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MEET DR. MARK A. SMITH
“Flat on My Back”
As Smith moved along in his education and career goals, God would slow
him down a bit at age 30. A head-on collision taught him things about God
and himself. As Smith puts
it, “I was flat on my back for
several months.” The doctors
told his wife that he may not
walk again.
“It made me the most
determined man you’ll ever
meet,” Smith said. “I had to
learn to walk again. Every day,
three hours per day — sweat,
tears — lots of tears. It was
a fight every day to get up
and go to therapy, and fight
through the pain to make
muscles work that didn’t want
to work.”
He says the experience also made him “a man of prayer and faith.”
“If you look at my life and all the growth that has occurred, my unwavering
belief is, that as a result of that accident, our God is able and willing and
excited to respond to challenges and opportunities.”
Smith says it was also a time that God impressed on him that his life is
about taking Christ to the nations.
“Those are key lessons that I’ve learned from (the accident),” Smith said. “It
has shaped who I am today as a leader. I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer from
our team. We will figure it out. We’re focused. We’re determined. We’re
going to win. We are going to accomplish. Not for anything for ourselves,
but for God and taking the message of God around the world.”
DR. MARK A. SMITH
Family
Wife: Debbie; married 31 years
Children: 22-year-old Douglas who was
married in May to Kierston; 12-year-old Micah
in eighth grade at Ben Lippen School
Education
Harvard University
Institute of Educational Management for
Executive Management (Seminar)
West Virginia University
Ed.D., Higher Education Administration
Northeastern State University
M.S., College Teaching
Hobe Sound Bible College
B.A., Religious Studies
Professional Experience
Ohio Christian University; Circleville, Ohio
President
Indiana Wesleyan University; Marion, Indiana
Vice President for Adult and Graduate Studies
Assistant Dean of Faculty/Graduate Faculty
Management Resources Inc., Hopemont
Hospital; Terra Alta, West Virginia
Administrator
Terra Alta Wesleyan Church
Pastor
Bible Fellowship Christian School
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Principal
Life Verse
Because of a serious head-on auto collision,
Smith has 20 surgically-inserted screws in his
body and daily pain. But it has led him to his
life verse:
I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall
continually be in my mouth. (Psalm 34:1)
“That has become the theme of my life; to be
a blessing and to thank the Lord every day of
my life. It’s a joy to be blessed by God.”
Fun Fact
As a senior in high school, Smith was Virginia
Future Farmers of America State Crops
Judging Champion.
The Smiths celebrate the marriage of their
son last spring (left to right: Dr. Mark Smith,
his wife Debbie, daughter-in-law Kierston,
son Douglas, and son Micah).
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CIU Today
Fall 2017