Taylor Smith. Educator - A Legacy Builder: Aligning Home, Church & School for a Lasting Impact

What if legacy is less about success and more about alignment? Coach Tim Brown sits down with veteran educator Taylor Smith to explore a 46-year journey from segregation-era Virginia to leading Worthington Christian Schools with excellence and conviction. Together, they unpack how parents, churches, and schools can work in unity to shape both character and competence. Taylor shares why modeling beats messaging, how faith and academics integrate into true discipleship, and what it means to finish strong. If you care about building leaders who love truth and live it, this conversation is for you.

If you care about Christian education, character formation, and purpose-driven leadership, this conversation offers clarity and courage. Subscribe for more legacy-minded conversations, share this episode with someone shaping the next generation, and leave a review to help us grow the movement. What’s one value you’ll model this week?

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to season seven of Be a Baller, the podcast where success is the goal. Legacy is. This season is all about intentional living, leading with purpose, serving with faith, and leaving a mark that outlives us. We go beyond the highlights, bringing you real conversations with legacy builders from ministry, business, sports, education, and community. Leaders committed to the wisdom pledge, paying it forward to the next generation. If you're ready for faith-filled leadership and practical wisdom to live on purpose and finish strong, let's be a baller.

Meet Coach Tim And Taylor Smith

Growing Up Under Segregation

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Welcome to Be a Baller Podcast. I'm your host, Coach Tim Brown. And today, episodes about faith, obedience, and generational impact. Our guest today is Taylor Smith, a longtime educator for over 46 years of service, classroom teacher, the superintendent, principal, and a faithful leader in Christian education and the local church. With deep roots in scholarship and technology and theology, Taylor has dedicated his life to forming minds, shaping character, and honoring God through education. Today, we'll be diving in and discussing what it truly means to build a legacy in education God's way. Thanks, Taylor, for joining the show today. You know, I understand you you grew up in Virginia. So can you start out by just giving us a backdrop on your family joint growing up in Virginia and some of those life lessons you learned?

Early Faith And Gospel Clarity

SPEAKER_02 1:32

Okay. Well, it's interesting. Um, I grew up in a small town called Stanton, Virginia. It's in the Shenandoah Valley. You know, grew up during the time uh uh when segregation was uh strong uh uh in the South. The greatest challenge uh I think was just growing up, going to school and an all-black school. I didn't, I wasn't exposed to students of of uh different races until I actually got to uh graduate school because I even went to an all-black college for undergrad. But I grew up in uh oh, I think it was 1955 when I started school. Interesting enough, we lived on the outskirts of town, so we didn't have school busing available, so we had actually had to ride to school on the city transit bus. And riding on the bus was a trip because uh the bus was segregated as well. We we actually had to sit in the back of the bus in order to ride to school, cost us 10 cents uh to ride the bus. And most young people now, if they think about riding the bus, they would love to ride in the back of the bus. Right, right, right. But it's different when you don't have a choice. You know, and there was a line on the bus, and once you got on the bus, then you had to stay behind that yellow line on the bus, which was about three-fourths of the way to the back of the bus. So it does the number of seats were limited. Yeah. And if you didn't have a seat, you had to stand. And even though the bus could be completely empty the first three quarters of the bus, you couldn't move up there to sit. But that was just the way it was during the time. And, you know, there was no protesting or any of those things. That's just uh that's the way life was. You adjusted to what you had to do.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

You know, during uh during your time growing up, can you talk a little about your faith journey?

From Public Schools To Christian Schools

SPEAKER_02 3:51

Uh it was interesting. My family were faith-based. My mom went to a Methodist church, my dad went to a Baptist church. And when they got married, we actually went to both. Neither one wanted to abandon their home church. So we would go one Sunday to the Methodist church and one Sunday to the Baptist church. And we had uh preachers that were uh not uh not a turnover of preachers uh at the Methodist church. We had the same preacher from the time I went to the time I graduated from high school at the Baptist church. We had uh several different pastors that led that church. During that time, we heard the gospel, but not as much as we did later in life. The gospel was taught, but more from a vantage point that if you didn't accept Christ, then you would end up going to hell. So I never made a confession at neither one of the churches that I went to. My neighbor invited us to a church in downtown Stanton that he and his family went to for years. And it was during that time I was actually nine years old. Actually, I was eight, my brother was nine, but we both went to that church. And for the very first time, I heard the gospel clearly. And the teacher was that during the Sunday school class, the teacher was the husband of my first grade teacher. He shared the gospel. He told us that uh in order to be saved, we needed to accept Jesus Christ as a personal savior. Not only uh would we receive salvation, but it's an escape plan from hell. Uh so growing up, my brother and I, we heard a lot about uh the consequences of not being a believer. So we didn't want to go to hell. So obviously, there was no problem accepting Christ as a personal savior. But uh a lot of our activities were centered around the church with lawn parties, we had vacation Bible school, uh, we had Sunday school, and we had a children's choir that culminated into uh a choir for teenagers, and that was all uh growing up. And in our school, because it was small, all of our uh teachers were believers in Christ. So we actually had uh, it wasn't called a Christian education, it was a public school, right? But um, because our teachers believed in Christ, uh they weren't shy about teaching, you know, concepts from the Bible. They weren't shy about having biblical principles to uh enforce within the schools. So overall, it was just uh a good time and a and a great education.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

When you you look back over those at least 46 years in education, you began teaching in public schools. When did you first sense God calling you into his work at Christian schools?

SPEAKER_02 7:11

Well, when I was a teacher in the public schools, uh our first son was born. He was born in uh 1969, and we actually enrolled him. He went to a public school for the first five years of school, and we started going to a larger church when we moved to Columbus, Ohio. That church had a Christian school. We uh remember some of the things he was being taught in the public school system first through fifth grade, and he had good teachers, but he came home one day with uh a project where he had to write a report with a friend, and I asked him, what is he writing a report? This was in fifth grade. He said he's writing it on uh Kenny Rogers. I said, Oh, Kenny Rogers, uh, you know, he's a well-known singer. Um he sang a lot of uh country western, but he also sang some pop songs. So he was looking around our house. Uh, this is our fifth grader. He was looking around the house and asked if we had any whiskey bottles. I said, no, we don't have any whiskey bottles. I said, why do you want a whiskey bottle? He says, well, he and his friend are doing this report on the gambler. The gambler was a TV program featuring Kenny Rogers.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Yeah.

Calling, Cost, And Training For Ministry

SPEAKER_02 8:40

And he said, we want to be sitting around a table and we would have drinks on the table, two whiskey bottles and some glasses. Wow. And I thought, oh my goodness. And you're your teacher is allowing you to do that? He said, she didn't think there was anything wrong with it. And immediately I thought, oh, this is different. And I can't remember whether we had a uh conversation with the teacher or not, but immediately we started looking into Christian education. And because the church we were attending had a Christian school, we actually enrolled him in Christian school. So he started at Worthington Christian School as a sixth grader. And obviously he graduated from school. Uh, we didn't have our second son until six years later, and he started in Christian school. And then six years after that, we had our third son, and he started in Christian school. And it was during that time, it was in the early 80s, when I was actually asked if I would accept a position in the Christian school as a middle school principal. And I had gone to graduate school at the time, and I thought, well, you know, I enjoy teaching and really had to pray about whether I wanted to make the transition. And one of the challenges was uh the income. Uh and teaching income wasn't that lucrative at all, even in the public school, but it was far less in the Christian school. But we had to try, we my wife and I, we both had to make the decision whether we could keep our kid in Christian school and take a job in the Christian school, making less of an income. And um, we eventually made the choice and been a Christian educator ever since.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

And I didn't start teaching until after I got a master's degree. But even then, I felt I didn't have enough background in Christian education, other than my own experience. So I took classes so that I would be more versed in Christian education than just public education. I had uh educational background, but not so much in the faith-based uh education. And uh that helped me with my journey in Christian education.

SPEAKER_01 10:59

You know, when you when you look back on this, uh, this is a legacy podcast. So if you look back on your life and life experiences, uh, when you hear the word legacy, what does that mean to you through biblical lens?

Defining Legacy Through Education

SPEAKER_02 11:10

Well, you know, when you trace Christian roots in education, education wasn't founded in public schools, it was founded in the church. And uh the teaching of children, even back during biblical times, were taught they were taught in the synagogues later on in the churches that start started. And um, so I think uh my legacy has always been trying to teach Christian children from a Christian point of view. One of the things that we looked at in Christian school was in order to educate a child, they have to have a support system at home. It's hard to take a child who has no biblical foundation or no biblical support from home and try to teach them those kinds of things in school. So we always look for families that had the Christian support from home in order to help them with their task of educating their children. And Christian education started not only in the church, but started in the home. Some of the first Christian education was taught by mom and dads who taught their children biblical principles. And what we felt we were doing as a teacher was teaching them to support uh what they learned at home. We didn't try to supplant what they had, we tried to reinforce. So, from a legacy point of view, you create legacy by reinforcing those things that families have reinforced within their children. Uh now that doesn't mean that every child that we had in school was an angel, to say the least. We had uh challenging children in Christian school, just like in public school. But at least I think we had a greater support system at home. So when we had a child, uh challenge with a young person, we could go to mom and dad to help solve the challenge, to help reinforce the issues that we were trying to teach. And so that was an easier part. That's the part I loved about Christian education. There was a foundation that you could build upon, and that foundation, for the most part, started in the home. You know, that's a great, that's a great analogy.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

I love that. You know, as you look back on this new years, how can older and young generations work together more faithfully in Christian education?

Church, Home, And School Partnership

SPEAKER_02 13:42

Well, I I firmly believe that um the opportunity to teach faith, the opportunity to reinforce Christian education has a responsibility in the school. The church can't do it alone. We've actually had families, even though we looked in Christian education, we looked for that uh biblical support at home. We actually had families that didn't regularly go to church, even though they believed that biblical principles should be taught, but they didn't go to church. And we tried to encourage that even when we accepted them into our schools. I believe that without the support of the Christian school, it will be more difficult to ensure the foundation of Christian education moving forward. We partner with the church. The church has to have an integral part in teaching, and we felt as a church, we partnered. Uh, the interesting thing about the schools, the Christian school that I worked in, was that we partnered with local churches. We had over 150 churches represented in our Christian schools. So it wasn't just one church, uh, but we felt that we were partnering with those churches that believed the same thing. So as they taught, so did we. And we had a partnership that we worked along with them. And very seldom did we ever run into conflict with the churches. We had supporting pastors, supporting families, and supporting teachers. Uh, and the teachers represented all of those churches as well. So I thought I think that whole concept of reinforcing education with believers was part of what made at least my career successful in the 46 years that I've had in teaching.

Modeling Truth And Biblical Wisdom

SPEAKER_01 15:34

You know, as you as you look back on it, if you could get one piece of biblical wisdom, educators who are feeling weird today, what what would that be?

SPEAKER_02 15:44

Well, uh I would go back to the book of James that says a student is not above the teacher, but if he's fully trained, he will be like his teacher. That doesn't necessarily refer to teachers in a school, starts out with the parents. A child is not above his teacher, but if he's fully trained, he will be like his teacher. So teachers have a modeling role. And I think that if we could pass on anything to a younger generation, to younger parents, is that first parents have to model. If you can't model truth, then don't expect somebody else to teach that truth. Uh it starts at home, it starts with a biblical foundation, and then we take that uh as educators and build upon it. So if I would pass on any truth to uh, you know, as an older guy, you know, I've been retired now for 11 years. Uh I've had 46 years in education, and I look at young people today, what is it that they need? They certainly need a firm foundation. They have to look to those that model biblical principles to follow.

Finishing Strong And Lifelong Teaching

SPEAKER_01 17:03

But here's the here's our final question in this, you know, what does finishing strong look like at this season in your life?

SPEAKER_02 17:11

Well, I think when I look look back on my career and look back on what I would consider a legacy, something for others to build upon, uh, I have no regrets. I really enjoyed all aspects of uh my career. I loved it as a teacher, and I I think I shared this uh privately with you that I started out teaching uh industrial technology. Uh some of the older generations used to call that teaching shop. Uh and my undergrad degree was uh industrial education, industrial arts. And I taught that for 10 years. Uh, but I didn't teach uh the traditional shop, I taught manufacturing and construction. So we uh the the generation that uh worked along with me uh and were teachers of uh industrial arts. We did more than just teaching wood shop or metal shop or auto mechanics or electricity. We combined all of them because that's the way it is in real life. Uh we taught uh young people what what manufacturing is. Everything that we use on the day to on a day-to-day basis is manufactured by somebody. And it's just not made out of wood. Or it's not made out of metal only, but there's a variety of materials that are are combined. So we taught manufacturing processes using various media uh to make a product. Uh we taught mass production, lot production. Uh we integrated uh the concepts of teaching, working with your hands, with math and science and social studies, so the kids saw a connection between them all. Um so with that background, um I always enjoyed that aspect of teaching. Um, but it also gave me a basis of leading, because when you teach young people, you also lead. So I had the opportunity um for most of my career of being an administrator, uh leading schools, leading teachers, uh helping parents uh lead their children. I had that opportunity uh for a lot of years. And even today, as I work in the local church, and uh my wife and I are active in our local church, uh I still have a teaching responsibility. I teach uh adult Sunday school. Uh I enjoy that, it keeps me in the word. Um and um so uh moving forward um and finishing strong, I felt that I finished my formal uh career. I felt that I finished strong. Um I didn't burn out as an educator. Um if I had the opportunity and I wasn't at retirement age, uh I'd probably be still teaching. Uh with health issues and things like that. Um I can't do it today. But interestingly enough, my wife is nine months younger than I am. Uh, and is at 76, uh, she's still teaching. Uh and she's uh even though she has a part-time job now, but uh she's she continues to teach to this day. So finishing strong doesn't mean that you give up and you sit back and watch TV. You still have a role of teaching. And every person that I uh I work with, every uh opportunity I have to pass on wisdom, um, and I'm not the wisest person, but every opportunity that I have to pass on knowledge to another, uh I do that. So finishing strong means that you enter into the gates of heaven, not regretting. Anything that you've done, but looking forward to the the day when Christ calls you home, and you can look back on your legacy and say, Hey, I fought that good fight. So I'm pleased with uh the way the Lord has allowed me to have a career in teaching and nurturing young people.

Gratitude, Impact, And Closing Call

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Well, I'll tell you what, after that answer, we need you back. Especially that connectivity that you talked about, you know, and making it relevant for young people. Even so more today. It's needed so much more, even today. But I want to thank you for this uh opportunity to uh interview you, but most important, I want to thank you for just being a blessing to my family. Uh, we were looking for a place once we finished Sunshine Christian Academy for high school and coming out to Worthing Christian and meeting with you, you know. And I'm just gonna be honest, seeing someone of color in that seat, that was a blessing. You know, I knew TJ was going to be all right. And it was so good to him that he actually went to Kentucky State as well.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

Yeah, and after you told me that, I was uh I was so pleased to hear that.

SPEAKER_01 23:08

Yeah, he got a master's degree from there. So God has truly been good. And I love your your example of uh, and we we were one of those families who had a had a foundation, uh, and and and and work the Bible says there's one man plants, another one waters, God gets the increase. You know, and worthy Christian was truly a watering station for us, you know. It was a planting station for others, but it was definitely a watering, a watering station for us, uh for our son, and God truly uh gets the increase. So, what a pro powerful reminder from Taylor Smith that legacy is built through faithfulness, humility, and obedience to God's call. Education is more than academics, it's discipleship, stewardship, and service. When we lead with faith, we just don't teach, we transform lives for generations. And that's what you've done. Uh Dr. Smith, you transfer lives for generations. This episode bless you, share it, leave a review, and help us pass the wisdom forward. And if you're committed to living on purpose and honoring God with your leadership, we invite you to join the legacy movement and be a part of that movement. Uh, until next time, keep walking by faith and be a baller, legacy style. Thank you, uh Taylor, for being a part of this part of today's episode. It's truly been an honor and a blessing to speak with you.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

Well, thank you, Tim. I appreciate you uh having me on.

SPEAKER_00 24:30

Thank you for spending time with us here on Be a Baller Podcast. Remember, legacy isn't built by accident. It's built through daily choices, faithful obedience, and intentional impact. If today's conversation encouraged you, challenged you, or spoke to your heart, share this episode with a friend, a teammate, a leader, or someone who's ready to live with purpose. That simple act of sharing helps us grow the movement and spread legacy-minded living. We want to invite you to join the legacy movement. This is more than a podcast, it's a call to action. And one of the best ways to go deeper is by grabbing your copy of the book Living a Legacy. It's a powerful resource designed to help you apply what you're hearing and start building something that truly lasts. Until next time, keep showing up, keep pouring into others, and keep building a legacy worth following. Thanks for listening, and remember, be a baller. Live on purpose, leave a legacy.