parents and grandparents a wonderful opportunity to whet the spiritual appetites of their pre-teen children and grandchildren for their own personal adventures of seeking the Kingdom of God.
And They Dreamt Of A Kingdom – Volume 1
“Would You disciple us?” How would you answer that question? Those were the fateful words which generated this book. Why? Because that simple question embodies a very real and practical challenge. How do we intentionally disciple those who are seeking to become disciples of the Kingdom? And They Dreamt Of A Kingdom (Volume 1) represents the author’s personal answer to the challenge and the question. Discipleship and the Kingdom of God were at the heart of Jesus’ ministry. But today’s Church is failing to teach the Kingdom or to make disciples who can reproduce their discipleship in the lives of others, opting instead to train worker-bees for their programs, rather than disciples of the Kingdom. And They Dreamt Of A Kingdom (Volume 1) will equip you to make disciples the way Jesus did. Offering fresh perspectives and insights, author Maurice Smith takes the reader into the disciple-making ministry of Jesus by examining the same discipleship lessons Jesus taught His disciples and offering questions for personal reflection and application. This is the most in-depth, readable and challenging book on Biblical discipleship you’ll read this year! By the time you finish this book, you’ll be able to respond with a positive “Yes” the next time someone asks you, “Would you disciple us?”
And They Dreamt Of A Kingdom – Volume 2
Welcome to Volume 2 of our series, And They Dreamt Of A Kingdom, on biblical discipleship and the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom of God, discipleship is a relationship and a journey, not a fill-in-the-blank workbook and DVD set. Both volumes of And They Dreamt Of A Kingdom (Volume 2) examine Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God and the discipleship lessons He taught His own disciples. What better place to discover the true meaning of discipleship than walking alongside Jesus and the twelve. Discipleship and the Kingdom of God were at the heart of Jesus’ ministry. But today’s Church is failing to teach the Kingdom or to make disciples who can reproduce their discipleship in the lives of others, opting instead to train worker-bees for Church programs, rather than disciples of the Kingdom. This book is different. Bringing fresh perspectives and insights, the author examines the disciple-making ministry of Jesus and offers Kingdom and discipleship truths in bite-size amounts. This book, along with its companion volume (And They Dreamt Of A Kingdom – Volume 1), is intended for those who want to understand Jesus’ message of the Kingdom of God and what it means to be a disciple of that Kingdom.
The Inextinguishable Blaze
THOU who camest from above
The pure celestial fire to impart,
Kindle a flame of sacred love
On the mean altar of my heart!
There let it for thy glory burn
With inextinguishable blaze;
And trembling to its source return,
In humble prayer and fervent praise.
Charles Wesley
These words by Charles Wesley set the tone, the theme and the title of this book by author Maurice Smith. The Church of the early 21st Century needs something that only God can give. He has done it in the past, and He can do it again. But it will not come by means of any program, activity or act of self-effort. It is a sovereign act of God in response to and in fulfillment of the heart-cry found In Isaiah 64:1, “Oh, that Thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down.” The Church of our generation desperately needs a divine visitation, a burning coal fresh from God’s altar that turns smart Christians into flaming radicals – carriers of that “inextinguishable blaze” which, throughout the history of the Church, has set the world on fire for Christ.
In this book, organic church advocate and revival historian Maurice Smith argues that God is preparing His Church for a season of spiritual awakening by calling out “Children of the Burning Heart” who will seek Him in genuine holiness and fear, personal repentance and renewed intimacy with Him. Are you one of them? Guaranteed to challenge you to greater personal holiness and zeal for the Lord, this book is your call to become a carrier of “The Inextinguishable Blaze.”
The Least of These
“Our Postmodern culture has concluded that it can manifest ‘good deeds’ without Jesus. The Church has concluded that it can manifest Jesus without ‘good deeds’. Our Postmodern culture’s plan appears to be working. The Church’s plan is a disaster.” – Maurice Smith, from The Least of These
With these words, author and organic house church advocate Maurice Smith highlights the need and sounds a clear call for Christians and organic house churches to become “incarnational” and “legendary” in their obedience to the Scriptural mandate to engage in “good deeds.” The author speaks to these issues out of extensive personal experience. Drawing on history, in-depth biblical studies and his years of experience ministering to “the least of these,” the author challenges all of us to reflect on the importance of “good deeds” when it comes to being “the light of the world” in our Postmodern culture.
KREM2 Story About Homeless Camps Documentary
KREM 2 (the local CBS affiliate) contacted me about the documentary short on Homeless Camps (which you'll find on this page) and asked for an interview.
Fig Tree Article On “The Dignity of A Shower”
I honestly didn't see this one coming. I got an email saying, "Here's the link to your story." It's a story about "The Dignity of A Shower," our documentary short on the need for showers in the homeless community. My thanks to Mary Stamp (Editor) and the staff at The Fig Tree Newspaper for following our documentaries on homelessness in Spokane.
It’s Always Nice To Get Noticed!
Shawn Vestal and The Spokesman-Review paid us a visit as we were filming "Give Me Shelter." We genuinely appreciated the very positive exposure they gave us for what we're trying to accomplish, showing a better optic, telling a better story, and setting a better tone. Click to read the whole article.
Our Thanks to SpIFF For Selecting Our Film!
We were approached in late 2019 by the directors of the Spokane International Film Festival (SpIFF) and asked if we had a version of "The Hidden Homeless" that we could submit to the Festival. Their board had decided that they wanted to do something relevant to the issue of homelessness and had heard about our work. We agreed and Nathan Slabaugh (Slabaugh Media) worked to chop down our Director's Cut to a shorter film festival version which we submitted to great reviews. Many thanks!