In The Shadow Of Greatness:
Paul Asa Allen Remembers His Father, Evangelist A.A. Allen

In the landscape of 1950s and 60s revival meetings, few figures loomed as large as evangelist A.A. Allen. His tent revivals drew thousands, with reports of miraculous healings that captured the imagination of a generation. But behind the public persona was a family man whose impact on his children went far beyond the pulpit. His son, Paul Asa Allen, offers a rare glimpse into the private world of one of America's most influential revival ministers.

From Darkness to Light: A Transformative Testimony

A powerful part of A.A. Allen's ministry was his own testimony of transformation. “Part of my dad's ministry, when he would be, in a service, he never failed to bring up the fact that he was raised in a home by alcoholics," Paul shares. The details of his early life were haunting: as a toddler, his parents would put whiskey in his baby bottle, finding amusement in watching their intoxicated child stumble and fall.

The environment was one of deep dysfunction. His parents split up when he

was around two years old, and he never finished his formal education, dropping out in his early grade school years. By his teenage years, alcoholism had such a grip on him that his hands would shake so severely he could only fill coffee cups halfway to avoid spilling their contents.

His sisters were caught up in the cycle of addiction as well. The family moved between Arkansas and Missouri, creating an unstable and difficult environment for the children. It was a “very rough, hard way for kids to grow up in that era," Paul recalls.

Yet this dark beginning made his transformation all the more powerful. “He picked no bones about the fact that when he was growing up, he was an alcoholic," Paul explains. “But I can truthfully, honestly say I never saw even one sign (after he got saved and became a preacher) of him ever once doing anything that would look like he had had a drink." This personal victory over addiction became a testament to the transformative power of faith that he would preach about throughout his ministry.

“For me, what happened was as normal as it would be for any other kid," Paul reflects, describing his unique childhood. “You just grow up where you are." That “normal" included traveling the country in a trailer house, parking on tent lots, and watching his father conduct massive revival meetings night after night.

A Family United in Ministry

The Allen ministry was truly a family affair, with each child playing a vital role in their father's mission. Paul took photographs, his brother John operated movie cameras for televising services, James handled tent maintenance, and their sister worked on the ministry's magazine. “It was understood that we worked and did something, and we didn't just sit around somewhere and do nothing," Paul explains. “We had each had jobs that pertained to the ministry. That was normal."

The ministry team extended beyond the immediate family. Kent Rogers Sr., who served as their song leader and afternoon speaker for nearly 25 years, became an integral part of their extended family. His children grew up alongside the Allen children, creating a unique community of families united in ministry.

Life on the Road

Their mobile lifestyle meant adapting to a different rhythm than most families. The Allens lived in a trailer house, which they would hook to their car as they traveled from city to city. Meals were often simple affairs at roadside parks — bologna sandwiches and watermelon, with impromptu swimming breaks for the children while their father caught up on rest between drives.

“When we went from someplace like Dallas to Los Angeles, we hooked a trailer house on the back of the car and got in the car and headed down the highway," Paul recalls. “The majority of the time, we would stop at a roadside park or pull up in the parking lot of the grocery store and park out in the corner."

Facing Opposition and Persecution

The ministry faced significant opposition, often from unexpected sources. “The devil will fight you," A.A. Allen would say, explaining that opposition was proof of doing God's work. Paul remembers his father's perspective: “When there's no opposition to a ministry, that's proof that they're doing very little for the kingdom of God, because the devil's not fighting them."

In Atlanta, the police department reportedly received thousands of death threats against A.A. Allen. Rather than cancel services, Allen would confront these threats head-on from the pulpit. “If you're one of those that said you were going to kill me tonight, do it! Stand up right now, pull out your little gun and try to shoot me," he would challenge. “Look around this tent. See how many policemen are here. They're not here because I asked them to come. They're here because people threatened my life."

One particularly dramatic incident occurred in either New York City or Newark, New Jersey, during an auditorium meeting. A man, angered by his wife's attendance at the revival meetings, attempted to shoot Allen from the balcony. The gun repeatedly failed to fire when aimed at Allen, but when the frustrated would-be assassin tested it in an alley, he shot himself in the foot. The man later returned to the meetings and became a Christian.

Controversy and Legacy

Paul Allen addresses head-on the controversies that have surrounded his father's death. He reveals that the county coroner issued three different death certificates with three different causes of death — a fact that Paul sees as evidence of political manipulation rather than medical uncertainty. “People in political power wanted to try to prove that he was not a good man, but a bad man," Paul explains.

The first certificate listed a heart attack, the second a cerebral hemorrhage, and the third an alcohol overdose. Paul points out a crucial inconsistency in the final ruling: “The coroner stated publicly, both verbally and in writing, that he had enough alcohol in his stomach to kill a horse, but virtually none in his bloodstream." Paul draws a parallel to another controversial death from that era: “The coroner in Los Angeles said the same thing about Marilyn Monroe about her death by overdose of sleeping pills — that she had the equivalent of a full bottle of sleeping pills in her stomach, but none in her bloodstream." As Paul explains, “If you die of an overdose of anything like drugs or alcohol, you don't die because it's in your stomach. You die because it gets in your bloodstream and gets in your brain."

The Heart of the Ministry: Understanding Divine Healing

Despite the controversies and opposition, A.A. Allen remained focused on his divine calling. Paul emphasizes that his father never claimed to be a healer himself. “I think every sermon I ever heard him preach, he used the line, ‘I am not a healer. I cannot heal a fly with a headache, but the healer is here tonight.'"

Paul shares profound insights about the nature of divine healing, drawn from his years of witnessing his father's ministry. “God did not give Daddy the ability to look at people and heal some and not heal others," he explains. “People are healed due to their own faith in God." However, he notes that occasionally, people were healed because of his father's faith for them.

To illustrate this principle, Paul recounts the story of a seven-year-old boy who had never spoken a word or taken a step. The child couldn't even swallow without assistance — liquids had to be poured into his mouth and his throat massaged to help him consume nourishment. Neither the boy nor his parents were believers, but a neighboring woman brought him to the service. “Faith that my dad had is what healed him," Paul recalls. “It wasn't the fact that Daddy was a healer. Daddy was not a healer."

Paul references the biblical story of the woman with the issue of blood who touched Jesus's garment. “Jesus didn't pray for her and say, ‘be made whole.' But when she touched his garment, he felt the power of God flow through Him, through his robe, into her and heal her." This example, Paul explains, demonstrates how healing operates through faith rather than through any individual's power.

Paul explains that his father's true gift was his ability to communicate the concept of faith to ordinary people. “When people ask me what was so unique about what your dad did and how he did things, I tell them up front, plain and simple: he had the ability to explain faith in a way that the average person could connect to it."

Personal Memories

One of Paul's most treasured memories is of a special week he spent with his father between revival meetings in Pittsburgh and Buffalo. After the Pittsburgh revival concluded, his father told him, “Let's just take a week, you and I, and anything you want to do, we'll do it." They made their way toward Buffalo, stopping to swim in one of the Great Lakes and renting a canoe to paddle around another lake for half a day.

Along their journey, they bought a half-bushel of fresh cherries, eating them until they couldn't handle any more. This was in the days before interstate highways, when every small town had its own unique attractions advertised on roadside signs. Father and son took their time exploring these local sights, making memories at each stop along the way.

These precious moments of ordinary father-son bonding stood in stark contrast to the massive revival meetings that characterized most of their lives. It was during times like these that Paul got to experience his father not just as the mighty evangelist, but as a dad who wanted to spend quality time with his son.

The Bible College Vision

The ministry expanded to include a Bible college in Arizona, fulfilling a long-held dream. The opportunity arose during one of their regular Phoenix campaigns, which typically ran for several weeks after Christmas each year. When land became available near the Mexican border, A.A. Allen and his wife saw it as an answer to prayer — a chance to establish a training center where they could prepare young people for ministry.

“That was something that he had wanted to do for many years," Paul recalls. The location, though remote, would become a place where future ministers could be trained and equipped for service. This extension of the ministry represented A.A. Allen's commitment not just to preaching and healing, but to raising up the next generation of evangelical leaders.

A Father's Legacy

Today, Paul Allen continues to share his father's story, having spent three years writing a book titled “In the Shadow of Greatness: Growing Up Allen." His mission is to help people understand the human side of his parents' ministry — the daily lives, struggles, and triumphs that existed alongside the mighty revival meetings.

“My sister and I have discussed it many, many times through the years," Paul reflects, “and both of us agree totally that we had the most incredible growing up experience that you could imagine." Through Paul's eyes, we see A.A. Allen as he truly was: a man who balanced the extraordinary demands of a healing ministry with the ordinary responsibilities of fatherhood, facing both divine calling and human opposition with unwavering faith.

For Paul Allen, his father's greatest legacy wasn't just in the miracles or the massive crowds, but in his authentic dedication to his calling and his family. A.A. Allen emerges as a complex figure: a mighty minister, a devoted father, and a man who, despite controversy and opposition, remained steadfast in his mission to bring divine healing and faith to the masses.

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