Tom Smith
Rev. Thomas R. Smith, Ph.D. is the Pastoral Assistant for the Cheaha District. He works with the McClellan Cluster and other groups of pastors and churches, focusing on expressed needs. Tom coordinates the district’s participation in Natural Church Development, gives leadership to the Small Membership Church Advocacy Team, offers conflict resolution services, is available to work with churches and pastors in strategic planning, and is available for assistance in pastors’ professional development.
A native of Lineville, Tom was ordained a deacon in 1965 and elder in 1967. He has served pastoral appointments in the North Georgia and South Georgia Conferences. At different stages in his ministry, Tom’s ministry has involved parish ministry, pastoral care, clinical services and training, military staff work, as well as administrative and executive leadership.
Tom completed a career in the U.S. Army, serving a number of posts within the Chaplain Corps rising to the rank of colonel, culminating in Washington, DC. His doctorate is in Marriage and Family Therapy, providing him a background in family systems he has applied to families and larger organizations.
Upon retirement from the Army, Tom joined the staff of the International Center for the Integration of Health and Spirituality as Chief Operating Officer. At the unexpected and untimely death of the founder and president of ICIHS, he became the Interim President and Chief Executive Officer.
Most recently, Dr. Smith was Senior Scholar at the Interfaith Health Program located in Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. During that time, he contributed chapters to two books and provided administrative consultation services to the organization.
Tom and his wife, Carolyn, live in Oxford. They are the parents of two adult children, and the grandparents of three.