By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

My community is about to lose a valuable treasure, a capable leader, and a wonderful man.

When Dr. Harold Allen came to Peachtree City, Ga., in 1986, he knew that First Baptist Church might be the last congregation that he would pastor. By the time 1999 would finally roll around, he would celebrate 48 years of ministry since his ordination at First Southern Baptist Church in Cairo, Ill. He would go from there to serve four congregations in Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee and Georgia.

A native of Tennessee, Dr. Allen would graduate from Southern Illinois University and Southern Seminary. He would serve the Southern Baptist Convention in a number of denominational capacities including the executive board and the education committee in Illinois; the executive board and the administrative committee in Tennessee; and, in Georgia, would be active in the Fairburn Association, and serve as chairman of the credentials committee. He would also serve as a trustee of Belmont College and as a trustee of Baptist Health Care.

But that is not what has impressed me about Harold Allen. It is the man, not his accomplishments, that have profoundly affected me. Soon after his arrival in Peachtree City, the local Assemblies of God congregation suffered a fire in their sanctuary on a Saturday night. On Sunday morning, Dr. Allen shared the situation with the good folks at First Baptist Church. Before the service was ended, First Baptist Church had collected several thousands of dollars to assist the small Pentecostal congregation during their difficult days that would lie ahead. While this same church was without a building, Dr. Allen made the facilities of the church available for special events. Quite a number of Pentecostals went under the water in the First Baptist baptismal pool.

Under his leadership, First Baptist of Peachtree City, already a strong congregation, grew and prospered. The church built a new sanctuary, acquired additional property, and added hundreds and hundreds of new members. His warmth would draw a number of people not accustomed to feeling comfortable in Southern churches, including Asians and racially-mixed married couples. In a risky move for a Baptist, he would ordain a woman to the ministry so that she could take her place as a military chaplain. When one new Southern Baptist church wanted to start in his town, then another, Dr. Allen, rather than circling the wagons and resisting the new congregations, openly welcomed and embraced the new works. He served as an encourager and as an example.

Harold Allen was also a regular fixture at the weekly minister's breakfasts on Wednesday mornings for all of his thirteen years. Although he was the senior pastor of one of the oldest and largest churches in the community, he never made any of the other ministers feel anything other than comfortable and accepted. He sought advice from even the youngest in the group and was uplifting and encouraging to ministers who were facing difficulty in their congregations or their personal lives. Often, in the parking lot of the restaurant, he would be seen praying with another pastor who needed an elder brother at that moment. Each year, he would proclaim the Word of God at pulpits throughout the community during the annual Good Friday services. During these gatherings, he was equally at ease in his own pulpit as he was behind the lectern at the Roman Catholic Church. Harold Allen was a dedicated Southern Baptist, but, above this, he was a devout Christian man. He could listen with grace to opposing views but would always insist that the person on the other side of the issue be able to defend his position with “chapter and verse.”

He was a pastor who held to the fundamentals of the faith without being a fundamentalist and a man who would value “right conduct” without being a legalist.

Now, he has stepped aside, handling the torch to another capable, caring pastor. Soon, Dr. Allen will be leaving the area and returning to Tennessee where he and his wife, Nancy, will live near one of their sons, David, a physician. The other son, Stephen, following his father's footsteps, is a missionary in Benin, Africa.

I will miss Harold Allen. I have enjoyed hearing his stories, receiving the benefit of his experience and wisdom, enjoying his warm, easygoing manner, and being encouraged by his life. Harold Allen has demonstrated that, in these days of difficulty and temptation, it is possible to run the race successfully and to finish well. It is hard to imagine the Wednesday morning gathering without Harold Allen flashing that boyish grin and welcoming you as though you were the only person on the planet. I will miss his easy laugh, the eyes that always seem to twinkle, and the warm dignity that he always adds to such occasions.

I don't know if, in the grand scheme of things, Harold Allen would be considered a great man. But this I do know: he is a good man and he is an honorable man. I have been enriched by his influence in my life and encouraged, by his example, to be a better man and a better pastor. I will greatly miss him.

[Father David Epps is rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church. He may be contacted online at CTKCEC@aol.com or at P. O. Box 2192, Peachtree City, GA 30269.]

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