Roy J. Smith Papers
Roy J. Smith was a graduate of Wake Forest College, Baptist pastor, and longtime Baptist State Convention of North Carolina leader. This collection contains materials from Roy J. Smith's time with the Baptist State Conevention, institutional materials, and controversies faced by the Baptist State Convention and the Southeastern Theological Baptist Seminary.
Biographical and Historical Note
Roy J. Smith was born on July 7, 1929, in Macon County, N. C. to parents Sanford J. Smith and Pearl Kinsland Smith. Smith was a graduate of Wake Forest College (1953) and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (1956). He completed additional graduate studies at North Carolina State University and Emory University. He held two honorary doctorates of Divinity from Wake Forest University and Campbell University.
He served as pastor of Union Hope Baptist Church, Zebulon (1954-1957) and Jersey Baptist Church, Lexington (1957-1962). From 1962-1997, he served the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. He held positions as Associate in Missions, Secretary, Town and Country Missions and Seminary Extension, and Associate General Secretary-Treasurer. In 1984, he was elected Executive Director-Treasurer of the Baptist State Convention, a role he filled until his retirement in 1997. He was recognized as North Carolina State and Southeastern regional Rural Pastor of the Year in 1962.
Among his many civic commitments, Smith served on the Board of Trustees at Wake Forest University as well as played an integral role in the founding of Wake Forest University Divinity School and Campbell Divinity School. He served as a member of the coordinating council for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina and was the National Cooperative Baptist Fellowship representative to the Baptist World Alliance.
He was married twice, first to Doris Peace Smith, with whom he had three children, and then to Charlotte Cook Smith. He died on October 18, 2018.
In 1992, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina chose to expel the Pullen Baptist Memorial Church in Raleigh and the Binkley Memorial Baptist Church in Chapel Hill for endorsing a same-sex marraige and a homosexual pastor. Smith served on the executive board of the BSCNC at this time and some materials in this collection relate to this expulsion.
Source:
- Roy J. Smith Obituary, Hayworth-Miller Funeral Homes and Crematory, 2018. Accessed at https://www.hayworth-miller.com/obituaries/roy-j-smith.
Collection Overview
This collection contains materials from Roy J. Smith's time with the Baptist State Conevention, including personal and professional correspondence, mission trip materials, and conference and committee materials. There are also materials related to the Fruitland Bible Institute, Wake Forest University, and Meredith College. A small amount of materials are dedicated to controversies faced by the Baptist State Convention, including curriculum at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) and the Pullen Memorial Baptist Church's descision to bless a same-sex marriage.
The files are arranged into three series: Series 1. Baptist State Convention of N.C. and related materials, Series 2. Educational institution materials, and Series 3. Personal materials. All series are listed in alphabetical order.
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Processed by Meg Campbell, 2024 April
- Access Restrictions
- This collection is open for use.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- Roy J. Smith Papers (MS689), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.