Roland Allen
Encyclopedia
Life
He was born in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of an Anglican priest; but was orphaned early in life. He trained for ministry at Oxford and became a priest in 1893. Allen spent two periods in Northern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
working for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The first from 1895 to 1900 ended due to the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
, during which Allen was forced to flee to the British Legation in Beijing. He was chaplain to community throughout much of the siege. After a period back in England, he returned to North China in 1902, but was forced home due to illness. These ‘early experiences led him to a radical reassessment of his own vocation and the theology and missionary methods
Missiology
Missiology is the area of practical theology that investigates the mandate, message, and mission of the Christian church, especially the nature of missionary work...
of the Western churches’.
Allen became an early advocate of establishing Churches which from the beginning would be self-supporting, self-propagating, and self-governing, adapted to local conditions and not merely imitations of Western Christianity. These views were confirmed by a trip to India in 1910 and by later research in Canada and East Africa. It is with this background that Allen wrote his book Missionary Methods which was first published in 1912. It has been suggested that his thought was influenced in part by the earlier primitivist writings of Anthony Norris Groves
Anthony Norris Groves
Anthony Norris Groves has been described as the "father of faith missions". He launched the first Protestant mission to Arabic-speaking Muslims, and settled in Baghdad, now the capital of Iraq, and later in southern India. His ideas influenced a circle of friends who became leaders in the Plymouth...
and by the Brethren movement
Allen’s approach to Mission strategy for indigenous
Indigenous church mission theory
Indigenous churches are churches suited to local culture and led by local Christians. There have been two main Protestant strategies proposed for the creation of indigenous churches:...
Churches is based on the study of Saint Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
’s missionary methods as he is convinced that in them can be found the solution to most of the difficulties of the day. He believed it was the recognition of the church as a local entity and trust in the Holy Spirit’s indwelling within the converts and churches which was the mark of Paul’s success. In contrast was Allen’s belief that the people of his day were unable to entrust their converts to the Holy Spirit and instead relied in His work through them.
His views became increasingly influential, though Allen himself became disillusioned with the established churches. He spent the last years of his life in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. Near the end of his life Allen wrote The Family Rite. In this essay Allen advocates that the family again becomes the center of the Christian church and its ministry. Allen died in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
. His funeral was conducted by the Bishop of Mombasa and his gravestone can be found in Nairobi's City Park. A simple stone cross with the inscription on the pedestal reads: "ROLAND ALLEN, CLERK IN HOLY ORDERS, 1868-1947, I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE SAITH THE LORD"
Veneration
Allen is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA)Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)
The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Those in the Anglo-Catholic tradition may...
on June 8.
Works
- The Siege of the Peking Legations, 1901
- Missionary methods : St. Paul's or ours : a study of the church in the four provinces, London : R. Scott, 1912
- Missionary principles, London : R. Scott, 1913
- Pentecost & the World: the revelation of the Holy Spirit in the 'Acts of the Apostles, London : Oxford University Press, 1917
- Educational principles and missionary methods : the application of educational principles to missionary evangelism, London : R. Scott, 1919
- Missionary survey as an aid to intelligent co-operation in foreign missions, (co-authored with Thomas Cochrane), London : Longmans, Green, 1920
- Voluntary clergy, London : SPCK, 1923
- The spontaneous expansion of the church : and the causes which hinder it, London : The World dominion press, 1927
- Devolution and its real significance, (co-authored with Alexander McLeish), 1927
- Sidney James Wells Clark. A vision of foreign missions, 1937
Modern editions
- The Ministry of the Spirit. Selected Writings, Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7188-9173-2; edited by David M. Paton; foreword by Lamin Sanneh.
- Missionary Methods. St Paul's or Ours?, Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 2006, ISBN 978-07188-9168-8; foreword by Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali.
- Missionary Principles and Practice, Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7188-9170-1; foreword by Brian Stanley.
- The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes which Hinder it., Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7188-9171-8; foreword by Bishop Michael Turnbull.
- Reform of the Ministry. A Study in the Work of Roland Allen, Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7188-9103-9; edited by David M. Paton.
Biography
- Allen, Hubert, Roland Allen: Pioneer, Priest and Prophet, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1995
See also
- Anthony Norris GrovesAnthony Norris GrovesAnthony Norris Groves has been described as the "father of faith missions". He launched the first Protestant mission to Arabic-speaking Muslims, and settled in Baghdad, now the capital of Iraq, and later in southern India. His ideas influenced a circle of friends who became leaders in the Plymouth...
, whose "back-to-the-Bible" strategies predated Allen's by eighty years, and whose personal influence may be seen in Allen's desire to recover New Testament mission methods.