Individual Notes
Note for: Benjamin Lee Smith, 25 JUL 1911 - 27 SEP 2001
Index
Event: Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City
Type: Obituary
Date: 1 NOV 2001
Event: Oklahoma, Cotton, Temple
Type: School
Event: Colorado, Pueblo, Pueblo, Pueblo College
Type: School
Event: Oklahoma, Comanche, Lawton, Cameron College
Type: School
Event: Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Edmond, Central State College
Type: School
Event: Oklahoma, Payne, Stillwater, OSU
Type: School
Event: Texas, Tarrant, Ft Worth
Type: School
Burial: Date: 29 SEP 2001
Place: Oklahoma, Cotton, Temple, Temple Cemetary
Individual Note: [Master.FTW]
Graduated from Temple High School
Work towards Bachelors Degree
Work towards Bachelors Degree
Work towards Bachelors Degree
Bachelors Degree - Animal Husbandry
Pastor - Southern Baptist Denomination
Article in the Baptist Messenger of Oklahoma:
SMITHS DEATHS - Bennie Smith died Sept 27, and was followe d by his wife Hazel, on Oct. 5. Smith was pastor of Muskog ee, Shiloh for nine years and served Baptist Churches in Ar izona, Texas, and Hawaii. Their memorial services were hel d in Duncan, where they had made their home for the last si x years. They are survived by two daughters, Ann Heinrich s and Alice Hogan, and a son Kenneth.
Graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Bennie attended college at Central State College in Edmond , Ok, and also at Ada, Ok. He also attended college in Col orado where he worked nights as a clerk in a hotel. He own ed a farm near Hastings where he was living when the Lord c alled him into the ministry. Prior to this Bennie had at o ne time set up a company to do automobile body repair in Ha stings, Oklahoma. When the business was set up John Cheste r and Lurah and J.C. all moved into Hastings to do this ne w venture. It went well but in time the fumes from the pai nt affected Bennie's health and he had to sell the business . John Chester and Lurah had rented out their farm when th ey moved to Hastings and when the business in Hastings wa s closed they moved back to the farm. He told of one man t hat he hired one day who had no place to live. Since thei r Hastings home was two story Bennie told him he could liv e upstairs. He worked hard and was fast at his trade. On e day Bennie asked him where he learned body work so well . He replied "In the penitentiary". Not long after this o ne day he announced he was moving on. When asked why he si mply said " I can't stay in one place for too long."
Bennie's Salvation Experience
Hazel was saved at the age of 15. A year later her churc h in Randlett was having a revival. She asked the pastor t o go see Bennie. The pastor asked if Benny was saved and s he replied that he was not. They went to see Bennie and th e pastor led Bennie to Christ that day.
Bennie L. Smith?s Call
Hazel E. Smith and I had been married and had farmed for mo st of ten years. We had worked hard and the Lord had blesse d us and we were successful farmers. At that time we were o ne of the larger farmers. We owed a very small amount.
We had big, middle and small size equipment, a dairy, regis tered hogs, laying hens, farmed wheat and cotton.
I want to write my whole story in hope it will help those w ho read it. It is so much easier to see a picture when it i s on someone else. I was thinking I was totally surrendere d to God. Hazel and I had prayed and cried and asked to mak e God?s will plain. We wanted it God?s will if He was calli ng us to the ministry. We were successful farmers and did n ot want to make a mistake. We had been trying to be sure o f God?s will for almost a year. I had gone through back sur gery and was off work for almost a year. Now we were back t o farming in a big way.
Our home church, First Baptist church at Temple, OK was i n a revival. Our children were sick. Hazel would stay wit h the children one night and I would go to the revival. Th e next night I would stay with the children while Hazel wou ld go to the revival. It was my night to stay home. I got t he three children settled in bed and went to the kitchen an d got an old cane bottom chair. I brought the chair into th e living room and got on my knees to pray what I thought wa s a good prayer. I ended it by saying, God if there is anyt hing in my way of serving you, if you will remove it, I wil l get with the program. I thought this was a good statement.
When I got off my knees, the thing that flashed before my m ind was my mother and dad who lived three miles from us wh o did not want me to be a preacher. I was now a successfu l farmer and kept dad?s tractor equipment in good shape, wo rked his live stock, etc. So, it would mean removing my mot her and dad.
Also, I had seen pastors and their family being treated ter rible and I did not want my family treated like that, so i t meant removing Hazel and the three children.
We were one of the more successful farmer and I was so prou d of it like I was of mother and dad, Hazel and the childre n. What flashed before my mind was I had said to God if yo u strip me down to nothing I will serve you.
I got down on my knees again and said, God, if I ever praye d a prayer I don't want answered this is it. I am ready t o totally surrender to your will.
When Hazel came in from the revival I told her I was sure o f God?s will. She said, "I knew that before I left the revi val."
We began to make plans to have a sale of everything, even t he farm land at public auction, which no one we knew of ha d ever done. We then bought a home in Ft. worth, TX abou t a block south of the seminary.
I thought I was now totally surrendered to God but I took t heological, music and education courses. I had a lot of enc ouragement in the field of music. I was offered a positio n in a Ft. Worth church as music and youth director. I san g for revivals but one offered me an opportunity to preach.
I finally refused to do anything if I could not preach. A s a result, I was doing nothing.
My First Church.
I was one semester from graduating from the seminary. No on e would put my name before a church as a prospective pastor.
I met a friend who was from Oklahoma. I had led the music i n a revival where he preached in Ft. Worth.
I told him my story of how no one would put my name befor e a church and I was graduating in one more semester. He sa id, " I am going back to Oklahoma and will put your name be fore Rock Creek Baptist Church where I have been serving a s pastor." He said it was close to Glen Rose, TX. He said t hey had a young man the Sunday before to preach for them bu t they didn't like him.
He had a lot of experience as a pastor, so I knew in my min d this church was a nice, white, rural church sitting o n a hill with about 50 or 60 members. I never thought of as king any questions other than where it was. It was about si x miles south east of Glen Rose, TX. The people of this chu rch called me and asked me to come preach, in view of a cal l.
I worked on two messages. Sunday came and we put on our bes t clothes. I was so excited We located the Rock Creek Bapt ist church about six miles south east of Glen Rose. It wa s a rural church on a hill but it was white. It was made fr om scraps from a bomber plant in Fort Worth. It sat in a co w lot where the fence was tacked on the two front corners o f the building. I could hear the farmer milking the cows a t night. He never came to church I made up my mind when I s aw the church that I was not interested. I had never been i n a church that looked that bad and it was also inside a co w lot
I tried to be nice and preached my best. There were probabl y twenty -five people present. Following the evening servic e they asked us to go to our car while they discussed and v oted on calling us. I didn't tell them I would not accep t a call.
We were probably not in the car for five minutes until a ma n came to our car. They had given us a unanimous call. I ca n't describe what happened to me other than that the Lord c alled me to that church. When they told me the vote I jus t responded with a response that surprised me. I said, "I w ill accept."
It wasn't a white colored church on a hill but a building m ade with scraps. I surprised myself and never felt more i n the Lord?s will than there.
Three Sunday nights later was the business meeting night. A ll the business we had was to report the attendance in Sund ay school and $250 in the budget. I did not know how to con duct business meetings anyway, though I had been in many ch urch business meetings.
Someone had told me the associational director had a $250 c heck to give us when we built on a beautiful piece of prope rty that someone had given us down by the black top road . I said let us tell the missionary to give it to someone e lse, we are not going to build. The secretary jumped up an d said, "Oh, Brother. Bennie, we are!" I said if we are, w hy don't you make a motion and we will get started.
That shows how smart I was. We would have $500 which wouldn 't pay for the foundation and I had no knowledge of financi ng it.
She made the motion, someone seconded the motion and ther e was no opposition. We had no on Monday, so I said I wil l be here tomorrow and we will tear this down and move it t o the new location. No one said anything. The next day I wa s there early. I had tools left from the farm. I got on to p of the church. No one came to help but by noon I had th e roof off. The old church was on a hill. The people watche d me and after lunch they all came to help. We finished wre cking and moving it that afternoon.
I might say I only served as pastor in the cow lot for thre e Sundays. We were able to find a near by nice Methodist ch urch that let us use their building for they were not havin g services.
I knew nothing about financing a church. No one mentioned i t to me. The whole community turned out and I mean variou s denominations and those of no church affiliation. Money c ame in from so many people. No one took payment for any ser vice. My former pastor, Carroll Jackson, conducted a reviva l at night beside the new building being built. A Glen Ros e motel gave us free lodging. My former pastor gave his rev ival offering to the church. When we finished the church bu ilding it was paid for and we had as much in the treasure a s when we started.
I was pastor there for five or six months, until I graduate d from the seminary. I won and baptized three teen age girl s. One was the church pianist. I baptized them in a neighbo r?s cement watering trough.
Next, I was finishing my seminary training. Again no one wo uld put my name before a church with no pastor. I admit m y experience was very limited. I told my neighbors about m y desire to go to a church as full- time pastor. My salar y had been $15 per week. I said no one will recommend me. H e said I have been called to three churches, I know I am no t going to Miles, TX, if you want me to, I will put your na me in there. I asked him to do that and they invited me t o preach in view of a call.
My seminary professors advised me not to go there. One sai d you can't go any way but out. Miles Baptist Church had tw o really bad problems. The pastor left by night to keep fro m getting shot and there was a division in the church tha t split it three ways.
I preached at Miles in view of a call and they voted on Wed nesday. I think there were 19 people there and I barely go t a majority. I said to the moderator, no one will come o n a call like that. He said if we get a pastor, he will hav e to come on such a call.
Hazel and I felt so strongly the Lord was in this that we a ccepted. They could not pay us a living salary but we stil l had money to help, which was enough until the church sai d it could support us.
I must tell you something of our ministry there. The Mile s church was running about forty in Sunday School. They ha d been baptizing three to four or five people in a good yea r. Miles is a town of about 700 people with four churches . I asked God to give me one baptism a week. That would b e fifty- two people when I was there a year. That would b e ten more than was attending Sunday School.
When we were there a year, I had baptized 50 people. We ha d to double the space for Sunday school. I would start visi ting on a street and visit every house on one side, the n I came back on the other side of the street.
I worked hard on people who did not go to any church, whos e character was bad. Let me tell you of a group that met a t an old tin garage. They were alcoholics. One day a deaco n met me as I put our church bulletins out on Saturdays i n the business places. He said, " You need to go by the ol d tin garage." I went by and they were all so drunk on chea p wine they were acting like dogs, treeing things in the at tic. I told of my experience the next day as I was in the p ulpit.
Then Monday I went by the garage to hear what they knew . I was told what they had heard and they said they were go ing to whip who ever told the story. They asked if I had he ard and knew who told it. I said, "Yes, it was me and you w on't lay a hand on me or this whole town will be on you."
I won all of those men to the Lord except one who was a mem ber of our church. I could never get to talk with him.
I was in Miles some forty years later and the man who owne d the old tin garage was the only one left of the group i n town. Though he could hardly hear or see he was still fai thful in church.
Years before I was invited to a fellowship ice cream feas t at church. The old tin garage owner got his food ahead o f me. He motioned for me to come sit by him. He said to me , "You did a big days job when you won me to the Lord."
I will always thank the Lord for leading and blessing me th ere at Miles. I always praise Him for those kind of experie nces. When we left Miles we were running about 175 in Sunda y school and had a house full in church.
Churches Pastored:
1952-1953 Pleasant Valley Baptist (Rock Creek Community) ne ar Glen Rose, Texas
1953-1955 First Baptist Church, Miles, Texas
1955-1959 First Baptist Church, Robert Lee, Texas
1959-1960 First Baptist Church, Throckmorton, Texas
1960-1962 Hillcrest Baptist Church, Wichita Falls, Texas
1962-1971 Shiloh Baptist Church, Muskogee, OK
1971-1976 ? Baptist Church, Tucson, AZ
1976-19 Lindell Ave. Baptist Church, San Angelo, TX
1990-1991 First Baptist Church of Waimea, Hilo, Hawaii
1994-1996 Melvin Baptist Church, Melvin, TX
Funeral Service Rev. Bennie Lee Smith
Tuesday July 25, 1911 - Thursday September 27, 2001
Services - Don Grantham Funeral Home Chapel
September 29, 2001 1:30 P.M.
Officiating Dr. Jack Robbins
Interment Temple Cemetery, Temple, Oklahoma
Pallbearers: J.C. Smith, Kenneth Smith, Mike Hogan, Chad Sk inner, Jim Smith, Jay Smith.
Don Grantham Funeral Home
1502 North 81 Highway
PO box 337
Duncan, OK, 73533
580 255-6666
(Medical):Life span: 90 Years 2 Months 2 Days