Jesus is, of course, the greatest leader ever! I have endeavored to lead in the Christian way all of my adult life. God has been gracious in placing me in places where I could lead and I am grateful for that.
Today, I must confess that since the death of my son Frederick (Rick as I knew him), life has taken a dramatic downturn for me. There is a huge hole in my life that seems impossible to overcome. I believe I will have this hole for the rest of my life. Rick has been incredibly important to me all during his life and continues to be important to this day.
My daughters, Jamie and Holly have been very special during this time. They both think of Rick and the thoughts bring tears to their eyes with each thought. Both daughters have taken special time to be near to me and see that I am doing o.k. They are so good at doing that. Our entire extended family has gathered around us, including all those who have come to Write About Jesus. I cannot begin to thank all these folks for their expressions of love. Thank you, anyway.
John Ortberg, pastor of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, CA has written a book entitled "Get Out of the Boat." I am presently reading this book that, so far, is speaking to me. From this point on (November 11,2010), I am going to get out of the boat that has been overwhelming me and binding me to earth. I want to be what God wants me to be and if He has something in these last years of my life, I want to accomplish His task.
This is not going to be easy for me, so I am asking for prayer support from all my family and friends.
Jesus is the GREAT LEADER and I am privileged to follow Him.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
AFTER THOUGHTS AND CONTINUED EMOTIONS
Through the years, I have conducted many funerals, provided sympathy to folks who needed it, given encouragement to keeping on when life screamed to "Give Up." Up to now, I thought I was pretty good at it.
Many years ago, a young couple regularly attended the church of which I was a pastor. Along with her folks, they owned a resort on the Lake of the Ozarks. In the realm of important things in their life, number 1 was their marriage and their children. Number 2 was probably their extended family. Number 3 was their business. My guess was the the Lord ranked somewhere in the top 10. I really did like them. They were good folks.
One day, the Dry Cleaning and Laundry folks came by to deliver some clean clothes and the driver of the vehicle asked me if I had heard about Jerry_________'s death. Jerry was a young man in his late 20's. There was a gas leak on the pump at the boat dock at his resort. Jerry got in the water, put a pipe wrench on the pipe that was leaking and was immediately electrocuted by a short in the pipe. I will always remember his wife saying, "I don't ask for him back, I just want the Lord to take me too!" A big hole was felt by Liz as Jerry was taken from her. He just wasn't going to be seen again in this life. I tried to minister to this very nice lady, and perhaps I did, but there was no way for me to feel her pain that day. Today, I know what she was feeling.
We read about tragedies that take place on the streets, in homes, during recreation, traveling and murders and we say, "That's too bad, and it really is; however, when the tragedy walks in our front door and the victim is someone in our family, those words are hallow and almost meaningless. Today, I know what a particular family that has experience one of those tragedies feels.
I see the looks of unbelief in the faces of Cindy, Sue, Jamie and Holly and it makes me want to cry. I feel the hurt that Kendall and Guy feel by the loss of their special brother-in-law. Today, I know that feeling.
To all of you who have expressed sorrow, caring, prayer support, I cannot begin to express my thanks to each of you. Whether you have experienced such a loss or not, your caring is helping all of us move on with our lives. We have a wonderful Savior in Jesus Christ. He is real and cares for each of us. Today, I know that feeling more than ever.
Many years ago, a young couple regularly attended the church of which I was a pastor. Along with her folks, they owned a resort on the Lake of the Ozarks. In the realm of important things in their life, number 1 was their marriage and their children. Number 2 was probably their extended family. Number 3 was their business. My guess was the the Lord ranked somewhere in the top 10. I really did like them. They were good folks.
One day, the Dry Cleaning and Laundry folks came by to deliver some clean clothes and the driver of the vehicle asked me if I had heard about Jerry_________'s death. Jerry was a young man in his late 20's. There was a gas leak on the pump at the boat dock at his resort. Jerry got in the water, put a pipe wrench on the pipe that was leaking and was immediately electrocuted by a short in the pipe. I will always remember his wife saying, "I don't ask for him back, I just want the Lord to take me too!" A big hole was felt by Liz as Jerry was taken from her. He just wasn't going to be seen again in this life. I tried to minister to this very nice lady, and perhaps I did, but there was no way for me to feel her pain that day. Today, I know what she was feeling.
We read about tragedies that take place on the streets, in homes, during recreation, traveling and murders and we say, "That's too bad, and it really is; however, when the tragedy walks in our front door and the victim is someone in our family, those words are hallow and almost meaningless. Today, I know what a particular family that has experience one of those tragedies feels.
I see the looks of unbelief in the faces of Cindy, Sue, Jamie and Holly and it makes me want to cry. I feel the hurt that Kendall and Guy feel by the loss of their special brother-in-law. Today, I know that feeling.
To all of you who have expressed sorrow, caring, prayer support, I cannot begin to express my thanks to each of you. Whether you have experienced such a loss or not, your caring is helping all of us move on with our lives. We have a wonderful Savior in Jesus Christ. He is real and cares for each of us. Today, I know that feeling more than ever.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
RICK, A MODEL SERVANT LEADER
Of course, all of us who are of the Christian faith understand, Jesus was the real model servant. He did it flawlessly. Here on this earth, it is sometimes very difficult to cross paths with leaders who serve first. I am now going to brag! My son, John Frederick Smith II, was such a person. As a little boy, he was always called Ricky, the Rick part taken from his middle name. Throughout his elementary years at school and on the basketball court or baseball field, he was Ricky. Singing with his family's singing group, One Accord, he was also Ricky during those formative years. In high school, he dropped the "y" off of Ricky and was Rick Smith. By this time, he was becoming what he would ultimately be as a man, and that is being very concerned about people who didn't have much or were not popular in school. There was one girl at St. Charles High who was not pretty and definitely not in the mainstream of being one to whom others would gravitate. Not Rick, he always had time to make her feel like she was the most important person in the world.
Not long ago, Rick backed into a parked car in the parking lot near his office. Going inside to find the owner of the car, he discovered it belonged to a lady who had been domestically abused. As a matter of fact, she did not have a left eye. Rick took care of her car and made it possible for an eye to be implanted in her face. Wherever we would go, Rick would always find people of "less stature" and say "Hi" to them and engage them in conversation. One evening at a grocery store, we were there to buy a few items and he bought a coke. I wondered what that was for, but as we were leaving the store, he handed it to the security guard and said "I thought you might be thirsty." That kind of thing happened all the time.
Rick passed away earlier this summer. He was 42. Oh how much our family misses him. How his wife and little daughter miss him. Rick was a board member of the Kessler Park United Methodist Church School Board. His friends liked to sit by him at the meetings because he was a fun person who was the master of the one liner. Often, he would sing at gatherings and captivate his audience with his voice and his sense of humor.
Rick was not in this world to be served, but to serve. He had a dynamic personality and would always light up a room. At his funeral, the church was packed with standing room only. The testimonies from people whose life he helped to be better was overwhelming. I had no idea of his influence in Dallas.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Dallas Morning News had 142 comments in his guest book that accompanied his obituary.
I have had over $7800 given to the A.S.K. Kindergarten College Scholarship fund in his name. What a testimony of great serving leadership. I love you Rick, wish you were still with us. Christmas at the Smith household will be a little dimmer this year, but heaven will be a great deal brighter. Sue, Jamie, Holly and I are sad in one way, but happy for you that you are with Jesus. That is always a good thing.
Not long ago, Rick backed into a parked car in the parking lot near his office. Going inside to find the owner of the car, he discovered it belonged to a lady who had been domestically abused. As a matter of fact, she did not have a left eye. Rick took care of her car and made it possible for an eye to be implanted in her face. Wherever we would go, Rick would always find people of "less stature" and say "Hi" to them and engage them in conversation. One evening at a grocery store, we were there to buy a few items and he bought a coke. I wondered what that was for, but as we were leaving the store, he handed it to the security guard and said "I thought you might be thirsty." That kind of thing happened all the time.
Rick passed away earlier this summer. He was 42. Oh how much our family misses him. How his wife and little daughter miss him. Rick was a board member of the Kessler Park United Methodist Church School Board. His friends liked to sit by him at the meetings because he was a fun person who was the master of the one liner. Often, he would sing at gatherings and captivate his audience with his voice and his sense of humor.
Rick was not in this world to be served, but to serve. He had a dynamic personality and would always light up a room. At his funeral, the church was packed with standing room only. The testimonies from people whose life he helped to be better was overwhelming. I had no idea of his influence in Dallas.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Dallas Morning News had 142 comments in his guest book that accompanied his obituary.
I have had over $7800 given to the A.S.K. Kindergarten College Scholarship fund in his name. What a testimony of great serving leadership. I love you Rick, wish you were still with us. Christmas at the Smith household will be a little dimmer this year, but heaven will be a great deal brighter. Sue, Jamie, Holly and I are sad in one way, but happy for you that you are with Jesus. That is always a good thing.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
HE WALKS THE TALK
Far too many of us who claim to be followers of Jesus are actually viewers of those who are on the front line doing the work of presenting Jesus to those who are in desperate need. A young man who is on the front line in St. Louis, MO is Jason Julian, who direct Urban-K Life in that metropolitan area.
Jason played football for the University of Tennessee, located in Knoxville. For those of you who are unfamiliar with college football, the University of Tennessee plays in the highest level of that sport and in one of the toughest conferences in the United States. Jason, who is white, married the love of his life. who is black and they live in the heart of one of the toughest neighborhoods in St. Louis.
Jason volunteers his time working in the public high schools of St. Louis. Not only does he work hard to become friends with the students by eating lunch, often bringing McDonalds' food for consumption, he builds RELATIONSHIPS. He is an unpaid football coach at Vashon High School and really teaches those kids how to play, not only football, but the game of life.
Recently, the administration of the public schools contracted with Jason to help correct the dropout rate in the high schools. A few K-Life workers have been hired to work in two schools, Beaumont and Sumner. The dropout rate in those two schools is an American tragedy.These K-Life folks are working hard endeavoring to eliminate that problem. They work with the attendance offices of the two schools, check the names of those not in school and go to the students' homes encouraging the students to get to school. One recent day at Beaumont, the attendance level was 85%! That was astounding, showing that building relationships with students is the way to go.
A building in the heart of St. Louis City, near the location of old Sportsman's Park which once was the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, has been donated to Jason. This location is in the center of the area in which Jason works. This building was valued at over 1 Million Dollars!!!! Volunteers from all around the metropolitan area are coming in to get the building renovated so Jason can have this facility to help do the work Jesus has called him to do.
God is doing a great work through this SERVING LEADER. Jason is a friend I greatly admire. He is what REAL LEADERSHIP is all about,
Jason played football for the University of Tennessee, located in Knoxville. For those of you who are unfamiliar with college football, the University of Tennessee plays in the highest level of that sport and in one of the toughest conferences in the United States. Jason, who is white, married the love of his life. who is black and they live in the heart of one of the toughest neighborhoods in St. Louis.
Jason volunteers his time working in the public high schools of St. Louis. Not only does he work hard to become friends with the students by eating lunch, often bringing McDonalds' food for consumption, he builds RELATIONSHIPS. He is an unpaid football coach at Vashon High School and really teaches those kids how to play, not only football, but the game of life.
Recently, the administration of the public schools contracted with Jason to help correct the dropout rate in the high schools. A few K-Life workers have been hired to work in two schools, Beaumont and Sumner. The dropout rate in those two schools is an American tragedy.These K-Life folks are working hard endeavoring to eliminate that problem. They work with the attendance offices of the two schools, check the names of those not in school and go to the students' homes encouraging the students to get to school. One recent day at Beaumont, the attendance level was 85%! That was astounding, showing that building relationships with students is the way to go.
A building in the heart of St. Louis City, near the location of old Sportsman's Park which once was the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, has been donated to Jason. This location is in the center of the area in which Jason works. This building was valued at over 1 Million Dollars!!!! Volunteers from all around the metropolitan area are coming in to get the building renovated so Jason can have this facility to help do the work Jesus has called him to do.
God is doing a great work through this SERVING LEADER. Jason is a friend I greatly admire. He is what REAL LEADERSHIP is all about,
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