Roland Allen (1868-1947) served as an Anglican deacon and priest in England, as a missionary to China, and also served the Church in Kenya. He was a prolific author with his most popular writings being Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours? and The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church.
J. D. Payne (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the
pastor of church multiplication with The Church at Brook Hills in
Birmingham, Alabama. He is a missiologist, podcast host (Strike the
Match), and blogger jdpayne.org). J. D. is the author and editor of
twelve books on missions including Roland Allen: Pioneer of
Spontaneous Expansion.
I still remember first encountering Roland Allen's writings as a
student. His prose was lively. His insights were relevant. His
thoughts were imbued with Scripture. Since Allen died in 1947,
surely everything of significance the man wrote has been published
by now. But no! New treasures await you. J. D. Payne has done us a
great service by bringing to light a previously unpublished
manuscript by Allen. Readers of Allen will feel that they are
sitting down with an old friend to revisit some common themes from
slightly different angles (and new anecdotes). Payne himself has
written a helpful introductory chapter and lined up other scholars
(Hubert Allen, Robert Schmidt, Steven Rutt, Robert Banks) to
provide essays related to Roland Allen's thought or life. What a
treasure this little book is! Robert L. Plummer, PhD, chairman of
New Testament department professor of New Testament interpretation
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Roland Allen saw clearly in the first half of the twentieth century
what few over the last two millennia have seen and even today see:
that there is an essential interrelationship between the
charismatic working of the Holy Spirit, the dynamic nature of the
church as the body of Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit, and
the mission of the triune God. Although here applied to the very
specific question of sacramental and eucharistic practice, the
implications and applications of Allen's vision are extensive for
all committed to participating in the work of the Spirit to and
from the ends of the earth. While always respecting the role of the
institutional dimensions of the church, Allen here prompts us to
wrestle again and again with apostolic life in the Spirit as
normative for engaging the ongoing missio Dei, however difficult
such may be to discern at times. Amos Yong, PhD, professor of
theology and mission Fuller Seminary author of The Missiological
Spirit (2014) and Spirit of Love (2012)
Sixty years ago Donald McGavran reintroduced Roland Allen to
evangelicals. McGavran often spoke and wrote about how much Roland
Allen had influenced his own missiology. McGavran required his
students to read Allen's books and revived interest in Allen's
approach to missions strategy. J. D. Payne and his collaborators
have performed a similar service for a new generation of
evangelicals. In this volume they have provided missiologists,
missionaries, and missions students with a long unpublished Allen
manuscript. The manuscript revisits common themes in Allen's
writings: the role of the Holy Spirit in missions, the spontaneous
growth of new churches, and the importance of lay ministry. The
essays by Allen scholars enhance the value of the book, and the
chapter by Hubert Allen, Roland's grandson, is most welcome. John
Mark Terry, PhD, professor of missions Mid-America Baptist
Theological Seminary
WCL, J.D. Payne, and the contributors are to be congratulated on
the release of this previously unpublished work by Roland Allen. We
hear much today about the importance of empowering and mobilizing
ordinary Christians for the cause of multiplying and growing
healthy churches. This little book demonstrates how Roland Allen on
this important principle--particularly as it relates to celebration
of the Lord's Supper--was once again ahead of his time. Readers
familiar with Allen's biblically reasoned challenges to unhelpful
traditions will not be disappointed by this work. Craig Ott, PhD,
professor of mission and intercultural studies Trinity Evangelical
Divinity School
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