Retirement Article |
| Completing 33 years as pastor of Dr. Smith is no stranger to Southern Baptist work. He has been a platform speaker for the Texas Baptist Evangelism Conference, the Baptist General Convention of Smith was saved when he was eight years old, licensed to preach at thirteen, and ordained into the ministry at sixteen. "I pastored a church in southern His love for the local church shows in his passion for starting new congregations. Among forty church starts, led by Smith's passion, today seventeen of them remain as, what he calls, "full grown." "Among these seventeen, including Smith came to "I saw in front of me a scroll of parchment that had Psalm 37:34 on it," he explains. "I opened my Bible and read it: 'Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.' To me that verse said that From an organizational perspective, Smith formed a Global Outreach Team at "Our people minister to the poor in Members have ministered throughout the world in such places as the Katrina Hurricane disaster area, the Rio Grande Valley, Mexico, How does a pastor stay at a local church for 33 years? "You have to identify your natural leaders," Smith responded. "Never surprise your church leaders. Spend time with them and take them into your confidence. Let them know of your vision and desires and ask them for input. Then take each suggestion and, like a puzzle, fit each piece to build your paradigm." Anything you would do differently if you had it to do again? "Yes; I would love people more. I was brought up to see people by their color. Then I began to see people by their economic status, and then by their intelligence. I was so ignorant on how God wanted me to see people. In my preparations for the ministry I began to see people as either saved or lost. Finally, God began to show me that there is only one category of people: people who are loved by Him. Some reject His love, while others accept it; but everyone is loved by God. I wish I had learned that earlier in my life. "The other thing is that I would learn to pray more. The tragedy of today's pulpits is that they are filled with men who do not have time to pray. Prayer is God's invitation for me to come into His presence to reveal His will to me so that I can trust my life with Him. I think it was E. M. Bounds who said that the church doesn't need more methods, but rather it needs more men who pray." How does one prepare to retire? "A dear friend told me if I wanted to enjoy the end of my life that I need to pay the old man something every day because the old man won't be able to work all week like he used to. You can't prepare to retire when you're 55; you must start paying yourself something at age 20 and leave your investment alone. There is no such thing as social security, but there is such a thing as a wise investment. Young ministers need to learn this important formula: if your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall. Maintain your investments and your health and you will retire well. "About three years ago I began consulting with several key leaders about my plans to retire. I discovered that there are stages you go through when you retire. At first I was a bit paranoid and frustrated. I became angry with myself. After a few months of sadness, I began to release my hold on Smith plans to travel for a few months immediately after retirement. He also loves gardening and playing the piano. "Few people know that I began my ministry as a music evangelist," said Smith. He also hopes to fill the pulpit of local churches as his friends call on him for assistance. "I would like to help churches that are transitioning from one pastor to another. I also would like to hold some church growth conferences. I know about 185 things not to do about church growth and church planting," said Smith with a smile. How to be a successful pastor? "Love your wife supremely," he responded. "If a man cannot figure how to treat his wife as a queen, he'll never be able to develop the bride of Christ. Secondly, he must be a man who knows how to listen, not just at what people say, but what they actually mean. Pay attention and get it right the first time. My sixth grade teacher once said, 'When a task is once begun, never leave it 'til it's done; be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.' My prayer is that when I come to the end of my total journey, I will hear Him say, 'You did it well.'" With nearly a thousand attending Dr. Ben Smith announces retirement by Johnnie R. Jones, Contributing Writer |
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