Smith, John I.

John I. Smith (1920-1981) was born in Concord, Massachusetts. He received his BA from Gordon College in 1942, his BD in 1945, STM in 1956, and DMin in 1972, all from Andover Newton Theological School. Smith also completed some graduate work at the Boston University School of Theology from 1950 to 1952. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1946 at Quinsigamond Baptist Church in Worcester, Massachusetts. Smith served pastorates at Fayville Baptist Church in Fayville, Massachusetts, from 1942 to 1945 and Quinsigamond Baptist Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, from 1945 to 1957. In 1947, he was named chaplain of the Worcester State Hospital and held this position until his retirement in 1980. He was also licensed as a psychologist in 1973. In 1957, Smith was named executive secretary of the Institute for Pastoral Care, a national organization focused on clinical pastoral training that eventually merged with three other groups to form the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education ( ACPE). In 1967, he became the joint director of the Institute of Pastoral Care and the Council for Clinical Training, and later that year he was elected as the first president of the ACPE. He also served as the director of ACPE's Northeast Region.