Dr. Bob “Doc” Smith, passed away this week. Because he was a humble man, many do not know him. Yet, he was one of the early leaders in the emerging biblical counseling movement in the 1970s.
From Left to Right: Doc Smith, Dr. Jay Adams, Pastor Bill Goode
Dr. Steve Viars, Sr. Pastor at Faith Church in Lafayette, Indiana, where Doc Smith served, shared this testimonial on Facebook.
“Mourning the loss, but celebrating the homegoing of Dr. Bob ‘Doc’ Smith. The Lord used Doc and his long-time friend and co-laborer Dr. Bill Goode to establish Faith Biblical Counseling Ministry in 1977. He was a leader in the biblical counseling movement and his faithful wife Leona, who preceded Doc in death, served by his side for over 60 years. Doc loved the Lord and His Word and was both joyful and fearless in his defense of the ‘faith that was once and for all delivered unto the saints.’ Faith Church as a congregation, and I as a pastor, owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the Lord for blessing us with this unique couple. The memorial service is planned for 1:00 pm on Saturday, April 10th, preceded by a time to greet the family from 11:00 – 12:30. Those who wish to join on-line may do so at:
https://www.facebook.com/FaithChurchLafayette/
or
https://www.youtube.com/c/FaithChurchLafayette.
A Godly Man and Loving Husband and Father
I first came to know Doc Smith when I was a seventeen-year-old high school senior. Doc’s son, Joel Smith, was one of my best friends in high school. I still smile when I recall people greeting Joel with, “Joel from Lowell.” Lowell was and is a small town in northwest Indiana. And that’s what Doc Smith was—a small town doctor.
But he was even more than that. I knew Doc Smith as a godly man, a loving husband, and a caring father to his children. I grew up in a divorced home with an alcoholic father, so I was amazed when I would travel to Lowell to visit Joel and then witness a loving, stable, caring family that enjoyed each other. One of my most vivid memories as a teen was enjoying a bonfire one fall evening on their property. That may seem like a small thing, but not to a kid like me who did not have the privilege of such “normal” family times.
I also have vivid memories of Joel speaking so highly of his father. Imagine that, a teenager speaking highly of his dad (and mom).
Again, while this may seem small, in today’s evangelical world where so many Christian leaders do not end well, there’s nothing small about a Christian leader being a godly man in his home for decade after decade.
A Personal Encourager
After graduating from high school and moving away from NW Indiana, there was a quarter-century gap in my contact with Doc Smith. When I met him again in the early 2000s, I started to introduce myself. He stopped me, reached out his hand, had a huge Doc Smith smile, and said:
“No need to introduce yourself, Bob, of course I remember you! So great to see you again!”
Doc Smith then began to ask all about my life, my family, my ministry. We shared together about “the good old days” in Lowell and Gary, Indiana.
And then, first generation biblical counseling leader Doc Smith accepted me into the biblical counseling world.
That may not seem like much to folks who know me now with twenty years of history in the biblical counseling world, but it was a great encouragement to me back then. You see, I had launched The Biblical Counseling Forum for the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC). The AACC is a Christian Integrative Counseling organization. And even though the Forum I launched was a biblical counseling forum, there were some folks in the biblical counseling movement who looked on me with some level of “suspicion.”
Not Doc Smith. He encouraged me by sharing how he had been reading my books and following my blog posts and how encouraged he was that “a kid from Gary” was carrying on the legacy of equipping biblical counselors.
That meant the world to me. I was accepted as a biblical counselor by one of the leaders of the first generation of biblical counselors. And Doc Smith was reading my stuff!
A Humble Lifelong Learner
Not only was Doc Smith reading my stuff, he was using my books.
I’ll never forget an hour-long, one-on-one meeting with Doc at Faith Church. He was describing to me how he was requiring Spiritual Friends as the primary text in Faith Bible Seminary’s biblical counseling lab class. That was huge.
But that wasn’t even the biggest stunner for me. Doc Smith—a veteran co-founder of the modern biblical counseling movement—looked me in the eyes and said:
“Bob, I’m really being stretched by your book. Your ‘take’ on biblical counseling and suffering is refreshing and compelling and biblical. It’s changing how I counsel and how I equip counselors. And, it’s helping me in my own Christian walk.”
I was shocked!
Here was a hero of mine. Here was a father figure to me. Here was a founding leader of the biblical counseling movement, at this point in his seventies, telling me that my stuff was impacting his life and ministry!
But even more than a huge encouragement to me, Doc Smith was a huge example to me. How humble he was. What a lifelong learner he was. He was ever-learning and always-able to come to deeper and richer understandings of God’s truth for his life and ministry.
Join the Conversation
If you knew Doc Smith and benefitted from his life and ministry, please feel free to use the comment features on my blog and on Twitter and Facebook to post your testimonial to “Doc Smith.”
