Jimmy Allen

Jimmy Raymond Allen (October 26, 1927 – January 8, 2019) was an American pastor who was President of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) from 1977 to 1979. As president of the SBC, Allen was noted for his moderation and commitment to compassion in the church and was the last president before the SBC's conservative resurgence. After leaving his post as president, he continued to serve in the SBC before eventually becoming involved in other baptist organizations.

Early life and education Allen was born on October 26, 1927, in Hope, Arkansas, but was raised in Texas. His father, Earl Allen, was a Baptist pastor. Allen attended Howard Payne University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

In 1977, Allen was elected president of the SBC, the denomination's highest position of authority. At the 1978 SBC convention, he nominated fifteen women to the SBC's various committees. At that same convention he opposed anti-gay activist Anita Bryant's candidacy for the SBC's vice-presidency, claiming that the SBC needed to avoid having a singular focus on any one issue. In 1979, Allen chose not to run for re-election and was succeeded by Adrian Rogers. He quickly became critical of the SBC's conservative resurgence, however, telling the National Executive Council of the American Jewish Committee that it would cause damage to both religion and the government. Over the years he would drift apart from the SBC, helping to found the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the New Baptist Covenant. Allen opposed the position of United States Ambassador to the Vatican and petitioned Jimmy Carter to end the position on the basis that it "amounted to special recognition of one individual faith." He supported the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the United States and the Soviet Union, but while the SBC had supported SALT I with a resolution in 1979, Allen was unable to build support for a similar resolution supporting SALT II in 1980. The struggles of Allen's family with AIDS led him to write Burden of a Secret, a short book meant to guide Christian families towards approaching AIDS victims with compassion. Allen died on January 8, 2019, at the age of 91.