SAN ANTONIO—Texas Baptist Men honored the late Leo Smith, former executive director of the missions organization, at a dinner and rally prior to the Texas Baptist Family Gathering.
Smith served in a variety of leadership roles with TBM over four decades, including time as president and more than seven years as executive director. He died in April at age 75 after a battle with cancer.
TBM President Tommy Malone recalled a conversation more than a year before he was elected to his first term in 2004 when Smith asked, “What does God want to do in your life?”
Cultivated leaders
Smith possessed a vision for cultivating leaders and the spiritual sensitivity to recognize when God called someone to his service, Malone said.
Bill Pigott, leader of the TBM Retiree Builders, praised Smith as “not only a good friend, but also one of the most godly men I’ve ever known.”
Keith Mack, state Royal Ambassadors director, noted Smith—who served a quarter-century as pastor of Highland Baptist Church in LaMarque, in addition to other pastorates in Floresville, Kenedy, Victoria and Richmond—remained “a pastor to the very end.”
‘Pastor’s heart’
Several staff members and volunteers praised Smith for his compassionate prayers and his “pastor’s heart,” recalling incidents when he drove long distances to attend funerals, rose early to visit hospitals and always took time to listen to people who needed to talk.
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“He was a great encourager, a great prayer warrior and a great listener,” said TBM Executive Director Don Gibson.
Several speakers thanked Smith’s widow, Cordelia, for the time she sacrificed apart from him so he could serve TBM.
“Leo loved what he did,” she responded. “He loved the people he worked with. There never was a day he left for work when didn’t pray, ‘Lord, I am in so far over my head.’ But it was a job made in heaven.
“He always was amazed at what God was doing through a group of volunteers. He never ceased to be amazed at the many miracles he saw every day.”
Gibson presented the inaugural TBM lifetime achievement “Finishing Well Award” to Smith’s family. The plaque included an inscription with a New Testament quote from 2 Timothy 4:7—“I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith.”
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