Charles Livingstone Allen (June 24, 1913 – August 30, 2005) was an American

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

minister most notable for his work as a

Pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

. Born in Newborn, Georgia, he ministered around the state, including 1948 to 1960 at Grace United Methodist in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. During his tenure at Grace, it became the largest congregation in Georgia. In 1960, he moved to

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, where he served at First United Methodist until 1983. While at First Methodist, it became the largest

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

congregation in the world at 12,000 members. Allen was also a

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

for the Atlanta Journal and Atlanta Constitution during the 1950s and after that for the

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

. He also authored inspirational books, including ''God's Psychiatry'' and ''All Things Are Possible Through Prayer: The Faith-Filled Guidebook That Can Change Your Life''. He pioneered American TV ministries with his WSB-Channel 2 Atlanta Sunday night services beginning in 1956. The section of Parkway Drive (which connects Highland Ave to

Piedmont Park Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's ...

) north of Ponce de Leon in Atlanta was renamed in his honor in the 1960s.

References

New Georgia Encyclopedia
Biography
''Houston Chronicle''
Obituary * Allen, Charles and Louis Marchiafava
Allen Charles Oral History
Houston Oral History Project, August 27, 1975. * God's Psychiatry by Charles L. Alle
''God's Psychiatry Audiobook''
Amazon.com 1913 births 2005 deaths Clergy from Atlanta Clergy from Houston People from Newton County, Georgia American columnists 20th-century Methodist ministers Journalists from Houston American United Methodist clergy 20th-century American clergy {{Christian-theologian-stub