Former long-time Southwestern professor Ebbie Smith passes away

Ebbie Smith, missionary and long-time professor of missions and Christian ethics at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, passed away on June 2.

“We are grateful to God for the life and ministry of Ebbie Smith,” President David S. Dockery said. “His service as a missionary influenced not only the missions classes that he taught at Southwestern, but also the ethics classes.”

Smith was born in Houston on April 26, 1932, and had a desire to teach since he was in high school. But he also felt a call to ministry that led to him attending Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. Before graduating in 1954, he married his high school sweetheart Donna and also accepted a position as a pastor in Millersview, Texas.

He then came to Fort Worth to attend Southwestern, graduating with a Bachelor of Divinity in 1957 and a Doctor of Theology in 1961. As a student, he continued to pastor Texas churches.

A few months after graduating, Smith and his wife and children moved to Indonesia, where they would serve as missionaries for the next 15 years. He taught in a seminary and Bible college during that time. While on furlough, about a year after their son died in Indonesia due to an accident, Smith and Donna separately realized that God was calling them to something different. A day later, they received a call from Southwestern asking Smith to join the faculty.

Smith taught at Southwestern in the fields of missions and Christian ethics for the next 24 years. He had an important role in making seminary education more accessible to students, teaching 7:00 a.m. courses to accommodate students, teaching the first one-week I-term class, and also being instrumental in the opening of the Houston extension in 1975.

During that time, he also served as interim pastor for 11 churches. He continued serving churches after his retirement and as a hospice chaplain before returning to teach, this time at Tarrant County College.

Smith authored over a dozen books, including Starting Reproducing Congregations, The Gospel of Mark: People Responding to Jesus, Light in the Darkest Night, and More Valuable than Gold.

Dockery had Smith as his ethics professor at Southwestern and said he and numerous students were blessed by his ministry.

Because of the missionary experience that Smith brought to the classroom, Dockery said his ethics class connected life and ministry and did not merely focus on debates and theories, although he also brought careful thinking concerning key issues of the time.

“I enjoyed learning from him and observing his Christlike spirit in the classroom and in personal conversations,” Dockery said. “I know many Southwesterners join me in giving thanks for his influence while continuing to pray for his family.”

A memorial service will be held on June 12, at 11:00 a.m. at the Southwayside Baptist Church in Fort Worth. William Goff, senior professor of Christian ethics, and Daniel Sanchez, distinguished professor emeritus of missions, will be officiating the service.