Weekly Thought – July 9, 2024

Fred lived out the principles of scripture… exhibiting wisdom, integrity, and trust. He wanted to be a man whose decisions reflected the reality of God. The nature of God and the nature of man were constantly on his mind as he viewed life through a filter based on the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.

Evidences of God

I was invited to attend a luncheon of 17 leading pastors, including Stephen Olford. Billy Graham called him the man who had most influenced his ministry. During the table conversation he said, “My brothers, I am weary of celebrity religion. You know I have received my share of honors. But when I die if my family does not say, “There is something of God in the man, I will have failed.”

A holy hush came over the group. Each attendee thoughtfully considered his own personal situation. As that day comes to mind I think about the evidences of God in a man.

First, I would suggest a quiet center that cannot be panicked. The Quaker theologian Thomas Kelly called it making a “mental habit of internal orientation.” I just call it cultivating a quiet space that cannot be disturbed.

I think of Christ asleep in the boat when the storm was raging. Or, the eye of a hurricane when all about is roiling, the very center is peaceful – almost eerily quiet.

Second, God is evidenced in the way we speak. I think of my friend Bob, raised on the streets of a big city saying, “When I came to Christ He cleaned up my dirty mouth and tongue.” Vulgarity gave him a bad taste in his mouth. His profanity habit turned into “praying without ceasing.” Prayer came as readily as the swear words did before.

Third, our quality and breadth of love is another evidence. Unconditional love comes from Christ and when demonstrated, it is from a divine source. We are a conduit – we are the pipe. This love is more than tolerance. My saintly friend, Orene Howard told me, “Fred, there is not a sin which I cannot commit. If I thought there were I couldn’t love the one who did commit it.”

Fourth, the last one I will mention is our attitude toward death. One of the most important decisions in life concerns dying. The assurance of heaven gives us a peaceful acceptance of life with its variety of conditions. The Apostle Paul said “I know how to be brought low, and how to abound. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” The ups and downs remind us that this life is the practice – the real game comes later. I am glad!

This week consider: 1) How would you ascertain the evidence of God in another’s life? 2) How would others see evidence in your life? 3) When you think about death how certain are you about your relationship with God through Jesus?

Words of Wisdom: “Our quality and breadth of love is an evidence of God.”

Wisdom from the Word: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” (Philippians 4:11b ESV)

Weekly Thought February 27, 2024

Fred grew up as a – PK (preacher’s kid) which often sent mixed messages about the church. One thing sustained him – the reality of worship. The greatness of God and his awe for the Father never diminished.

Qualities of Worship

What do you think about worship? Here are some of mine through the years.

1) Quiet creates an atmosphere of reverence. Some of my deepest experiences of worship have come in empty churches. Whether it was downtown Chicago, the mountains of Colorado, rural Mexico, or Europe I have gone into churches alone just to sit and worship God quietly. One night in Colorado I stood outside with nothing but starlight illumination. Out loud I asked “How big is God?”

2) In worship we establish a proper position to God. The poem “Invictus” is not my creed. I am NOT the master of my fate; I am not the captain of my soul. God is my Father, Christ is my Savior – He is my Lord. In prayer we position ourselves in humility. It is interesting to me that I have never found a place in scripture where we are told to pray for humility – we are commanded to humble ourselves – We position ourselves in gratitude in worship… not only for the things we have received but for the many unknowing times of protection. We understand our position by faith. And we position ourselves in submission. “I am the vine; you are the branches” Jesus tells us.

3) In worship I evaluate myself. The worshipper’s view of life is the ultimate perspective – revealing and reversing our earthly take. The ultimate challenges us to consider the warning on the car’s side mirror: images in this mirror are larger and closer than they appear. Our eternal position is actually nearer and way larger than we imagine it to be. To live with an eternal perspective alters our priorities.

I think that possibly our children and our grandchildren are one ultimate way we evaluate ourselves. Last night, one of our granddaughters and her friend were at the house about midnight baking cookies (a glass of milk, a dozen cookies, and a granddaughter is about as good as life gets). And I said to her, “Ultimately my life will be evaluated more by our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren than by any other factor of my life.”

4) In worship we lose ourselves. I think “turn ourselves loose” is a better way of putting it. While walking on the gulf beach and studying a shell I picked up I was caught up in the awe and wonder of God. I was briefly distracted by a man who struck up a casual conversation. It quickly moved from “how are you?” to “who are you?” and it became competitive. I lost my focus for when I was looking at the shell and the ocean and thinking of God I turned loose of everything but worship. When my “Type A friend” came by jockeying for position I turned my focus back onto myself… a loss. In true worship I am “lost in the majesty of God.”

Worship is recognizing who He is and who I am in Christ. Worship is the natural response of my heart to a right relationship with myself, with Him, and with others.

This week carefully consider: 1) Where do I experience true worship? 2) What causes me to stop in wonder and awe? 3) How can I pause this week to truly worship?

Words of Wisdom: “Quiet creates an atmosphere of reverence.”

Wisdom from the Word: “The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD,” (Genesis 24:26 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – January 30, 2024

Fred focused on the process of maturity. He believed in the consistent devotion to the fullness of character. A casual, passive lifestyle held absolutely no appeal for Fred. Taking his gifts and developing them was of prime importance.

Life Is Not A Grapefruit

While speaking in Cincinnati a visitor to the hotel walked by the auditorium, heard me, and took a seat in the back of the room. The next day he called and asked to meet for lunch. I discovered he held a PhD in chemistry, followed Gandhi devotedly, and lived in India. After hearing about his time in our country I asked, “What have you observed about Americans?”

“Well,” he said, “you Americans are segmented. A large part of your life is devoted to making money. You have one for family, another for social interaction, and yet another for religion. But they are not tied together with any philosophical thread. Each of them stands alone, almost as if you are a different person in each of these roles.”

I asked him to tell me about Dr. Gandhi. “Dr. Gandhi had all the areas of interest I mentioned, too, but in his life each was an expression of his religion.”

I realized the chemist had made a profound observation about American life. I also realized his comment about Gandhi was one of the greatest compliments I had ever heard paid to another. The focused, unsegmented life is a rarity today.

Even the church, at least in our culture, sometimes has a tendency to segment persons. We take the section labeled “spiritual”, dressing it up differently from the rest. The Sunday culture can differ greatly from the everyday – different people, vocabulary, and activities… all with little in common with the other six days. Few people think of their work as an expression of their faith. Few think of time with family as spiritual, or social occasions as religious experiences.

After speaking at a seminary chapel service I met with a faculty group. The very first question was: “How long have you been bi-vocational?” “What do you mean? I asked. Their answer: “How long have you been in ministry and in business?”

“I am not bi-vocational. That term means one interest is above the other or that I stop doing one temporarily while I am doing the other. That is not so; I carry them simultaneously. Hopefully I am a whole person – a Christian. Both my speaking, my consulting, and my board activities are expressions of that wholeness.” I could tell that these experienced theologians still accepted the segmented concept of the Christian life.

This week carefully consider: 1) How often do I find myself segmenting my life? 2) What work can I do to integrate each area? 3) Who models wholeness for me?

Words of Wisdom: “The focused, unsegmented life is a rarity today.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people.” (Colossians 3:23 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – September 11, 2023

Fred hosted an informal gathering each Saturday for 3 years in his daughter’s home where he and Mary Alice lived in their latter days. Because he was in a hospital-style bed, the chairs were placed all around it. There were mornings when more than 30 jammed into the bedroom, and down the hall to hear him share what he had been thinking about during the week’s dialysis treatments. It became affectionately known as “Fred in the Bed.” Two devoted, faithful attendees were Donna Skell and JoyLynn Hailey Reed. They collaborated on a collection of notes from these sessions in 2004 and 2005.

One week he shared observations he had been making during the week on Genesis 16. Here are the points he made. These are simply notes taken and not from an edited manuscript therefore, the points are not fleshed out. This gives you a flavor of Fred in the Bed.

Looking at Genesis 16

As I look at the scripture, specifically Genesis 16, I see 9 meaningful principles. There is much more and we will look at them another week. For right now here is a start. Bring your thoughts and we will continue to “search the scriptures” as the faithful Bereans did.

1) Don’t manufacture a way of doing what God should do – God’s timing is never off. Don’t confuse what you can do and what only God can do. Sarah tired of trusting God’s promise and tried to help Him as if He had forgotten, or run out of time.
2) Don’t be irresponsible – Abraham should not have gone along with Sarah. His wife was in conflict with truth. Abraham also struggled between self-preservation and the truth. Ex: Abraham passed off Sarah as his sister; Hagar was a gift from the Egyptian pharaoh – she was part of his harem.
3) Don’t use another human as an object. When Abraham allowed this to happen with Hagar he was neglecting his responsibility.
4) Abraham’s actions with Hagar diminished his fellowship with God. Abraham went 13 years without hearing from God. He built walls from his circumstances.
5) Hagar’s pregnancy created hatred for Sarah. Her position as mother of Abraham’s son put enmity between Sarah and Hagar. Sin is not new. Will Menninger of the Menninger Clinic says sin is still her except we have renamed it as sickness. The desire to hurt others cannot be renamed – it is sin.
6) We must always leave room in the process for God’s intervention. Chambers says you dedicate your work to God and be willing to do what He tells you to do… in other words, give Him permission to intervene.
7) Hagar said “may the Lord judge between you and me.” The person who says that usually feels right and justified for whatever actions they are taking.
8) Hagar was haughty because Abraham backed her up. Sarah saw her as property, not as a woman with an intimate relationship with her husband. She failed to see the implications of their intimacy. Sex outside of marriage, even when culturally allowed, has negative implications.
9) The fight between Arabs and Jews began in chapter 16. Those two sons: Ishmael and Isaac were the beginning of the ongoing conflict. We also see that there were two sons: one born by process (Ishmael) and one born by promise (Isaac).

This week think about: 1) What principles do I see in Genesis 16? 2) What can I learn from Fred about ways to study? 3) If I were sitting around the room at Fred in the Bed, what question would I ask?

Words of Wisdom: “We are not to treat people as objects.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – May 2, 2023

Fred had little patience with those who wanted each event of each day to be miraculous, supernatural, and almost spooky. His theological position on free will differed with some of his family and friends who held to a stricter view, but he always treated them with grace.

Childlike or Childish

Mary Alice and I have two daughters, and a son. They will always be our children, but they have grown into fine adults. When they were born we expected them to develop into mature adults. I have known Christians who maintain a childish relationship to God, wanting a Father who allows them to remain as children. They refuse to use their God-given minds, but constantly lean on emotions, looking for supernatural occurrences every day. To me, they are missing the joy of maturity.

Personally, I believe God works the day shift, as well as the night shift. How often do you hear stories of looking for God’s will and miraculously receiving a wake-up call at 3AM which brings the answer? God wants us to develop a grown-up relationship with Him. I believe in prayer, but I also believe God created us to be decisions makers. My process: use my best judgment, do my homework (including scripture for principles and talking it over with wise counselors), and asking Him to imbue my attitude with His spirit which gives ultimate glory to Him, and laying the plan before Him. As I do this I genuinely ask if there is any part of it that is outside His will and ask Him to make me aware of the soft spots. I want also to be clear that this decision is something I want to glorify Him, not just for myself. Finally, I ask if there is anything in this decision that would be detrimental.

I don’t look for super-spiritual signs for each decision of my life. However, I have a good friend who prays for EVERYTHING… this includes the tie which he should wear in the morning. I kidded him one day about this because he only wears Countess Mara ties. He never prays about whether he should buy cheaper ties, just the color of his expensive ones. To me, this isn’t maturity. I think God desires us to grow in body, mind, and spirit.
Whenever I sense I am being immature in my focus, or my discipline, I simply feel the Spirit check me in that area. I may have to go back to the drawing board and do a lot more hard work. I don’t expect some mystical feeling about the process. I believe maturity in the faith is pleasing to God.

This week consider: 1) What is my decision making process? 2) How tempted am I to want God to “write the script and just give me my lines?” 3) When do I take the opportunity to discuss Christian maturity with younger believers?

Words of Wisdom: “Personally, I believe God works the day shift, as well as the night shift.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Therefore we must progress beyond the elementary instructions about Christ and move on to maturity, not laying this foundation again: “ (Hebrews 6:19(a) NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – March 21, 2023

Fred would often say “there’s magic in believing if you don’t believe in magic.” He firmly believed in the power of the Spirit, but he did not support superstition and what he called “over spiritualizing.” In a speech given forty years ago he gave illustrations of healthy, mature thinking about God’s direction in our lives.

Thinking Clearly About God

After I spoke at the Reformed Seminary one of the students said to me, “Mr. Smith, God’s got me just where He wants me.” When I asked him where that was he answered, “Broke.” I told him my wife and I have a son and I would feel very disappointed if he said I had him just where I wanted him when he was broke. I don’t really see that as the proper image of a heavenly Father.

I think I told you of the lawyer who came to see me about five years after becoming a Christian. He said, “God is disciplining me. I became a Christian and decided to make my practice of law a ministry rather than a profession and so I have been letting Christians pay me what they felt I was worth.” I replied, “You’re broke, aren’t you?” He was surprised at my response. I told him the Lord wasn’t disciplining him – “you are suffering the consequences of your own stupidity.” Then I gave him $2500 to pay his bills. He went back into the practice of law as a professional and grew a successful firm. He had spiritualized a bad decision.

I believe problems should be analyzed. I don’t believe we should over spiritualize but understand the concept of cause and effect. While I do not think the problem should be spiritualized. I am going to surprise you and say I do feel the answer should be.

Let me give you four examples of spiritualizing correctly. The key is letting faith do these four:

1) Create a positive environment in which you feel the problem can be solved. I have never found an answer that I didn’t believe had a solution.
2) Faith gives us concentration, and we can’t reach our potential until we concentrate;
3) Faith gives us energy, for it is so much easier to work with a problem you feel you can solve than one you can’t.
4) Faith affects our attitude. It lets us accept winning or losing with equilibrium after we have done our best.

To me, spiritualizing the answer isn’t making up some spooky ritual or strange way of thinking, but it is bringing into our solutions the divine help which is available to us through the Spirit. It is not asking for miracles or devising irrational ways of thinking but asking for His divine presence in the process.

This week think about: 1) How careful am I to keep my mind disciplined to avoid wrong views of God? 2) What is my process for finding answers? 3) What role does spiritual help play in decision making?

Words of Wisdom: “I don’t believe we should over spiritualize but understand the concept of cause and effect.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Yes, I find delight in your rules; they give me guidance.” (Psalm 119:24 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – February 21, 2023

Fred understood practical Christianity. He knew the faith-based life required discipline and practice. Although he acknowledged the continuing presence of the Spirit he supported the principles of growing in grace to maturity in Christ.

The Graciousness of Grace

Grace is unmerited favor and graciousness is the natural outgrowth.

We want to be people who cover the falls of other with love, put away judgment on others’ mistakes, and are known for encouragement, not disparagement.

These attitudes and actions are developed until they are the reflex. At first we must consciously choose to respond. The goal is for it to be automatic, but it requires discipline, practice, and prayer. We won’t naturally be people of grace.

What if I met the housekeeper for Jascha Heifetz and began a conversation. How stunned I would be if she blurted out, “He is a phony!” I would ask, “What do you mean, a phony?” “You just see him on the stage in concerts, but I see him at home. It looks so easy when he is performing, but I know better. He doesn’t play at home like he does in the concert hall – not at all. He plays with music, and spends hours going over and over the same notes. It sounds like work, not like the concert. If you saw him at home you would see he shows one person at home and another on stage.” Wouldn’t we want to say to her, “That practice is why he makes it looks so effortless on stage. He is certainly talented, but the greatness is in the practice.”

When we see Christians who show grace with such poise it seems like they were just born like that, doesn’t it? If you get to know them you will see years of practice. You will see Bible study, hours with other mature Christians, and prayer. They wanted to grow in grace and knew it didn’t come without the conscious decision and commitment to maturity.

Because of our fallen nature and our broken world graciousness needs to be practiced diligently with systematic consistently. We don’t wake up one morning and automatically become gracious – it comes with a decision and a cost.

When I was young I thought of qualities I wanted in my life. Graciousness was one. I thought of a man who personified it, so I asked for his photograph. I framed it, wrote “Gracious” on the picture and hung it on my wall. It was a reminder of what graciousness looked like in real life.

This week think about: 1) Who exemplifies graciousness to me? 2) How am I preparing to reflect grace? 3) What qualities do I want in my life?

Words of Wisdom: “We don’t wake up one morning and automatically become gracious – it comes with a decision and a cost.”

Wisdom from the Word: “(May) The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; (Numbers 6:25 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – September 6, 2022

Fred highly esteemed Francois Fenelon and other early Catholic mystics. Their inclusion of contemplation and meditation influenced his thinking. Laity Lodge in Leakey, TX, was built by the Howard E. Butt Foundation for spiritual growth and development. From its inception Fred and Mary Alice participated in Hill Country weekends with their friends.

Men of Meditation

Meditation is guided study with those who have long walked with God. I find the path to meditation in reading those who focused on closeness to God. One goal: to put down spiritual deep enough to endure times of drought. We put up hedge against withering times. We compare this with the scripture which reminds us grass with shallow roots dries up in the hot sun. Deep spiritual roots help us withstand the pressure of external pressures.

Let me give you a few examples of the men who influence me with their meditative thinking, priming my pump.

1) Augustine: “Love God and do what you will.” Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” Love and obedience come together. This thought helps me to deny legalism and choose true freedom in Christ.
2) Francis of Assissi: My paraphrase: “It is not so important that I am loved as that I love.” He understood the priorities.
3) Oswald Chambers: “Sit loose to things.” In Dallas it is very hard to learn to sit loose to things. We measure so much of our life and value by material possessions. Yet we must remember we are more than what we own. We must keep in mind if the things go we can’t feel like we have gone. Too many accumulate and say, “This is living.” That is not sitting loose.
4) Oswald Chambers: “God isn’t interested in my success; he is interested in my maturity.” This has been foundational in my own meditations.
5) Kelley: “Develop a quiet center to your life.” There must be a place where the storms do not hit. There must be that gyroscopic center from which the other instruments get their readings.
6) Tozer: “My flame may be small, but it is real.” This one I repeatedly consider. Growth and reality are integral, integrated elements.
7) Lawrence: “Dishwashing is just as sacred as prayer.” The value of work is scriptural. A friend of mine ordered a handcrafted gazebo from an African country. A year after the order the excellent piece arrived. With it came a little plaque: “Our work is our worship.” Too many worship their work instead of seeing work as a form of worship.

This week carefully consider: 1) What thoughts come to my mind regularly? 2) How can I deepen my ability to meditate? 3) Why do I get distracted when wanting to meditate?

Words of Wisdom: “Growth and reality are integral, integrated elements.”

Wisdom from the Word: “May my words and my thoughts be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my sheltering rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – August 2, 2022

Fred grew up in the home of a Southern Baptist preacher. “Soul winning” burned in the heart of M.B. Smith. All five “Smith boys” grew up hearing their father stand in the pulpit holding his big Bible and powerfully proclaiming the Gospel. Fred’s philosophy of evangelism has helped laymen to comfortably share the good news.

Don’t Duck

One of my favorite weekends is the annual men’s retreats in Fresno, California. We have established great trust and friendship. However, at the beginning I had to explain that I am not a pastor, ministry leader, nor evangelist. Early in the development of the lay movement it was difficult for the idea of integrating Christian faith into all areas of life feel natural.

In the 1950s the Student Department of the Southern Baptist Convention piloted an idea: send teams of Christian businessmen to college campuses for a week, staying in dorms, fraternity houses, and speaking in chapel, classrooms, and informal sessions. We all had to explain we weren’t ordained preachers – we were business people. The response was positive. “I have never heard a businessman talk about faith like you all do.” We weren’t delivering sermons, or exegeting texts – we were talking about what it meant to follow Christ.

We were not taking the place of pastors – we were expanding their reach.

During these men’s retreats evangelism would always come up. I explained that I didn’t have that gift, but that I wouldn’t avoid talking about faith if it came up naturally. I boiled it down to two words, “Don’t Duck.” Each morning I found peace in praying, “Lord, today I won’t duck. If the subject comes up I will handle it as normally as I would any other subject.”

Talking to others about spiritual matters has never been as easy for me as talking about business. But when I made the Don’t Duck commitment it became a more normal part of my day to day. Once I did that I found the most interesting thing: spiritual issues come up – and they come up as naturally as any other subject. I don’t have to figure out ways to jam it into the conversation. I met a man recently who proudly told me he never leaves a person without challenging him with the gospel. I find staying open strangely provides opportunities repeatedly.

At one particular retreat weekend I talked about my commitment to “Don’t Duck.” An advertising man in the audience had an idea. The next time all the men walked around sporting a large lapel button with a duckhead crossed through with a black line denoting “Don’t Duck.”

When we listen to the Holy Spirit our experiences are beyond anything we could force.

This week think about: 1) How comfortable am I talking about spiritual matters? 2) What would change if “Don’t Duck” became my daily commitment? 3) When can I tell the Spirit is opening up the conversation?

Words of Wisdom: “Don’t Duck.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – October 26, 2021

Fred served on multiple Christian ministry boards. His reputation for clear thinking, direct analysis, and understanding of people drew organizations to him. They assumed his management expertise would be transferred to the organizational operating system. How wrong they were because he had definite ideas about the way God’s work should be handled. (Note: these thoughts were excerpted from a talk given in the mid-1980s… he certainly saw the trend).

Doing God’s Work in God’s Way

Corporate leadership is different from leadership in Christ’s church. Author M. Scott Peck once asked me “Why don’t you businessmen take over the church?”

“Because they can’t lead a spiritual church successfully, “I said. “Secular principles that are not anointed by the Holy Spirit are not applicable to the church. In fact, they can pollute it by bypassing the Spirit.”

Yes, some principles can be transferred and over the years I have been associated with some fine leaders in industry as well as in Christian work. My book, Leading With Integrity grew out of my concern that in the institutional church we’ve become too dependent on human leadership principles. We know a lot about effective organizational direction, but my concern is that the church may be trying to do God’s work in man’s way.

Let me be clear. God has given me intelligence and created opportunities. I have a responsibility to use my gifts fully. On the other hand, when I try to accomplish by human means what can be done only by spiritual means, I embezzle God’s authority.

If we are to do it in God’s way we must start with character. I study principles leaders can use to examine their own character and those they lead Christian leaders need to examine themselves, so that with the apostle Paul they can say, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

The church must be involved in character building, helping men and women to grow into the maturity of Christ. Dr. Howard Rome, head of psychiatry at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN gave me a book and inscribed these words: “Few men have the imagination to grasp the truth of reality.” In my writing and through the website I want not only your imagination but your faith to grasp and awakened to the truth of Christlikeness in our church leadership.

It is tempting to attend leadership seminars presented by business gurus and then attempt to apply them to the church without the leading of the Spirit. We need discernment to filter and apply correctly, always depending on God’s will for the church.

This week carefully consider: 1) How does my church leadership team maintain correct focus? 2) Who models following God rather than man to build a church? 3) What am I seeing in churches which compromised their spiritual discernment?

Words of Wisdom: “My concern is that the church may be trying to do God’s work in man’s way.”

Wisdom from the Word: “An honorable man makes honorable plans; his honorable character gives him security.” (Isaiah 32:8 NET Bible)