[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 177 (Thursday, November 9, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 A TRIBUTE TO REV. J. ALFRED SMITH, SR.

                                 ______


                         HON. RONALD V. DELLUMS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 9, 1995

  Mr. DELLUMS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with you and my 
colleagues a tribute to Dr. J. Alfred Smith, Sr., who has contributed 
25 years of valuable service and leadership to the community as the 
senior pastor of the Allen Temple Baptist Church. One cannot speak of 
the virtues of Allen Temple without recognizing the tremendous 
contributions of Dr. Smith. I can only do justice to Dr. Smith by 
including his lifelong dedication and achievements.
  Dr. J. Alfred Smith, Sr. is the senior pastor of Allen Temple Baptist 
Church of Oakland, CA. He is a professor of Christian ministry at the 
American Baptist Seminary of the West and the Graduate Theological 
Union of Berkeley, CA, and is a visiting professor at Fuller 
Theological Seminary. He is president of the American Baptist Church of 
the West and is past president of the Progressive National Baptist 
Convention, U.S.A. He has been distinguished pastor in residence at the 
School of Divinity of Howard University. Recently, he was guest 
lecturer at the School of Divinity of Duke University and the School of 
Divinity of Yale University--Hoskins Lectures on Ministry.
  Dr. Smith has served as visiting professor at Southern Baptist 
Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY, and as lecturer at the School of 
Divinity of Harvard University. He has been adjunct professor and 
advisor of doctoral ministry students at the Pacific School of Religion 
and has served as adjunct professor of parish ministry at the American 
Baptist Seminary of the West. Dr. Smith is a member of the advisory 
boards of the School of Divinity of Howard University and the United 
Theological Seminary. He is also a member of the University of 
California, Berkeley Community Advisory Board, and the California State 
Legislator's Commission on the African American Male. He has served as 
acting dean of the American Baptist Seminary of the West, as a 
representative for seminarians, and as a member of the executive board 
of the National Council of Churches. He is the founding chairperson of 
the Bay Area Black United Fund.
  Dr. Smith has traveled extensively to speak at churches, 
universities, and seminarians nationwide. He addressed the Baptist 
World Alliance when the body convened in Toronto, Canada, and Seoul, 
Korea. He served as preacher for the 1991 Bermuda Bible conference.
  He has spoken in West Africa, Jerusalem, Sweden, Denmark, Mexico, 
Canada, Switzerland, and the Virgin Islands. In April 1989, Dr. Smith 
addressed the United Nations on apartheid in South Africa and the 
antiapartheid efforts of African-American churches. In February 1988, 
Dr. Smith led a delegation from the United States on a fact-finding 
mission to Sierra Leone, where he and others have established a Baptist 
mission.
  A native of Kansas City, MO, Dr. Smith is married to Jo Anne Goodwin 
Smith. He has been a licensed minister since 1948 and an ordained 
minister since 1951. He earned his doctor of ministry from Golden Gate 
Seminary, his master of theology American church history from American 
Baptist Seminary of the West, his master of theology in church and 
community and bachelor of divinity, both from Missouri School of 
Religion, and his bachelor of science from Western Baptist College. 
Under his leadership, Allen Temple Baptist Church has grown from fewer 
than 1,000 members in 1970, when Dr. Smith became its pastor, to over 
4,000 members today. As senior pastor, Dr. Smith administers over 25 
community and family oriented programs and services of the church.
  Dr. Smith had published over 16 books which are used by seminaries, 
Bible students, teachers, and scholars worldwide. Recent publications 
include ``Giving to a Giving God, Basic Bible Sermons,'' with co-author 
J. Alfred Smith, Jr., a chapter in ``From Prison Cell to Church Pew,'' 
Glorya Skew and Gayraud Wilmord, eds., and a sermon in ``Best Sermons 
for 1993,'' Dr. James Cox, ed. He is a contributing author of Holman 
Bible Publisher's ``The Study Bible.'' Books by Dr. Smith and Allen 
Temple include ``Guidelines for Effective Urban Ministry,'' ``Preaching 
as a Social Act'' discuss Dr. Smith's personal theology.
  Dr. Smith has earned over 125 awards, including honors from Stanford 
University, the Martin Luther King International Chapel of Morehouse 
College, the National Council of Negro Women, Alpha Phi Alpha, the Bay 
Area Free South Africa Movement, the U.S. Congress, and AFRICARE. He 
has been elevated to the 33d degree of Prince Hall, Free and Accepted 
Masons. He has received an honorary doctorate from Western Baptist 
College and the Inter-Baptist Theological Center. In 1990, Dr. Smith 
was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters from the American 
Baptist Seminary of the West. The work of Dr. Smith and the Allen 
Temple Baptist Church have been featured in numerous media, including 
NBC's ``Today Show,'' October 1991, Christianity Today, Ebony, the 
Oakland Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, 
the San Jose Mercury, and the American Baptist.

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