'Lived the word of God': Community members remember Lakeland pastor Alex Harper
LAKELAND – Since he first took to the pulpit in 1961, the Rev. Alex Harper not only served his congregation faithfully, but encouraged faithfulness and the love of God to communities throughout Lakeland.
And through words of advice, wisdom, spiritual guidance and consolation, Harper’s positive impacts will continue to reverberate across Polk County, Central Florida and beyond for many more years.
Harper was the senior pastor of First Baptist Institutional Church in Lakeland from 1997 to 2024. Although he died Jan. 22 at 88 – a month before his 89th birthday – people who knew him said his legacy for “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you” will live on through his commitment to community and genuine love for people in general.
“He didn’t just preach the word, he actually lived the word of God,” said former Lakeland Mayor Gow Fields. “He was a deep believer, as God pointed out…people need to see the love of Christ in action out of the church. He understood while there may be politics in action, Christians had a role to play in exposing Christ’s life for all mankind, while also pursuing justice for all of his children.”
Fields, who served as mayor from 2010 to 2014, said Harper was always looking to do his part in “building God’s kingdom here on earth” for the betterment of First Baptist Institutional Church. The church has a congregation of 125 and is affiliated with the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. in Montgomery, Alabama.
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“His extensive education and experience led him to be thoughtful and engaging as a preacher and church leader,” said Fields, 61, a lifelong member of the First Baptist Institutional Church and first met Harper as a teenager.
Harper’s roots of divinity, altruism and affection for others started as a boy in Mississippi. He was born Feb. 23, 1935, in Nettleton, Mississippi, to the Rev. Odis and Rozena Harper, the second of 10 children.
He eventually worked in the cotton fields along with his father and brother, Odis Jr. His father was a sharecropper and the family moved often. Harper worked as sharecropper, a railroad worker at 16 years old and a steel mill worker in Gary, Indiana, before becoming the senior pastor of First Baptist Institutional Church.
He was also the director of the Congress for First South Florida Missionary Baptist District Association and president of Florida Theological Seminary and Bible College.
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Harper received a doctorate in theology from Florida Theological Seminary and held an honorary doctor of divinity from Berean Christian College and Seminary in Palmetto.
It was Harper’s extensive education and experience that led him to be thoughtful and engaging as a preacher and church leader, Fields said.
“He’s left us, but his impact on people would remain inspirational for those of us that knew him. We will have to step up our game to be like him in our service to the community,” said Fields, who lives in Lakeland.
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Throughout his career, Harper devoted his life to serving God and helping people. He was a leader in civil rights, helping people of all races across Polk County, the state and nation.
Among his recognitions, he received awards from the NAACP (he was a former president of the Lakeland branch), Florida Memorial University, the Progressive M&E Baptist State Convention of Florida, First South Florida Missionary Baptist District Association, and organizations across the U.S., according to his obituary. He also served as president of the State Congress of the Progressive M&E Baptist State Convention of Florida.
Terry Coney, 72, who has been the NAACP Lakeland president for four years, was baptized in the First Baptist Institutional Church at 6 years old. After leaving Lakeland for 10 years, he returned in 2014. His family has ties to the church dating to the early 1900s.
Coney said Harper was a “spiritual leader who was engaged in the community” and didn’t shy away from speaking to his congregation about their engagement in social and civil issues.
“He was very supportive of me as president of the Lakeland NAACP and made sure the congregation supported me and the efforts of the NAACP in Lakeland,” he said. “He was spiritual, a man of God and was also a teacher. He believed in teaching God’s word and had a way of breaking things down in layman’s terms where everyone could understand where it was coming from.”
Harper was married for nearly 70 years to Martha and had three sons — Alex Jr., Rayford and Roger — and a daughter, Yolanda Cope. He was buried Feb. 2 at Oak Hill Burial Park in Lakeland.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: 'Lived the word of God': Lakeland pastor Alex Harper had a big impact
