The number of people available to share about the role Robert Smith Jr. has had on their lives could fill up this entire edition of The Alabama Baptist and likely several more editions.
You’ll find a few of those noted on page 2 and even more in the video archive from Smith’s recent retirement celebration posted on Beeson’s YouTube channel.
We in Alabama Baptist life have known and loved Doc, as many call him, for nearly 30 years, and it was Beeson’s founding dean Timothy George who recruited him away from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1997.
Well, actually it was the Holy Spirit along with Smith’s wife, Wanda, who ultimately helped him make the decision to become Beeson’s longtime preaching professor.
Found his burning bush
Initially, Smith wasn’t interested in taking the role, he explains in an article by Neal Embry and Evan Musgraves. “I didn’t want to be 500 miles away from (my) home, and I didn’t want to leave my students at Southern Seminary.”
Wanda sensed the Lord might be up to something, however, and insisted he at least meet with the search committee, so he went to “see if a bush was burning and if a voice was going to speak from the bush,” Smith said.
As it so happened, Wanda was right. He found the bush and now can’t imagine his life without Beeson and the relationships he has made through the years, including with current dean Doug Sweeney.
Flying back and forth between Birmingham and his home in Cincinnati, Ohio, every week during the school semesters has become a simple routine commute for these past 27 years.
Smith, who accepted the call to preach at 17 after years serving as a junior deacon, has been in ministry for nearly 58 years.
Pointing to Christ
Reginald Calvert, pastor of New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Bessemer, describes Smith’s preaching as “Christological; Christ is our redeemer, and there is a redemptive hermeneutic in all of his messages. He believes every sermon should point to Jesus Christ.
“The impact he has made is one of absolute commitment to preparation and presentation of that core message,” Calvert shared with Grace Thornton for The Alabama Baptist’s recent article on Smith.
Smith never wearies of investing in the lives of those he encounters. He pours into us, prays for us, asks about our families, remembers our situations and allows us to be part of his support system too.
In fact, his willingness to be transparent, vulnerable and real with his own life — especially the painful parts — made a significant impact on me. He has taught, and continues to teach me, how much we truly do need each other.
Dr. Smith also helped guide me as a young seminary student through a deeper understanding of searching our hearts for those hidden areas that need exposure.
Each time I inspect the icky crevices of my heart and shine the light to burn off the dark spots, I remember those conversations with Dr. Smith and am grateful.
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