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"What's Pastor Holley Thinking?" December 3, 2004 Today I am thinking about my friend, Pastor Lou Smith. This afternoon his funeral will be held at Christ Church. I met Lou about thirty-five years ago. He was a wonderful man who loved our Lord Jesus and served his church faithfully. You may not have always agreed with Lou, but he would place his thoughts before you in an organized and intense manner. And most of all, he would listen to you, to understand you, to hear what you were saying. Lou taught many of us. His way was to “mentor” and help you, not to order you around or give you ultimatums. Many of us are far different and far better than we would be because had time with Lou. As a pastor of the church he served faithfully. At times he preached at Christ Church, filling in when I was away at Youth Events or for other matters. So, like me, you were graced with Lou’s words about the Word of God, Jesus. Through Lou, all of us were blessed. Another side of Lou that I appreciated was his love of golf. We played together and it was always a very enjoyable round when Lou was present. You know that you will miss a friend like Lou. His death was sudden and unexpected. That makes it a bit more difficult. However, as much as he will be missed, we know that he was a man of great faith, and thus we commend him to God knowing the promise of the resurrected life the faithful have in Jesus Christ. Perhaps the best words to say at this time are from the end of the committal service, used at graveside in our tradition: “Rest eternal grant him, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon him.” Thanks be to God for Lou Smith.
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