Something For Sunday
By: Rev. Dr. Norman Bullock
A giant oak has fallen. Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith, Sr. – pastor, prophet, scholar and servant was celebrated during a Celebration of Life service on Friday, October 11, 2025, at the Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, CA, a church where he pastored for 40 years and held the distinct honor of Pastor Emeritus. A special evening of Worship and Witness was celebrated the previous evening, October 10. Pastor Smith entered eternal rest on September 19, 2025, at the age of 94. I was present and witnessed along with many other family and friends to celebrate the life of this Spiritual Giant with reflections and tributes. Using his famous quote, “I wish I could make it plain,” my desire is to make this tribute plain so that the reader can feel Dr. Smith’s compassion, wisdom, his love for the other, his faithful service while he traveled the Jericho Road.
As I reflect with fond memories the effect that Dr. Smith had on my life and the lives of countless others, I find myself reflecting on a life that Dr. Smith has profoundly shaped my own journey of faith, scholarship, and service. I first met Dr. Smith in 1998 when I was elected as president of the California NAACP State Conference of branches (CA NAACP). Being a twenty-something year old and the youngest person elected to that role, I wanted to connect with and surround myself with those in positions of social justice, community empowerment and influence, especially in the faith-based sector. Being a young seminarian at the time, I had followed this visionary pastor, scholar and civil rights leader from a distance. Upon my election, I remember visiting Allen Temple Church for Sunday worship, visiting him in the pastor’s study before the worship service, uninvited and the warmth that he extended to me will never be forgotten. Shortly thereafter, I invited him to serve as the Chair of the Religious Affairs Committee (CA NAAPCP). Although he declined that role because of his demanding schedule, he did recommend someone to serve in that capacity who did an outstanding job in developing initiatives building on the historic relationship between the NAACP and the church. Throughout my tenure, Dr. Smith served as a confidant and Spiritual Advisor to me.
Our relationship from that experience developed into a close bond, where Dr. Smith served as a mentor and Spiritual father to me. In the absence of and later death of my biological father,” Poppa Doc,” whom many of us affectionally called him, was there for me in all facets of my life. Poppa Doc was there to pray, support, encourage and even challenge me in my personal and professional life. Poppa Doc was a spiritual father to me. His counsel guided me through moments of uncertainty, his encouragement uplifted me in times of struggle, and his prayers sustained me on my journey. He always offered a listening ear and a compassionate heart, modeling the very love of Christ.
The relationship with Dr. Smith was elevated even more in 2012, when he and Rev. Dr. Aidsand Wright-Riggens, Executive Director, American Baptist Home Mission Society at the time (now serving as Executive Director Emeritus) with funding and support from the American Baptist Home Mission Society, launched the Barnabas Partners, a cohort of new and emerging pastoral leaders who were wrestling with the vicissitudes of ministry and of life. Drs. Smith and Wright-Riggins served as mentors and facilitators of our gatherings for uplift, scholarship, leadership development and prayer. I was blessed to be one of the seven inaugural Barbabas Partners.
Beyond Barnabas Partners, over the last seven years, every two to three weeks, I would get a call from Dr. Smith offering prayer, encouragement, and engagement in scholarship and critical awareness of the social justice concerns of the day. On the occasions that he would call, and I was not available, he would regularly leave an encouraging word or a prayer that would provide me with the strength that I needed to continue my journey. I still have over twenty of those voice messages saved on my phone that I listen to from time to time when I need some encouragement, with the oldest one recorded in 2013. Dr. Smith had a unique gift of making each person feel as if their relationship with him was deep and personal; making every single one of us feel like the most important person he knew. He lived a life beyond himself.
Time would not permit me in this brief space to delineate all the contributions of Dr. Smith to the body of Christ, but below is a summary by major categories of those contributions for reflection and celebration:
- Pastor – Dr. Smith embodied the heart of a shepherd. His preaching was not just eloquent, but it spoke directly to the soul, offering comfort, conviction, and inspiration. His leadership of Allen Temple Baptist Church lifted it into a beacon of hope and transformation for the world.
- Mentor – He mentored generations of church leaders, teachers, politician and social justice advocates.
- Denominational Leader – He served as president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention and of American Baptist Churches of the West.
- Advocate for Justice – whether it was supporting women’s leadership and ordination within the church, marching against violence in East Oakland, or calling for an end to apartheid in South Africa. His phrase that he would say all the time was, ‘We were not called to sit in the rocking chair of lazy religion.”
- Author – He authored and contributed over 16 books including On The Jericho Road: A Memoir of Racial Justice, Social Action, and Prophetic Ministry, Speak Until Justice Wakes: Prophetic Reflections, and Sounding the Trumpet: How Churches Can Answer God’s Call to Justice.
- Professor and Scholar – He was professor emeritus of preaching and church ministries at the Berkeley School of Theology, which established the J. Alfred Smith Sr. Endowed Chair of Theology in the Public Square in his honor. He was twice named one of Ebony magazine’s “Most Influential Black Americans” and was named among its “15 Greatest Black Preachers.”
- His life reminds us that ministry is not confined to a church building, but is lived out in every word, every act of kindness, and every fight for justice. For all he has given—as pastor, prophet, scholar, and father—I am eternally grateful. May God continue to bless his legacy and may his example inspire all of us to serve with the same integrity, wisdom, and compassion.
Rev. Dr. Norman Bullock, a native of Los Angeles, currently serves as the Founding President and Managing Consultant for Strategic Innovation Partners which is a conduit and ministry providing executive coaching, interim leadership in the C-Suite, and organizational development to both the faith-based and non-profit sectors.
Dr. Bullock is passionate about social justice, community outreach, scholastic achievement and the inclusion of intergenerational ministry in the rhythm of daily church life. His writings are published in The African American Pulpit; The African American Lectionary; and the National Baptist Voice. Dr. Bullock publicly embraced his call into ministry during his career in the Business Sector while serving as an Audit Manager at a large CPA firm. He was licensed and ordained by the American Baptist Churches, USA at Second Baptist Church, where he served on the pastoral staff and as Executive Director of the church’s community development initiatives.
Dr. Bullock possesses an undergraduate degree from UCLA in Sociology and Economics. He holds the Master of Divinity degree from Claremont School of Theology in Social Ethics & Urban Ministry, with a concentration in Non-Profit Leadership, an MBA degree with a concentration in Social Entrepreneurship at Walden University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary with a focus on Transformative Leadership. A lifelong learner, he has completed additional graduate work at Harvard University, USC and Claremont Graduate University. He is currently a Wendland-Cook Fellow in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt Divinity School.
His community involvement included serving as President of the California National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and by serving in other leadership roles. A selected list of past and present organizations include: the American Baptist Foundation, 100 Black Men of Los Angeles, Extera Public Charter Schools, Hope for LA Partnership and Kappa Achievement Fund. He is also a Barnabas Partner, a cohort of Emerging African American pastors within the American Baptist Churches, USA.
Dr. Bullock is married to Maria Bullock, an attorney, and they are the parents of three children, Nina, Nicholas and Nicole.