The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, June 23, 2006 Page: 3 of 110
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Clifton Record and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Nellie Pederson Civic Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Friday, June 23, 2006
The Clifton Record
3
PEOPLE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD — The Reverend Jerry Smith of the First Baptist Church of Clifton has
captured his congregation with paintings and drawings such as these of members that had somehow had
an effect on his life. “People in my Neighborhood” was a series of seven pieces, the centerpiece of which
was “little Lindsay Bell.”
wife is my best friend.”
Smith currently serves on the
executive board of the Bosque Bap-
tist Association; the executive
board of the Baptist General Con-
vention of Texas; the George W.
Truett Seminary as a mentor for
seminary students; Latham
Springs Baptist Encampment; Clif-
ton Lions Club Lion Tamer; Clifton
Ministerial Alliance; Mary Lola
Brewer Bradstreet Foundation;
Waco Ministerial Alliance; Inter-
faith Alliance; annual Food for
Families Drive for 15 years; and the
Clifton Lutheran Sunset Home Pro-
motion Committee.
Over the years, he’s also been in
volved with Goodall-Witcher Home
Health Care Board; the Clifton
Little League Association for 10
years; and other civic and commu-
nity- groups.
Finding time for himself, he said
that he enjoys all kinds of activities,
including painting, gardening, golf,
photography, and raising horses.
He even does bird calls and said
that he loves to sing.
If that weren’t enough, he writes
an average of 60 to 70 letters
monthly.
“If you write a good letter, people
will take it out and come back to it
and reread it time and again to draw
strength from it. I’ve been doing
that for years.”
Smith also said, “I use my guitar
to go the hospital. I like to go from
room to room and help people re-
member that they’re remem-
bered.”
On the letters he writes, Smith of-
ten uses his sons artwork as cover
pieces. “We joke that the reason the
boys are such good artists is that
they sat through a lot of sermons
and doodled a lot.”
Smith and his wife of 33 years,
Brenda, chose to raise their three
children in a place where they felt
at home. Though he spoke of a
“double standard” that preachers’
kids are pressed to, he said, “We have
tried to prepare each one of them for
their entrance into the world.”
“Josh and Joel have graduated
and are doing well with their art,
knock on wood,” said Smith. “Our
daughter, Jennifer, is a junior at
A&M, majoring in history.”
Including much of an artistic flair
in his sermons, Smith said that he has
been able to utilize art, humor, and
drama to communicate with people.
“We’re a visual society,” he said.
“I’ve gone so far as to have canned
pickles in the pulpit with me. When
, I raised them up and showed them, ev-
eryone knew what it meanL though.”
He says he likes to be able to use
sermon illustration. Following what
he called a tough year in ministry,
Smith did a series of seven draw
ings and sketches that he entitled
People In My Neighborhood.
“I used different people that were
a part of our church family that I
had either known or knew about,”
he said. “I used that particular
event to use those sketches to talk
about what I had learned from each
of those people. The centerpiece
was the largest one, one that 1 had
done of little Lindsay Bell who died
in a tragic accident.”
Smith pointed out that having to
bury a child is the hardest thing to
do as a minister.
“Some sermons I have done have
been humorous, like a rewrite I’ve
done of A Phone Call From God,”’
Smith said. “The sermon was on
giving and commitment.”
According to Smith, there is more
than enough ministry to go around.
“If you are a pastor, you have to love
people. I am here to help people
grow spiritually.”
He recounted several instances
involving everything from helping a
blind groomsman during a wedding
ceremony to a man falling into a grave.
“You really can’t be uptight,” he
said.
The minister that manages,
among countless other things, to
write a weekly article for the church
bulletin, and even act in a.play, is
still able to maintain personal Bible
study.
He said, “Longevity and consis-
tency helps a ministry and helps the
church. I have had chances to leave,
but felt like this is where I needed to
be and I love the people and they love
me. That’s something hard to leave.
BOOKS, ART, MUSIC, and a lifetime of photos line the walls of the study of Reverend Jerry Smith of the
First Baptist Church of Clifton. The Bowing Table and what he calls the Spaceship are only two works of art
created by his children that are displayed in his office. A few paintings and drawings of his own are included
as well. — Staff Photo By Deborah Mathews
played the violin, and Zach played
the xylophone. We played Amazing
Grace in a special. I was deeply
blessed by that experience.”
In his long years of service, Smith
has been involved with more than
just the blessed times. He has pre-
sided over countless funerals. Smil-
ing, he said that people have come
up to him during a funeral to ask
him to preside over their funeral.
“I think I’ve kind of become
known as the funeral preacher,”
Smith said. He explained his desire
to make each and every funeral ser-
vice personal and offer something
to those loved ones left.
A great advantage of being able
to remain with a congregation for a
long period, Smith feels, is the op-
portunity to cultivate a personal
relationship with people.
“I have seen a lot of good people
come and go,” he said. “I have
watched a lot of children grown up.
The graduates this year are kids
that came into the world while I was
here and I have been able to be a
part of their lives. About 20-plus of
them are members of our church.”
“For so many of these kids (in the
community), I’ve had a history with
them,” he continued. “A lot of them
I do their weddings. There are a few
that I’ve already done funerals for,
whether it was a grandfather, or a
Dad or Mom. In some cases, it was
a child. There was one that I did the
baccalaureate service, later I did
their wedding, and a few years af-
ter that, I did the burial of their first
child. That creates a bond that you
have with people because you have
a history with them.”
“When you see one of them tri-
umph, it’s a great joy. By the same
token, it’s also a great heartache
when you see someone succumb to
heartache that they can’t seem to
get over. That’s one of the heart-
aches of being a pastor .. walking
with people through their sorrow.”
Officiating at more than 350 fu-
nerals out of the Baptist Church in
Clifton, Smith explains, is one of the
hardest parts of being a pastor.
“I’ve buried nearly an entire con-
gregation,” he said. “When you’re
in a place for a long time, you get to
know the people and become a part
of their lives. You have a history
with them because you’ve visited
them in the hospital or you’ve done
their daughter or son’s wedding or
graduation baccalaureate sermon
or were at their kid’s little league
game or football game, or whatever
— you have a relationship with
people. That is one of the joys of
ministry is getting to know people.”
Members of Smith’s congrega-
tion speak of the selflessness with
which he serves. Church member
Rodney Rueter said, “His biggest
strength is his great caring for
other people and nis biggest weak-
ness is caring too much. He has
such a heart for people, anyone,
anytime, anywhere.”
“About the only way to deal with
that is that I grieve and then I do
other things to try to help me go
through my own grief,” Smith said.
“I find consolation in God’s work
and consolation with my family My
• SMITH
Continued From Page One
with a soft smile. “I have done fu-
nerals for 35 family members: two
of them were my brothers.”
•Smith was one of seven children.
His love is apparent when he speaks
of his family and their heritage and
history.
“I love history,” he said. “When I
came here (Clifton) I tried to find
out the history of the community
because I believe that if you can
understand that history, you can
understand the people you’re work
ing with.”
Explaining that he is neither Nor-
wegian or German, his family has
deep ties to Central Texas. John Hill
Luther, Smith’s great-great-grand-
father, was the first president of
ftfciry Hardin Baylor. His daughter,
Anne Luther, married William Buck
Bagby (Bagby Ave. in Waco is
named after him) They went as a
Baptist missionary in 1880 to Bra-
zil in South America. They had nine
children, five of whom went back to
Brazil as missionaries.
“My grandfather was Harley
Smith, who married Alice Bagby,
who had grown up on the mission
field,” he said. “He was also a pas-
tor at Walnut Springs. This is my
family’s home area.”
Harley and Alice Smith returned
to Brazil in 1922 and stayed there
to 1969, allowing Smith the oppor-
tunity to travel there.
His own missionary work is being
involved with the Clifton Baptist
Church and its work in Acuna,
Mexico each year.
When asked to describe some of
the good things about being a min-
ister, he said, “I love people. I enjoy
working with them. I have always
been amazed at how God works
through the lives of people.”
He recalled an event from his
past: “Several years ago, when the
Methodist Church was without a
pastor, they called me to come over
and talk to the children in preschool
about Easter. I went with my little
marker board. I drew a cross with
a figure on it and asked the kids who
is this? They answered that that
was Jesus. I asked them why did
Jesus go on the cross. Another little
boy answered that it was to die for
our sins.”
“They had a pretty good under-
standing, even at preschool,” he
continued. “I then asked if anyone
knew that these little dots on the
hands were. A little girl said that
those were ‘nail prints of love.’ I was
overwhelmed with a sense of awe.
I ended up preaching a sermon us-
ing her words and I entitled it Nail
Prints of Love.”
“Another highlight was a perfor-
mance I had done about a year ago
with one of our church members,
Zach Gardner,” Smith said. “I
played the guitar, Jimmy Schmidt
5.20 % *
WHEN WE SAY WE GIVE OUR CUSTOMERS
MORE, WE DON’T JUST SAY IT.
Open a 13-month CD with a rate of 5.10%, giving you an
APY* of 5.20%
Our mission at Bosque County Bank si to serve the personal, professional and business
banking needs of the community by building relationships that benefit Central Texas.
Visit us today and see how we rate!
*The annual percentage yield (APY) is accurate as of 6/13/06. Early withdrawal penalty may apply. Yields are subject to
change without notice. Minimum opening deposit of $1,000 is required.
BOSQUE COUKIT BANK
Meridian, Texas 76665
Member FDIC
(254)435-2351 Meridian
(254) 796-2665 Hico
200 West Morgan, Meridian Corner Hwy. 6 and 220, Hico
For Peace of Mind
Ask about our prefinancing and
pre-arranging of funerals. We welcome the
: opportunity to answer all your questions.
We are licensed by the
State of Texas to sell
pre-need funeral arrangements.
675-8611
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View two places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Smith, W. Leon. The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, June 23, 2006, newspaper, June 23, 2006; Clifton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth790015/m1/3/?q=%22~1~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Nellie Pederson Civic Library.