Pastor Smith Settling In to FBC Grapeland
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – As most readers can attest, God works in mysterious ways. Sometimes it’s the unanswered prayers which turn out to be best, sometimes a road with many twists leads to the best destination. And sometimes, it’s not when God opens a door, but when He closes every door but one, that we find our way.
This could summarize a lot of lives, but definitely played a part in the road for Tim Smith, from the town of Dew, near Fairfield, all the way around the world, to end up where he least expected: Grapeland, less than 50 miles from where he started.
Smith knew Houston County well, playing some of the local teams while he was in school, but promised himself he would move away and see and experience other parts of the world. He eventually found himself in far-away Blue Mountain College, near Memphis.
“The funny thing was, Blue Mountain College was technically still an all-girls school. The only men allowed to go were ministers, but the men did not live on campus,” Smith explained. “We lived off-campus, in these things they call ‘ministerial houses’, which, in other words, were broken down, beat-up homes.”
Smith met a fellow student at the college, Shereé – the two have been married for 41 years.
They finished school and went to pursue their faith, leading churches in the mid-west, Italy and other points, eventually ending up in Oklahoma, thinking that would be their last move. The two had been contacted over the years by churches looking to recruit them and when they were contacted by First Baptist Church (FBC) in Grapeland, Smith was familiar with the area, but didn’t give it too much thought.
Thinking a move might be nice to be closer to their children, they browsed houses in the area, finding some interesting fixer-uppers, with room for a horse. When Smith was asked to pastor the church at the beginning of summer, he and Shereé wondered if they would be able to sell their house in Oklahoma and come away with enough money to buy a place near Grapeland.
God, as He often does, revealed His plans.
“We put our house on the market on a Friday, we had a showing Saturday morning at 8:15, and the house was under contract that night,” Smith said. “And for the asking price.”
The Smiths have felt at home in Grapeland, already learning the names and faces of the neighbors they run into around town. Smith said he was happy to come to a true small-town community church, and not end up in one of the mega churches popping up around the state.
“I was having to be a CEO, as opposed to being a pastor. Understood, and, and God didn’t call me to be a CEO. He called me to be a pastor,” Smith said. “I love this place – we are all ‘salt of the earth people.’”
Commenting on how well the people, city, local organizations, businesses and school district all work so well together, Smith is fascinated by the history of Grapeland, from his own new church home to the iconic “Little White Church.”
“I see different age groups together,” Smith noted. “I don’t see Gen-X against the millennials, against the baby boomers. I see the younger generation showing respect to the older generations and listening. It’s a very different thing and that’s great, because that’s what creates family. That’s what allows people to work together, and learn together.”
This reporter has always enjoyed spending time with our local pastors, new-to-the-area or veterans, and always has a few stock questions to ask each of them, where the same question can elicit such different and interesting responses.
One question is if there is a Bible verse, passage or story which has a significant meaning to them.
“Proverbs 16:3 is one that has really caught me,” Smith said. “It says to commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established. What it means is, if I will commit my work to the Lord, I say, ‘God, I’m willing to do whatever you want.’ If I do that, He will show me His plans. He will establish my path. Proverbs 19:2 says, desire without knowledge is not good. Whoever makes haste with his feet, misses his way. In other words, I can have all the good intentions of the world, but if I don’t understand what’s going on, I’m going to mess up. And what’s more, if I’ve got good intentions, I think I know what to do, I’m more likely to jump in with both feet, then realize I’m not even on the right road. It means I’ve got to be patient, not in a hurry. I must be patient, learn what’s going on, understand folks – understand their background, their history.”
FBC Grapeland meets each Sunday for service at 10:50 a.m. at 408 Chestnut Street.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
