There’s something about watching a parent talk about their child’s passion that gets me every time. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Michael W. Smith before, but this conversation felt especially personal because we weren’t just talking about music—we were talking about his son Tyler, the joy of watching your child discover what they were made to do, and the incredible moment when their passion becomes something they can share with the world.
As the executive producer of Daniel and the Fiery Furnace, Michael has had a front-row seat to the making of the film, while Tyler composed its powerful score. And with Daniel and the Fiery Furnace in theaters today, our conversation became about so much more than a movie. It was about family, faith, legacy and the beautiful, sometimes breathtaking, privilege of watching the next generation take the things they’ve been given and make them uniquely their own.
Michael talks about Tyler with the kind of pride any parent can recognize—not simply because his son is succeeding, but because he gets to watch him flourish in something he genuinely loves. He describes a 37-year-old son who works hard, plays hard, is deeply invested in his family and is now finding his stride as a composer. There’s something incredibly relatable in that: We spend so much of our parenting years pouring into our kids, wondering what will stick, what they’ll carry with them and who they’ll ultimately become. Then, every once in a while, we get a glimpse of the answer.
That makes Daniel and the Fiery Furnace feel like an especially meaningful family affair. Tyler’s music helps bring the story to life, Michael serves as executive producer, and the film brings together an extraordinary collection of voices and talent to tell a story about courage, conviction and standing firm in what you believe.
For Michael, it is another chapter in a family legacy rooted in faith. For Tyler, it is an opportunity to use his own gifts to tell a story that can reach an entirely new generation. And for parents like me, it is a beautiful reminder that one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the freedom—and the foundation—to discover their own calling and run with it.
Interviewed for Family Entourage
Family Entourage: I absolutely love it when families get the opportunity to collaborate. And just hearing you talk about seeing your son Tyler in his element, I think that watching your child do something in their passion is the best thing that you could ever afford them to do. So what is it about seeing his creativity or his process that excites you most?
Michael W Smith: Well, he’s finally making some money.
FE: [Laughter] Very important as a creative.
MWS: But no, but just to watch him flourish and he’s so passionate. It’s not like a job. It’s like I’m getting to do something that I genuinely love and have a passion for and actually make a living doing it. But to watch him get inside of it and really, he works really hard. He works hard and plays hard. When I say play hard, I watch him on a couch when there’s all this noise and he’s literally out and there’s 20 grandkids and six of those are his kids. But he plays hard as a dad. He works hard as a composer. He just gives it his all. And to watch him after all these years, he’s 37 now, to watch him going, my gosh, he’s on a roll and he’s getting calls and I think this is the best thing he’s ever done.
FE: Hearing you just talk about the life and the legacy that you’ve been able to have your fingerprints all over. I mean, clearly you’ve been able, at least we can see from the fruits of Tyler, make faith his own and use it to impact others. Can you think of maybe share one or two maybe conscious things? I’m sure there was a ton of just life lived that you did to help steward a faith and a relationship with the Lord and him that maybe somebody like myself who has much younger kids could adopt?
MWS: Well, in regards to faith, I mean, gosh, I’m sure we’ve made our share of mistakes. Hopefully we were more on it than not. We realized that they watch what you do more than what you say. So actions speak louder than words. And so I think for him and all of our kids to watch us love God and make him the most important thing in our lives and to watch their mom and me, now married 45 years as of last Saturday, and just do life. And then my mom and dad are amazing. Dad’s mom’s amazing. I mean, it’s a very, very strong family. We’re all really, really close, but God is at the center of all of it, and he has seen that. And Tyler is a godly young man. I mean, he is on fire. I mean, all my kids are, but there’s something about him that’s just, there’s a whole other level of.
I can’t explain it. It’s beautiful to watch. And his wife, Sarah. And Sarah’s on the soundtrack too. She’s got this, I won’t tell you, but you’ll hear a voice and it’s kind of like a gladiator thing and it’s going, “Oh my gosh, that’s Sarah.” And she got a beautiful voice up. It was so fun. It’s a family affair.
FE: Let’s talk about the soundtrack for a minute and bring it back to the music because my family, we are also huge TobyMac fans, and immediately my son identified his voice in Walk Through Fire, and we got the opportunity to see him earlier this year meet up with him because we have a shared connection with kids in school in San Diego. But talk to me about getting the amazing talent and veterans along with newcomers to lend their voice to something that can be super impactful.
MWS: There’s a lot of things to get involved in, but it’s really interesting time, these biblical stories coming to the big screen. And this is a story that I’m just assuming that you’ve read a hundred times like I have, even more our whole lives. And to be able to put that on the big screen and have characters and see humanity involved, and there were feelings and there were tough stuff and they were exiled and da, da, da, list goes on. And then we got Nebuchadnezzar and you better bow down. You don’t bow down, you’re going to get thrown in the furnace. And that whole theme and that moment going, we will not bend the knee. And it’s inspiring. You walk out of that theater, you see that scene, it invigorates you as a believer, no doubt.
