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The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church: And the Causes Which Hinder It
Roland Allen (1868–1947) was a British missionary who has written some of the most straight-forward works on missions available. These are not books written by an executive in a home office, but by a man who spent the majority of his life in the mission field. As time progressed, Allen became somewhat disenfranchised with the established church, seeing a division between the formality of religion and the power of God. Throughout his travels, Allen spent time ministering in China, India, Canada, and East Africa. He died while serving in Nairobi, Kenya, which is where he is buried. He was 78 years old. His work wasn’t well received until years after his death, but since then, his books have been considered some of the most revolutionary written on the subject of missions. Some of what he taught that seemed counterintuitive at the time include the ideas that missionaries should be self-sustaining (like Paul, who made tents), should adapt their methods to local customs, and train locals to take over the mission work. The Table of Contents are as Introduction
The Nature and Character of Spontaneous Expansion
Modern Movements Towards Liberty
Fear for the Doctrine
The Christian Standard of Morals
Civilization and Enlightenment
Missionary Organization
Ecclesiastical Organization
The Way of Spontaneous Expansion For more of the most-enduring Christian classics ever written, including a small library of free eBooks just for signing up for the email list, be sure to visit the publisher’s website
The Nature and Character of Spontaneous Expansion
Modern Movements Towards Liberty
Fear for the Doctrine
The Christian Standard of Morals
Civilization and Enlightenment
Missionary Organization
Ecclesiastical Organization
The Way of Spontaneous Expansion For more of the most-enduring Christian classics ever written, including a small library of free eBooks just for signing up for the email list, be sure to visit the publisher’s website
188 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1962
70 people are currently reading
219 people want to read
About the author
Roland Allen
51 books8 followers(1868–1947) An Anglican missionary in North China whoworked with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.Later he worked for a number of years in collaboration withthe founders of World Dominion and the Survey ApplicationTrust, and finally retired to Kenya, Africa.
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November 8, 2018
Missiology 101
Provocative and timely thoughts on the expansion of growing and healthy local communities of Jesus followers. Wherever you live and serve, this is a helpful resource.
Provocative and timely thoughts on the expansion of growing and healthy local communities of Jesus followers. Wherever you live and serve, this is a helpful resource.
October 26, 2021
A 100-year-old book that’s surprisingly convicting and sadly still very much relevant for our day.
September 6, 2018
The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church by Roland Allen is a rather short but very thought provoking book. In it, he somewhat implicitly asks the question, Who builds the Church? Leading to that thought, he critiques our method of Evangelization, are we doing it right? Do we need to organize the expansion of the church? Do we need to establish mission stations, do we need missionaries who depend upon appeals for money for their support. Will the Gospel spread if we don't purposefully come up with a plan to spread it?
Allen warns that what we are trying to do in our methods is to organize the work of God, to dictate where people will get saved and a time period in which their salvation must happen. But as Allen points out, "For spiritual work spiritual organization is necessary; but can we create a spiritual organization of spiritual forces? Only a divine intelligence can do that. But we attempt to do the work of that divine intelligence; by fixing our stations and immobilizing our men….But to be God's agents in spiritual movements we must follow, not lead. We want to lead, and, in trying to lead, we are simply left behind. We say: 'Here we will have our buildings,' but the spiritual movements may be growing unseen by us in another place and by other means….The organization is always too late. For we can organize the external results of a spiritual movement, but we cannot organize a spiritual movement. "
One of the main points of the book is that we don't need professional missionaries or Christian organizations dedicated to evangelism in order to spread the Gospel. The Church is the only Christian organization promoted by the Bible and therefore we should assume that the Gospel will be spread by means of its members working within that organization rather than in a parachurch organization. How will the Gospel be spread in other countries? Well, Allen points out that God can use any way He wants. He can use a member of a local church in Lansing, Michigan going on a business trip to Ethiopia to spread the Gospel to an Ethiopian he meets in the process of doing whatever work he does there. Let's say he talks to Ethiopian about the Gospel, the Ethiopian believes, and the American Christian gives him a Bible and goes back to America, as his business is done. But even though that American Christian leaves, the Ethiopian studies the Bible given to him, and spreads the Gospel to his fellow Ethiopians and thus a church can springs up, without there being any money having ever been particularly dedicated to spreading the Gospel in that area of Ethiopia. Christ will build His church.
Interestingly, Allen points out that the "great commission" is not repeated in the epistles, and the Apostles did not make evangelistic appeals to the churches, they didn't give out calls for people volunteer to go into far away countries to spread the Gospel. They apparently assumed that the Holy Spirit would bring individual church members to the right people and to the right places without their needing to organize the work or plan it out. This may sound absurd today, but we don't need "Professional Missionaries", all Christians are missionaries. He points out that people "have been obsessed with the idea that a man to express his missionary zeal properly must be a member of some other body within the Church and that church membership is not sufficient."
Oh, and by the way, this guy was writing in the 1920s! It is still so applicable to today, perhaps more so than even in his day.
Another thing that Allen critiques that really seems to be prominent in our day is the "Social Gospel"; warning that feeding the poor and helping the sick is not the Gospel itself. You really can't preach the Gospel without "using words". "'Seek ye first,' said Christ, 'the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.' Putting intellectual enlightenment and social reform first in time, we have, by deeds which speak louder than words, taught men to seek 'all these things' first, and some today justify their action by identifying intellectual enlightenment and social and political reform with the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. To identify the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness with social and political doctrines always has led, and always must lead, to disaster. The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness are founded in Christ, but these doctrines and reforms can easily be divorced from Christ, and are pursued by many who won no allegiance to Christ." To apply this today, ending world slavery, creating democracies and republics, is not the Gospel of Christ. Somewhere in the book Allen says something along the lines of: A person can become a vibrant Christian and remain a slave, a person can be a dedicated, enthusiastic Christian and live in a country ruled by a dictator, a Christian can be a joyful Christian and be malnourished. A change of outward circumstances is not the Gospel. Christ is All-Sufficient, no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in. Point to Him first, and anything else that He thinks is needed for the convert will come after their acceptance of Him.
Lastly, Allen greatly laments Christian organizations reliance upon money. He notices that anytime missionaries see an opportunity for the further spread of the Gospel they make it seem as though it cannot take place without money. Christian organizations unconsciously teach their converts that money is the power of God unto salvation. "They continually bemoan the fact that their greatest difficulty, their most serious anxiety, their most bitter disappointment, arises from the lack of support from home.", lacking the support either of money or of more paid recruits, they assume that the work of God won't get done, not considering that perhaps God doesn't want it to happen their way, perhaps God wants that particular organization to close. That's one of the questions he asks, would a Christian organization be willing to close in order to further its cause if that's what it would take?
There are other things Allen addresses that are quite interesting and intriguing thoughts. But, to sum up Allen's book:
He warns us that we are trying to make people into New Creations ourselves, essentially taking the job of the Holy Spirit into our own hands. We don't need to make people moral before they can come to Christ, that will come afterward, we don't need to change people's surrounding circumstances before they can be a vibrant Christian. We don't need money to spread the Gospel. We don't need professional missionaries and Christian organizations to spread the Gospel. We don't need money to create a church. Christ will build His church.
I highly recommend this book.
Many thanks to Wipf and Stock Publishers for sending me a free review copy of this book! (My review did not have to be favorable)
Allen warns that what we are trying to do in our methods is to organize the work of God, to dictate where people will get saved and a time period in which their salvation must happen. But as Allen points out, "For spiritual work spiritual organization is necessary; but can we create a spiritual organization of spiritual forces? Only a divine intelligence can do that. But we attempt to do the work of that divine intelligence; by fixing our stations and immobilizing our men….But to be God's agents in spiritual movements we must follow, not lead. We want to lead, and, in trying to lead, we are simply left behind. We say: 'Here we will have our buildings,' but the spiritual movements may be growing unseen by us in another place and by other means….The organization is always too late. For we can organize the external results of a spiritual movement, but we cannot organize a spiritual movement. "
One of the main points of the book is that we don't need professional missionaries or Christian organizations dedicated to evangelism in order to spread the Gospel. The Church is the only Christian organization promoted by the Bible and therefore we should assume that the Gospel will be spread by means of its members working within that organization rather than in a parachurch organization. How will the Gospel be spread in other countries? Well, Allen points out that God can use any way He wants. He can use a member of a local church in Lansing, Michigan going on a business trip to Ethiopia to spread the Gospel to an Ethiopian he meets in the process of doing whatever work he does there. Let's say he talks to Ethiopian about the Gospel, the Ethiopian believes, and the American Christian gives him a Bible and goes back to America, as his business is done. But even though that American Christian leaves, the Ethiopian studies the Bible given to him, and spreads the Gospel to his fellow Ethiopians and thus a church can springs up, without there being any money having ever been particularly dedicated to spreading the Gospel in that area of Ethiopia. Christ will build His church.
Interestingly, Allen points out that the "great commission" is not repeated in the epistles, and the Apostles did not make evangelistic appeals to the churches, they didn't give out calls for people volunteer to go into far away countries to spread the Gospel. They apparently assumed that the Holy Spirit would bring individual church members to the right people and to the right places without their needing to organize the work or plan it out. This may sound absurd today, but we don't need "Professional Missionaries", all Christians are missionaries. He points out that people "have been obsessed with the idea that a man to express his missionary zeal properly must be a member of some other body within the Church and that church membership is not sufficient."
Oh, and by the way, this guy was writing in the 1920s! It is still so applicable to today, perhaps more so than even in his day.
Another thing that Allen critiques that really seems to be prominent in our day is the "Social Gospel"; warning that feeding the poor and helping the sick is not the Gospel itself. You really can't preach the Gospel without "using words". "'Seek ye first,' said Christ, 'the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.' Putting intellectual enlightenment and social reform first in time, we have, by deeds which speak louder than words, taught men to seek 'all these things' first, and some today justify their action by identifying intellectual enlightenment and social and political reform with the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. To identify the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness with social and political doctrines always has led, and always must lead, to disaster. The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness are founded in Christ, but these doctrines and reforms can easily be divorced from Christ, and are pursued by many who won no allegiance to Christ." To apply this today, ending world slavery, creating democracies and republics, is not the Gospel of Christ. Somewhere in the book Allen says something along the lines of: A person can become a vibrant Christian and remain a slave, a person can be a dedicated, enthusiastic Christian and live in a country ruled by a dictator, a Christian can be a joyful Christian and be malnourished. A change of outward circumstances is not the Gospel. Christ is All-Sufficient, no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in. Point to Him first, and anything else that He thinks is needed for the convert will come after their acceptance of Him.
Lastly, Allen greatly laments Christian organizations reliance upon money. He notices that anytime missionaries see an opportunity for the further spread of the Gospel they make it seem as though it cannot take place without money. Christian organizations unconsciously teach their converts that money is the power of God unto salvation. "They continually bemoan the fact that their greatest difficulty, their most serious anxiety, their most bitter disappointment, arises from the lack of support from home.", lacking the support either of money or of more paid recruits, they assume that the work of God won't get done, not considering that perhaps God doesn't want it to happen their way, perhaps God wants that particular organization to close. That's one of the questions he asks, would a Christian organization be willing to close in order to further its cause if that's what it would take?
There are other things Allen addresses that are quite interesting and intriguing thoughts. But, to sum up Allen's book:
He warns us that we are trying to make people into New Creations ourselves, essentially taking the job of the Holy Spirit into our own hands. We don't need to make people moral before they can come to Christ, that will come afterward, we don't need to change people's surrounding circumstances before they can be a vibrant Christian. We don't need money to spread the Gospel. We don't need professional missionaries and Christian organizations to spread the Gospel. We don't need money to create a church. Christ will build His church.
I highly recommend this book.
Many thanks to Wipf and Stock Publishers for sending me a free review copy of this book! (My review did not have to be favorable)
September 6, 2018
The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church by Roland Allen is a rather short but very thought provoking book. In it, he somewhat implicitly asks the question, Who builds the Church? Leading to that thought, he critiques our method of Evangelization, are we doing it right? Do we need to organize the expansion of the church? Do we need to establish mission stations, do we need missionaries who depend upon appeals for money for their support. Will the Gospel spread if we don't purposefully come up with a plan to spread it?
Allen warns that what we are trying to do in our methods is to organize the work of God, to dictate where people will get saved and a time period in which their salvation must happen. But as Allen points out, "For spiritual work spiritual organization is necessary; but can we create a spiritual organization of spiritual forces? Only a divine intelligence can do that. But we attempt to do the work of that divine intelligence; by fixing our stations and immobilizing our men….But to be God's agents in spiritual movements we must follow, not lead. We want to lead, and, in trying to lead, we are simply left behind. We say: 'Here we will have our buildings,' but the spiritual movements may be growing unseen by us in another place and by other means….The organization is always too late. For we can organize the external results of a spiritual movement, but we cannot organize a spiritual movement. "
One of the main points of the book is that we don't need professional missionaries or Christian organizations dedicated to evangelism in order to spread the Gospel. The Church is the only Christian organization promoted by the Bible and therefore we should assume that the Gospel will be spread by means of its members working within that organization rather than in a parachurch organization. How will the Gospel be spread in other countries? Well, Allen points out that God can use any way He wants. He can use a member of a local church in Lansing, Michigan going on a business trip to Ethiopia to spread the Gospel to an Ethiopian he meets in the process of doing whatever work he does there. Let's say he talks to Ethiopian about the Gospel, the Ethiopian believes, and the American Christian gives him a Bible and goes back to America, as his business is done. But even though that American Christian leaves, the Ethiopian studies the Bible given to him, and spreads the Gospel to his fellow Ethiopians and thus a church can springs up, without there being any money having ever been particularly dedicated to spreading the Gospel in that area of Ethiopia. Christ will build His church.
Interestingly, Allen points out that the "great commission" is not repeated in the epistles, and the Apostles did not make evangelistic appeals to the churches, they didn't give out calls for people volunteer to go into far away countries to spread the Gospel. They apparently assumed that the Holy Spirit would bring individual church members to the right people and to the right places without their needing to organize the work or plan it out. This may sound absurd today, but we don't need "Professional Missionaries", all Christians are missionaries. He points out that people "have been obsessed with the idea that a man to express his missionary zeal properly must be a member of some other body within the Church and that church membership is not sufficient."
Oh, and by the way, this guy was writing in the 1920s! It is still so applicable to today, perhaps more so than even in his day.
Another thing that Allen critiques that really seems to be prominent in our day is the "Social Gospel"; warning that feeding the poor and helping the sick is not the Gospel itself. You really can't preach the Gospel without "using words". "'Seek ye first,' said Christ, 'the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.' Putting intellectual enlightenment and social reform first in time, we have, by deeds which speak louder than words, taught men to seek 'all these things' first, and some today justify their action by identifying intellectual enlightenment and social and political reform with the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. To identify the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness with social and political doctrines always has led, and always must lead, to disaster. The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness are founded in Christ, but these doctrines and reforms can easily be divorced from Christ, and are pursued by many who won no allegiance to Christ." To apply this today, ending world slavery, creating democracies and republics, is not the Gospel of Christ. Somewhere in the book Allen says something along the lines of: A person can become a vibrant Christian and remain a slave, a person can be a dedicated, enthusiastic Christian and live in a country ruled by a dictator, a Christian can be a joyful Christian and be malnourished. A change of outward circumstances is not the Gospel. Christ is All-Sufficient, no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in. Point to Him first, and anything else that He thinks is needed for the convert will come after their acceptance of Him.
Lastly, Allen greatly laments Christian organizations reliance upon money. He notices that anytime missionaries see an opportunity for the further spread of the Gospel they make it seem as though it cannot take place without money. Christian organizations unconsciously teach their converts that money is the power of God unto salvation. "They continually bemoan the fact that their greatest difficulty, their most serious anxiety, their most bitter disappointment, arises from the lack of support from home.", lacking the support either of money or of more paid recruits, they assume that the work of God won't get done, not considering that perhaps God doesn't want it to happen their way, perhaps God wants that particular organization to close. That's one of the questions he asks, would a Christian organization be willing to close in order to further its cause if that's what it would take?
There are other things Allen addresses that are quite interesting and intriguing thoughts. But, to sum up Allen's book:
He warns us that we are trying to make people into New Creations ourselves, essentially taking the job of the Holy Spirit into our own hands. We don't need to make people moral before they can come to Christ, that will come afterward, we don't need to change people's surrounding circumstances before they can be a vibrant Christian. We don't need money to spread the Gospel. We don't need professional missionaries and Christian organizations to spread the Gospel. We don't need money to create a church. Christ will build His church.
I highly recommend this book.
Many thanks to Wipf and Stock Publishers for sending me a free review copy of this book! (My review did not have to be favorable)
Allen warns that what we are trying to do in our methods is to organize the work of God, to dictate where people will get saved and a time period in which their salvation must happen. But as Allen points out, "For spiritual work spiritual organization is necessary; but can we create a spiritual organization of spiritual forces? Only a divine intelligence can do that. But we attempt to do the work of that divine intelligence; by fixing our stations and immobilizing our men….But to be God's agents in spiritual movements we must follow, not lead. We want to lead, and, in trying to lead, we are simply left behind. We say: 'Here we will have our buildings,' but the spiritual movements may be growing unseen by us in another place and by other means….The organization is always too late. For we can organize the external results of a spiritual movement, but we cannot organize a spiritual movement. "
One of the main points of the book is that we don't need professional missionaries or Christian organizations dedicated to evangelism in order to spread the Gospel. The Church is the only Christian organization promoted by the Bible and therefore we should assume that the Gospel will be spread by means of its members working within that organization rather than in a parachurch organization. How will the Gospel be spread in other countries? Well, Allen points out that God can use any way He wants. He can use a member of a local church in Lansing, Michigan going on a business trip to Ethiopia to spread the Gospel to an Ethiopian he meets in the process of doing whatever work he does there. Let's say he talks to Ethiopian about the Gospel, the Ethiopian believes, and the American Christian gives him a Bible and goes back to America, as his business is done. But even though that American Christian leaves, the Ethiopian studies the Bible given to him, and spreads the Gospel to his fellow Ethiopians and thus a church can springs up, without there being any money having ever been particularly dedicated to spreading the Gospel in that area of Ethiopia. Christ will build His church.
Interestingly, Allen points out that the "great commission" is not repeated in the epistles, and the Apostles did not make evangelistic appeals to the churches, they didn't give out calls for people volunteer to go into far away countries to spread the Gospel. They apparently assumed that the Holy Spirit would bring individual church members to the right people and to the right places without their needing to organize the work or plan it out. This may sound absurd today, but we don't need "Professional Missionaries", all Christians are missionaries. He points out that people "have been obsessed with the idea that a man to express his missionary zeal properly must be a member of some other body within the Church and that church membership is not sufficient."
Oh, and by the way, this guy was writing in the 1920s! It is still so applicable to today, perhaps more so than even in his day.
Another thing that Allen critiques that really seems to be prominent in our day is the "Social Gospel"; warning that feeding the poor and helping the sick is not the Gospel itself. You really can't preach the Gospel without "using words". "'Seek ye first,' said Christ, 'the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.' Putting intellectual enlightenment and social reform first in time, we have, by deeds which speak louder than words, taught men to seek 'all these things' first, and some today justify their action by identifying intellectual enlightenment and social and political reform with the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. To identify the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness with social and political doctrines always has led, and always must lead, to disaster. The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness are founded in Christ, but these doctrines and reforms can easily be divorced from Christ, and are pursued by many who won no allegiance to Christ." To apply this today, ending world slavery, creating democracies and republics, is not the Gospel of Christ. Somewhere in the book Allen says something along the lines of: A person can become a vibrant Christian and remain a slave, a person can be a dedicated, enthusiastic Christian and live in a country ruled by a dictator, a Christian can be a joyful Christian and be malnourished. A change of outward circumstances is not the Gospel. Christ is All-Sufficient, no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in. Point to Him first, and anything else that He thinks is needed for the convert will come after their acceptance of Him.
Lastly, Allen greatly laments Christian organizations reliance upon money. He notices that anytime missionaries see an opportunity for the further spread of the Gospel they make it seem as though it cannot take place without money. Christian organizations unconsciously teach their converts that money is the power of God unto salvation. "They continually bemoan the fact that their greatest difficulty, their most serious anxiety, their most bitter disappointment, arises from the lack of support from home.", lacking the support either of money or of more paid recruits, they assume that the work of God won't get done, not considering that perhaps God doesn't want it to happen their way, perhaps God wants that particular organization to close. That's one of the questions he asks, would a Christian organization be willing to close in order to further its cause if that's what it would take?
There are other things Allen addresses that are quite interesting and intriguing thoughts. But, to sum up Allen's book:
He warns us that we are trying to make people into New Creations ourselves, essentially taking the job of the Holy Spirit into our own hands. We don't need to make people moral before they can come to Christ, that will come afterward, we don't need to change people's surrounding circumstances before they can be a vibrant Christian. We don't need money to spread the Gospel. We don't need professional missionaries and Christian organizations to spread the Gospel. We don't need money to create a church. Christ will build His church.
I highly recommend this book.
Many thanks to Wipf and Stock Publishers for sending me a free review copy of this book! (My review did not have to be favorable)
April 14, 2014
“Many of our missionaries welcome spontaneous zeal, provided there is not too much of it for their restrictions… Such missionaries pray for the wind of the Spirit but not for a rushing mighty wind. I am writing because I believe a rushing mighty wind, and desire its presence at all costs to our restrictions.” These words of Roland Allen encapsulate the main thrust of The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church. Allen argues that modern missions and their highly organized methods and ethical restrictions have done much harm to the work of the gospel on foreign soil, and the appropriate reaction of the Church to such news should be to return to simpler methods of the apostolic age which encouraged spontaneous expansion. By “spontaneous expansion,” Allen means:
…[T]he expansion which follows the unexhorted and unorganized activity of individual members of the Church explaining to others the Gospel which they have found for themselves; I mean the expansion which follows the irresistible attraction of the Christian Church for men who see its ordered life, and are drawn to it by desire to discover the secret of a life which they instinctively desire to share; I mean also the expansion of the Church by the addition of new churches (p. 7).
According to Allen, there is a necessary charm that accompanies one’s first reception of the Gospel, a charm which is only found among those who instinctively feel able and free to propagate their faith of their own initiative. No exhortation or organized method is given or needed to propagate such a faith. The Holy Spirit “converts the natural instinct into a longing for the conversion of others.” (p. 9). It is the simpler methods of the apostolic age which manage this spontaneous zeal the best. Instead of offering artificial programs with ready-made stereotyped answers, voluntary expression of one’s zealous faith is encouraged and directed by trained leaders with a kind of instruction that can be refused, so as to allow one’s zeal to share the Gospel to remain as genuine as possible. Instruction which cannot be refused by converts is likened to control, which detracts from spontaneous expansion. Along with the work of the Holy Spirit, the outcome of such missionary work, Allen contends, would be a self-supporting, self-extending, and self-governing church on foreign soil – a replica of the early apostolic mission.
But according to Allen, this is not a common method among missionaries. Surely there was talk about, and hope for, such churches, but once organizations realized these expanding churches no longer needed their support, or that their organizations were no longer needed to maintain control, they “instinctively think of [this self-supportiveness]… as tending to disorder.” (p. 13). Allen argues that the “natural instinct” of all men “is not opposed to order,” nor is the Holy Spirit, and so any repression of this instinct for self-propagation, both individually and corporately, generates a “poisonous” stagnation of the true apostolic methodology of mission (p. 14).
Two of the most serious aids in such repression are fear of endangering our doctrine (p. 43) and standard of morals (p. 60). Allen discusses the fear of our doctrine first. He argues that because there is always the potential of propagating heretical doctrine, new converts are discouraged from spontaneous activity and expected to maintain a certain standard of doctrine before teaching others about their faith. This fear, Allen argues, is more imperial than apostolic (p. 44) and generates a “terrible sterility” among converts (p. 47). Instead of teaching men to depend upon Christ as they understand his truth from their own spiritual relationship with Him, men are taught to depend upon men, i.e. trained teachers, and their doctrines. In the days of the early church, things were different, Allen says. The great heresies in the early Church did not arise from illiterate or untrained theologians spontaneously sharing and propagating their experience of faith, as is found with most converts on foreign mission fields; instead they arose from “the more highly educated and philosophically minded Christians” (p. 48). Such heresies grew out of intellectual theories of doctrine divorced from the type of experience which accompanies spontaneous expansion. “What we find it difficult to believe,” states Allen, “is that others can receive Christ and find salvation in Him unless they know, or at least in speech employ, our familiar doctrinal expressions” (p. 57). Allen does not deny that dangerously ignorant converts may accompany spontaneous expansion, or suggest that all fear of distorting sound doctrine is unreasonable fear. Rather, he contends that because the common conception of Christian doctrine is too intellectual, our fears of what may arise from spontaneous expansion are exaggerated (p. 53).
When discussing the fear of endangering traditional morality, Allen presents a case that Christian missionaries impose definite rules of conduct (not just doctrinal belief) upon foreigners as though they were synonymous with the Christian standard of morality (p. 61). Allen focuses heavily on a real life concern that is common to missionary work in Central Africa (pp. 61-67): namely, imposing monogamy upon polygamous pagans as though monogamy was synonymous with Christianity. According to Allen, this imposition of a fixed moral standard of monogamous marriage is contrary to Scripture:
Unless we are prepared to accept the whole Jewish law in its entirety, there is no code of morals laid down in precise commands for Christians in the Bible as a whole, still less in the New Testament (p. 61).
…Neither in the Gospels nor in any other part of the New Testament is any code of law laid down. That standard which we so often call the Christian standard of morals, simply does not exist in the New Testament” (p. 68).
The only standard which a person must meet to be considered a Christian and welcomed into the Christian Church is Jesus’ command to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and your neighbor as yourself (p. 68). What that looks like is another matter altogether, for Jesus’ mission was “not to direct their conduct by external admonitions, but to inspire and to raise them by the presence and power of His Spirit given to them” (p. 68). By imposing fixed standards of morality upon foreigners as though obedience to such standards involves purification of the heart and soul, it is not possible for spontaneous growth to occur. Only stagnation will result (p. 73-74).
Like the apostles of old, present-day missionaries should equip converts and set them free to expand the church without further complications such as discouraging oversight and restrictions (p. 144). New Christians must be left to learn what they can only learn for themselves, without actually being abandoned (p. 150). Indeed, to “watch and assist spontaneous progress is certainly not to abandon coverts to their own devices” (p. 154).
If a bishop is seeking such spontaneous expansion, there are five activities which must be utilized to equip converts properly: (1) delivering the “tradition” which is represented in the Apostles Creed, (2) delivering the Gospel in such a way that men revere it and know it, (3) delivering the sacraments to the church, (4) ordaining ministers, and (5) making sure that new converts “understand the use of the Apostle’s Creed, the Gospels, the Sacraments and the Ministry, and then send word to the bishop.” (p. 150). According to Allen, it is this kind of leadership that is absolutely essential to the spontaneous expansion of the Church. With such unique qualities of apostolic leadership, spontaneous expansion can be maintained among the most illiterate converts and the poorest communities.
In light of all this, I think there are as many positive aspects to Allen’s work as there are negatives. His insights concerning the natural instinct of men are profound, particularly those regarding illiterate people on foreign mission fields and their instinctive zeal to freely express their newly enlivened faith in Christ to others. There is no good reason to presume, from the outset, that illiterate people cannot or often will not bring a profound spiritual knowledge to others or contribute practically to the many important discussions concerning faithful Christian living. His insights regarding the church’s fear of endangering doctrine and its tendency to lord doctrinal traditions over disciples as a means of protecting others from falsehood are also profound. Leaders within a given Christian community frequently adhere to long-standing doctrinal traditions, and expect future disciples to adhere to them as well in order to be treated as a Christian and welcomed into their church; but such traditions cannot be what Allen calls “the Catholic doctrine,” which is the doctrine of all ages, the doctrine “of the primitive Christians as well as of us who live in this last age.” (p. 45). The Scriptures speak against such attempts to lord doctrine over other disciples, and leaders among the Christian community would be wise to heed such warnings (Matt. 20:20-28; 2 Cor. 1:23-24). If it is true that spontaneous expansion proceeds by an expression of experience more so than by mere intellectual assent to doctrinal traditions, many Christians traditions, including Allen’s Anglican ones, can learn a lot from Allen’s insights.
However, I’m not convinced that Allen’s insights about Christian standards of morality are helpful or even accurate. For example, Allen repeatedly addresses his concerns about Christian standards of morality as being uniquely “western” (pp. 65, 66, 74), and all examples not explicitly labeled that way are still implied as “western” because they are countered with illustrations from eastern civilizations (Africa, Asia, etc.). But all the standards of Christian morality that he uses as illustrations are Judeo-Christian, not “western” in the historical sense of the term. Historically, western civilization ditched its “western” standards of pagan morality and adopted Judeo-Christian standards in its place. Allen’s critical label upon “western” standards of morality turns out to be more than a bit cliché. Furthermore, Allen argues that the Law of Moses is entirely inadequate to derive a Christian standard of morality. For example, Allen maintains that the apostle Paul “based his exhortation to the Corinthians to excommunicate the man who had taken his father’s wife” on the ground that such sexual habits were naturally and “universally recognized as evil” (p. 64). Yet, Paul repeatedly references and alludes to Torah throughout his letters; appeals to “universally recognized” conventions do not appear to be the basis for Paul’s exhortation. Rather, the statements of Yahweh in Leviticus 18:8 and Deuteronomy 22:30 and 27:20 seem to provide sufficient instruction for Paul to ground his decision. Although it is true that social and economic ramifications ought to be taken into account before imposing traditional moral standards upon pagan converts (precisely because Christian traditions might actually be unwise), Allen seems to have overlooked the need to distinguish between lowering traditional standards of morality and lowering God’s standards of morality. The thrust of his arguments against a “universally recognized” standard of God’s morality leads me to suspect that he would disagree that such a distinction is possible. But if such suspicions of mine are indeed correct, I would then wonder what makes him privy to the universal convention that he claims Paul used to recognize “evil” among the Corinthians.
In conclusion, I think Allen’s concern for seeing the spontaneous expansion of the Church through the work of the Holy Spirit, rather than the expensive and programmatic methods employed among modern organizations, are ideal and worth serious reflection. Allen’s regard for the church as a catholic entity, and his insistence upon leadership that equips, encourages, and assists spontaneous progress is extremely important, too, and well worth the price of the book. For the missional-minded Christian, my greatest caution in recommending this book is Allen’s casual disregard for “western” regulations and Torah regulations altogether.
…[T]he expansion which follows the unexhorted and unorganized activity of individual members of the Church explaining to others the Gospel which they have found for themselves; I mean the expansion which follows the irresistible attraction of the Christian Church for men who see its ordered life, and are drawn to it by desire to discover the secret of a life which they instinctively desire to share; I mean also the expansion of the Church by the addition of new churches (p. 7).
According to Allen, there is a necessary charm that accompanies one’s first reception of the Gospel, a charm which is only found among those who instinctively feel able and free to propagate their faith of their own initiative. No exhortation or organized method is given or needed to propagate such a faith. The Holy Spirit “converts the natural instinct into a longing for the conversion of others.” (p. 9). It is the simpler methods of the apostolic age which manage this spontaneous zeal the best. Instead of offering artificial programs with ready-made stereotyped answers, voluntary expression of one’s zealous faith is encouraged and directed by trained leaders with a kind of instruction that can be refused, so as to allow one’s zeal to share the Gospel to remain as genuine as possible. Instruction which cannot be refused by converts is likened to control, which detracts from spontaneous expansion. Along with the work of the Holy Spirit, the outcome of such missionary work, Allen contends, would be a self-supporting, self-extending, and self-governing church on foreign soil – a replica of the early apostolic mission.
But according to Allen, this is not a common method among missionaries. Surely there was talk about, and hope for, such churches, but once organizations realized these expanding churches no longer needed their support, or that their organizations were no longer needed to maintain control, they “instinctively think of [this self-supportiveness]… as tending to disorder.” (p. 13). Allen argues that the “natural instinct” of all men “is not opposed to order,” nor is the Holy Spirit, and so any repression of this instinct for self-propagation, both individually and corporately, generates a “poisonous” stagnation of the true apostolic methodology of mission (p. 14).
Two of the most serious aids in such repression are fear of endangering our doctrine (p. 43) and standard of morals (p. 60). Allen discusses the fear of our doctrine first. He argues that because there is always the potential of propagating heretical doctrine, new converts are discouraged from spontaneous activity and expected to maintain a certain standard of doctrine before teaching others about their faith. This fear, Allen argues, is more imperial than apostolic (p. 44) and generates a “terrible sterility” among converts (p. 47). Instead of teaching men to depend upon Christ as they understand his truth from their own spiritual relationship with Him, men are taught to depend upon men, i.e. trained teachers, and their doctrines. In the days of the early church, things were different, Allen says. The great heresies in the early Church did not arise from illiterate or untrained theologians spontaneously sharing and propagating their experience of faith, as is found with most converts on foreign mission fields; instead they arose from “the more highly educated and philosophically minded Christians” (p. 48). Such heresies grew out of intellectual theories of doctrine divorced from the type of experience which accompanies spontaneous expansion. “What we find it difficult to believe,” states Allen, “is that others can receive Christ and find salvation in Him unless they know, or at least in speech employ, our familiar doctrinal expressions” (p. 57). Allen does not deny that dangerously ignorant converts may accompany spontaneous expansion, or suggest that all fear of distorting sound doctrine is unreasonable fear. Rather, he contends that because the common conception of Christian doctrine is too intellectual, our fears of what may arise from spontaneous expansion are exaggerated (p. 53).
When discussing the fear of endangering traditional morality, Allen presents a case that Christian missionaries impose definite rules of conduct (not just doctrinal belief) upon foreigners as though they were synonymous with the Christian standard of morality (p. 61). Allen focuses heavily on a real life concern that is common to missionary work in Central Africa (pp. 61-67): namely, imposing monogamy upon polygamous pagans as though monogamy was synonymous with Christianity. According to Allen, this imposition of a fixed moral standard of monogamous marriage is contrary to Scripture:
Unless we are prepared to accept the whole Jewish law in its entirety, there is no code of morals laid down in precise commands for Christians in the Bible as a whole, still less in the New Testament (p. 61).
…Neither in the Gospels nor in any other part of the New Testament is any code of law laid down. That standard which we so often call the Christian standard of morals, simply does not exist in the New Testament” (p. 68).
The only standard which a person must meet to be considered a Christian and welcomed into the Christian Church is Jesus’ command to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and your neighbor as yourself (p. 68). What that looks like is another matter altogether, for Jesus’ mission was “not to direct their conduct by external admonitions, but to inspire and to raise them by the presence and power of His Spirit given to them” (p. 68). By imposing fixed standards of morality upon foreigners as though obedience to such standards involves purification of the heart and soul, it is not possible for spontaneous growth to occur. Only stagnation will result (p. 73-74).
Like the apostles of old, present-day missionaries should equip converts and set them free to expand the church without further complications such as discouraging oversight and restrictions (p. 144). New Christians must be left to learn what they can only learn for themselves, without actually being abandoned (p. 150). Indeed, to “watch and assist spontaneous progress is certainly not to abandon coverts to their own devices” (p. 154).
If a bishop is seeking such spontaneous expansion, there are five activities which must be utilized to equip converts properly: (1) delivering the “tradition” which is represented in the Apostles Creed, (2) delivering the Gospel in such a way that men revere it and know it, (3) delivering the sacraments to the church, (4) ordaining ministers, and (5) making sure that new converts “understand the use of the Apostle’s Creed, the Gospels, the Sacraments and the Ministry, and then send word to the bishop.” (p. 150). According to Allen, it is this kind of leadership that is absolutely essential to the spontaneous expansion of the Church. With such unique qualities of apostolic leadership, spontaneous expansion can be maintained among the most illiterate converts and the poorest communities.
In light of all this, I think there are as many positive aspects to Allen’s work as there are negatives. His insights concerning the natural instinct of men are profound, particularly those regarding illiterate people on foreign mission fields and their instinctive zeal to freely express their newly enlivened faith in Christ to others. There is no good reason to presume, from the outset, that illiterate people cannot or often will not bring a profound spiritual knowledge to others or contribute practically to the many important discussions concerning faithful Christian living. His insights regarding the church’s fear of endangering doctrine and its tendency to lord doctrinal traditions over disciples as a means of protecting others from falsehood are also profound. Leaders within a given Christian community frequently adhere to long-standing doctrinal traditions, and expect future disciples to adhere to them as well in order to be treated as a Christian and welcomed into their church; but such traditions cannot be what Allen calls “the Catholic doctrine,” which is the doctrine of all ages, the doctrine “of the primitive Christians as well as of us who live in this last age.” (p. 45). The Scriptures speak against such attempts to lord doctrine over other disciples, and leaders among the Christian community would be wise to heed such warnings (Matt. 20:20-28; 2 Cor. 1:23-24). If it is true that spontaneous expansion proceeds by an expression of experience more so than by mere intellectual assent to doctrinal traditions, many Christians traditions, including Allen’s Anglican ones, can learn a lot from Allen’s insights.
However, I’m not convinced that Allen’s insights about Christian standards of morality are helpful or even accurate. For example, Allen repeatedly addresses his concerns about Christian standards of morality as being uniquely “western” (pp. 65, 66, 74), and all examples not explicitly labeled that way are still implied as “western” because they are countered with illustrations from eastern civilizations (Africa, Asia, etc.). But all the standards of Christian morality that he uses as illustrations are Judeo-Christian, not “western” in the historical sense of the term. Historically, western civilization ditched its “western” standards of pagan morality and adopted Judeo-Christian standards in its place. Allen’s critical label upon “western” standards of morality turns out to be more than a bit cliché. Furthermore, Allen argues that the Law of Moses is entirely inadequate to derive a Christian standard of morality. For example, Allen maintains that the apostle Paul “based his exhortation to the Corinthians to excommunicate the man who had taken his father’s wife” on the ground that such sexual habits were naturally and “universally recognized as evil” (p. 64). Yet, Paul repeatedly references and alludes to Torah throughout his letters; appeals to “universally recognized” conventions do not appear to be the basis for Paul’s exhortation. Rather, the statements of Yahweh in Leviticus 18:8 and Deuteronomy 22:30 and 27:20 seem to provide sufficient instruction for Paul to ground his decision. Although it is true that social and economic ramifications ought to be taken into account before imposing traditional moral standards upon pagan converts (precisely because Christian traditions might actually be unwise), Allen seems to have overlooked the need to distinguish between lowering traditional standards of morality and lowering God’s standards of morality. The thrust of his arguments against a “universally recognized” standard of God’s morality leads me to suspect that he would disagree that such a distinction is possible. But if such suspicions of mine are indeed correct, I would then wonder what makes him privy to the universal convention that he claims Paul used to recognize “evil” among the Corinthians.
In conclusion, I think Allen’s concern for seeing the spontaneous expansion of the Church through the work of the Holy Spirit, rather than the expensive and programmatic methods employed among modern organizations, are ideal and worth serious reflection. Allen’s regard for the church as a catholic entity, and his insistence upon leadership that equips, encourages, and assists spontaneous progress is extremely important, too, and well worth the price of the book. For the missional-minded Christian, my greatest caution in recommending this book is Allen’s casual disregard for “western” regulations and Torah regulations altogether.
April 12, 2014
My dad is really involved in a ministry that is largely serving the a community of Latinos in a local trailer park. This was all started relationally through a church community, and "corners outreach" has asked that local community, as well the local elementary school how they could help. The largest need was helping the kids with school. Anyway, there is no overt evangelism. The plan is to truly jump in and get to know people through working together. This seems obvious to my dad, but many church people who hear about the organization and want to talk with him about it are so locked into the idea of counting baptisms, they seem confused by this.
A little more building up to why I bought this book again and read it all the way through. My dad recently offered to help people fill out their taxes for free. He has an accounting background and has helped plenty of people in the past. So someone from church came as a translator and men began coming to get help. What he saw and was telling me about, is that these men whom he never met and had no direct connection to church or ministry, had heard about him already in the community and also had a lot of respect for him. My dad was genuinely surprised by this. In this I saw what I remembered from my first attempt at reading this book when I was an associate pastor: that the bureaucratic structures of mission organization (and churches) do not work because they take no account of the local structure and tradition ... they don't seek to win respect of an entire community, but pluck out the converts, westernize (churchize) them, "nurse" them and then continue the effort to make more converts. Roland Allen writes:
“Spontaneous expansion begins with the individual effort of the individual Christian to assist his fellow, when common experience, common difficulties, common toil have first brought the two together. It is this equality and community of experience which makes the one deliver his message in terms which the other can understand, and makes the hearer approach the subject with sympathy and confidence – with sympathy because the common experience makes approach easy and natural, with confidence, because the one is accustomed to understand what the other says and expects to understand him now. He speaks from his heart.” (10)
This book was written in 1927 and offers a strong critique of mission societies and churches. This is all before Leslie Newbigin and others argued for and succeeded in joining the World Council of Churches and the International Missionary Council because "missions" separate from "church" was losing its meaning. Newbigin's argument had a similar spirit to this book, that the condescending nature of Western nations sending missionaries to the heathen was wrong.
OK, so enough set-up. The book is about spontaneous expansion … about the zeal of someone who is converted and whether that zeal needs to be suppressed and checked at every turn because of our fears (fears for doctrine, morality and our own missionary organization).
I honestly know very little about missions, but if we go with Newbigin's logic that the churches and indeed, every individual Christian is a missionary to some extent, then I found the book had a lot of wisdom for church leaders. What was more obvious and less hidden in the 30s which Allen is criticizing is the view that an elder/pastor is to rule his flock. Nowadays, no one would ever go on record saying they believe they should rule, but nonetheless, this seems to be a common problem. For example, doesn't this sound like the way most preachers and church leaders view their ministry:
"The conception of the Church … bishops as great officials governing and directing, more or less, large numbers of clergy, most of whom they scarcely knew by sight, in dioceses so large that they could not possibly visit the parishes except at rare intervals. They thought of parish priests as officials of the Church who ruled almost autocratically in their parishes, responsible not at all to the laity for their conduct, and only partially to their bishops. They thought of the laity not so much as members of the Church as people whose duty it was to obey the Church as represented by her bishops and priests. The apostolic conception of the bishop as the father of a Spiritual Family, as the Pastor of a flock every member of which he should know by name was lost. Men still used the titles "Chief Pastor" and "Father in God"; but they did not expect him to know his family, or his flock, personally and intimately. Both bishop and priest were officials, and paid officials, separated widely from the laity by training and by conventional manners and customs." (121)
This two tier leadership of ruling without any intimate knowledge is the structure I have known in the past. Personal knowledge and any kind of "spiritual family" is seen as utterly impossible/impractical and so there is really nothing else to do but rule autocratically, even if that comes out as "strategizing" and "training leaders."
Another interesting idea he is criticizing is viewing ministry as "a purely personal gift" as opposed to seeing it inextricably linked to church. "In appointing ministers for a congregation, it is as important to consider the needs of the church as it is to consider the character and the education of the individual; but by looking solely at the individual we forget the church. In the early Church we find local men ordained for the local church. .. But in our system, when ministry is viewed as a purely personal gift, men seek for themselves to occupy this post or that, without any regard to the link which is thus snapped, and the consequence is that they often look upon 'churches' simply as places which offer them opportunities for the exercise of their gifts, or as steps in a ladder of preferment." (130)
Not only is the person who attempts spiritual leadership a stranger, but it creates a false view of ministry for the minister, one that we see at work. I have a friend who forsook a church he began so that he could take a job that was certainly higher up in the "ladder of preferment." Instantly his words to the church rang hollow and even close friends found it difficult to believe he was "called" to this new work.
Allen writes about the structures of missions and how they create and train for dependence. Even where spontaneous expansion has taken place and a church springs up someone (a group of people who have come to believe and gather to share their faith) the organization quickly sends a half-trained seminary graduate to "take over" for the lay people who are leading the group. Allen cannot see anything more unbiblical and stupid. You trade Western training for zeal and experience and it inevitably leads to discontent and a withering of the spontaneous church.
He also makes the point that we ultimately say we want independence (consider again that the drive of this book is that there is not enough money or missionaries to actually continue the mission work as it is now done … meaning missionary-depedent missions), but this is just a tack on at the end of a giant structure that trains in dependence (dependence on white missionaries for the sacraments, training, money, etc.)
This irony is one I have known and witnessed in my own church experience. There is frustration upon the part of the leaders that the people aren't more independent, frustration that among their flock they can identify no future church planters, and maybe frustration that the people seem so needy. And yet, the leadership structure itself is often built to train this dependence and kind of bottle necked constraint.
Allen argues that the missionary (and bishops) should give to local leaders "the Creed, the Gospels, the Sacraments, and the ministry (officiating funerals and marriages) … Having done this the missionary and the bishop should leave that newly constituted church to find out for itself what being a church means in daily practice, to find out that it can do things as a church … I do not mean that he should neglect it; for he ought to take thought for its education. We must learn the distinction between leaving Christians to learn what they can only learn for themselves, and abandoning them. It is a distinction which we find hard to make; it is a lesson which we find hard to learn. … To leave new-born Churches to learn by experience is apostolic, to abandon them is not apostolic: to watch over them is apostolic, to be always nursing them is not apostolic: to guide their education is apostolic, to provide it for them is not apostolic." (150)
There is also very important discussions of doctrine and morality and its place in the missionary venture (which again is also the churches work). There is important discussions about organizations in general and how they become ends in themselves. Maybe I can write about this at another time. Below are a few more quotes from the book if you are interested.
"Without further words we should have proved to all men that we do not preach Christ in order to extend our dominion as our enemies assert: we should have proved that we really mean the words which we now too often use without any demonstration that we really know their meaning--that we desire to be helpers, not lords over other men's souls." (3)
The conviction that new converts can beget new converts leads them from strength to strength: the conviction that they will fall if they are not nursed leads them from weakness to weakness. The difference lies not in the nature or in the environment of the converts; but in the faith of the missionaries. (34)
We treat sins of the flesh as matters for the enforcement of law, sins of temper and spirit we do not. Yet in the Gospels, Christ is not represented as observing this distinction. He denounces sins of pride and self-assertion with a severity no less condign than sins of the body; but we do not refuse to admit men who give way habitually to a hot temper, or indulge a supercilious, insolent, haughty and contemptuous manner towards those whom they consider their inferiors. Why? Is it because these sins are in truth less dangerous and immoral than sins of the flesh? Is it certainly true that a man who commits these offences is less guilty before God than a man who, having followed the custom of his tribe, has more than one wife, or even than a man who, following the custom of his tribe gets drunk at a feast? Is a man who gives way to fits of impatience whenever things do not go to his liking less a sinner because he conforms to our standard of external purity, than a man who can show a most Christ-like patience and meekness under ill-treatment, yet is bound by circumstances to a life which we call a life of sin, a condition from which he cannot escape except by an act of most questionable morality? Why do we act so differently towards these two? Why do we point the one to the example of Christ and assure him that if he will receive the grace of Christ, Christ will enlighten and strengthen and release him, while we present the other with a law, exclude him, and demand obedience to the letter of the law before we admit him? Is it because the one offence shocks us, whilst the other, because it is a besetting sin of our own race, does not shock us? Is it not because our moral sense is perverted and one-sided? The people to whom we go have their own moral scruples; and, if they could exclude us as we exclude them, they would exclude us for showing impatience and racial pride in word and act; they would forbid our dances as we forbid theirs. Is not this sufficient proof that our demands are arbitrary? (61)
"We must," we say, "maintain the Christian standard of morality." We cannot. It does not lie with us. Morality for us as Christians should be truth in the inward parts. And that we cannot maintain. All that we can do is to enforce an external law; and that we must not do. But because we say we must, we do exactly that very thing which we condemn the judaizing Christians for doing; and we come near to committing that very fault which we applaud St. Paul for opposing. (73)
There is a horrible tendency for an organization to grow in importance till it overshadows the end of its existence, and begins to exist for itself. (98)
A little more building up to why I bought this book again and read it all the way through. My dad recently offered to help people fill out their taxes for free. He has an accounting background and has helped plenty of people in the past. So someone from church came as a translator and men began coming to get help. What he saw and was telling me about, is that these men whom he never met and had no direct connection to church or ministry, had heard about him already in the community and also had a lot of respect for him. My dad was genuinely surprised by this. In this I saw what I remembered from my first attempt at reading this book when I was an associate pastor: that the bureaucratic structures of mission organization (and churches) do not work because they take no account of the local structure and tradition ... they don't seek to win respect of an entire community, but pluck out the converts, westernize (churchize) them, "nurse" them and then continue the effort to make more converts. Roland Allen writes:
“Spontaneous expansion begins with the individual effort of the individual Christian to assist his fellow, when common experience, common difficulties, common toil have first brought the two together. It is this equality and community of experience which makes the one deliver his message in terms which the other can understand, and makes the hearer approach the subject with sympathy and confidence – with sympathy because the common experience makes approach easy and natural, with confidence, because the one is accustomed to understand what the other says and expects to understand him now. He speaks from his heart.” (10)
This book was written in 1927 and offers a strong critique of mission societies and churches. This is all before Leslie Newbigin and others argued for and succeeded in joining the World Council of Churches and the International Missionary Council because "missions" separate from "church" was losing its meaning. Newbigin's argument had a similar spirit to this book, that the condescending nature of Western nations sending missionaries to the heathen was wrong.
OK, so enough set-up. The book is about spontaneous expansion … about the zeal of someone who is converted and whether that zeal needs to be suppressed and checked at every turn because of our fears (fears for doctrine, morality and our own missionary organization).
I honestly know very little about missions, but if we go with Newbigin's logic that the churches and indeed, every individual Christian is a missionary to some extent, then I found the book had a lot of wisdom for church leaders. What was more obvious and less hidden in the 30s which Allen is criticizing is the view that an elder/pastor is to rule his flock. Nowadays, no one would ever go on record saying they believe they should rule, but nonetheless, this seems to be a common problem. For example, doesn't this sound like the way most preachers and church leaders view their ministry:
"The conception of the Church … bishops as great officials governing and directing, more or less, large numbers of clergy, most of whom they scarcely knew by sight, in dioceses so large that they could not possibly visit the parishes except at rare intervals. They thought of parish priests as officials of the Church who ruled almost autocratically in their parishes, responsible not at all to the laity for their conduct, and only partially to their bishops. They thought of the laity not so much as members of the Church as people whose duty it was to obey the Church as represented by her bishops and priests. The apostolic conception of the bishop as the father of a Spiritual Family, as the Pastor of a flock every member of which he should know by name was lost. Men still used the titles "Chief Pastor" and "Father in God"; but they did not expect him to know his family, or his flock, personally and intimately. Both bishop and priest were officials, and paid officials, separated widely from the laity by training and by conventional manners and customs." (121)
This two tier leadership of ruling without any intimate knowledge is the structure I have known in the past. Personal knowledge and any kind of "spiritual family" is seen as utterly impossible/impractical and so there is really nothing else to do but rule autocratically, even if that comes out as "strategizing" and "training leaders."
Another interesting idea he is criticizing is viewing ministry as "a purely personal gift" as opposed to seeing it inextricably linked to church. "In appointing ministers for a congregation, it is as important to consider the needs of the church as it is to consider the character and the education of the individual; but by looking solely at the individual we forget the church. In the early Church we find local men ordained for the local church. .. But in our system, when ministry is viewed as a purely personal gift, men seek for themselves to occupy this post or that, without any regard to the link which is thus snapped, and the consequence is that they often look upon 'churches' simply as places which offer them opportunities for the exercise of their gifts, or as steps in a ladder of preferment." (130)
Not only is the person who attempts spiritual leadership a stranger, but it creates a false view of ministry for the minister, one that we see at work. I have a friend who forsook a church he began so that he could take a job that was certainly higher up in the "ladder of preferment." Instantly his words to the church rang hollow and even close friends found it difficult to believe he was "called" to this new work.
Allen writes about the structures of missions and how they create and train for dependence. Even where spontaneous expansion has taken place and a church springs up someone (a group of people who have come to believe and gather to share their faith) the organization quickly sends a half-trained seminary graduate to "take over" for the lay people who are leading the group. Allen cannot see anything more unbiblical and stupid. You trade Western training for zeal and experience and it inevitably leads to discontent and a withering of the spontaneous church.
He also makes the point that we ultimately say we want independence (consider again that the drive of this book is that there is not enough money or missionaries to actually continue the mission work as it is now done … meaning missionary-depedent missions), but this is just a tack on at the end of a giant structure that trains in dependence (dependence on white missionaries for the sacraments, training, money, etc.)
This irony is one I have known and witnessed in my own church experience. There is frustration upon the part of the leaders that the people aren't more independent, frustration that among their flock they can identify no future church planters, and maybe frustration that the people seem so needy. And yet, the leadership structure itself is often built to train this dependence and kind of bottle necked constraint.
Allen argues that the missionary (and bishops) should give to local leaders "the Creed, the Gospels, the Sacraments, and the ministry (officiating funerals and marriages) … Having done this the missionary and the bishop should leave that newly constituted church to find out for itself what being a church means in daily practice, to find out that it can do things as a church … I do not mean that he should neglect it; for he ought to take thought for its education. We must learn the distinction between leaving Christians to learn what they can only learn for themselves, and abandoning them. It is a distinction which we find hard to make; it is a lesson which we find hard to learn. … To leave new-born Churches to learn by experience is apostolic, to abandon them is not apostolic: to watch over them is apostolic, to be always nursing them is not apostolic: to guide their education is apostolic, to provide it for them is not apostolic." (150)
There is also very important discussions of doctrine and morality and its place in the missionary venture (which again is also the churches work). There is important discussions about organizations in general and how they become ends in themselves. Maybe I can write about this at another time. Below are a few more quotes from the book if you are interested.
"Without further words we should have proved to all men that we do not preach Christ in order to extend our dominion as our enemies assert: we should have proved that we really mean the words which we now too often use without any demonstration that we really know their meaning--that we desire to be helpers, not lords over other men's souls." (3)
The conviction that new converts can beget new converts leads them from strength to strength: the conviction that they will fall if they are not nursed leads them from weakness to weakness. The difference lies not in the nature or in the environment of the converts; but in the faith of the missionaries. (34)
We treat sins of the flesh as matters for the enforcement of law, sins of temper and spirit we do not. Yet in the Gospels, Christ is not represented as observing this distinction. He denounces sins of pride and self-assertion with a severity no less condign than sins of the body; but we do not refuse to admit men who give way habitually to a hot temper, or indulge a supercilious, insolent, haughty and contemptuous manner towards those whom they consider their inferiors. Why? Is it because these sins are in truth less dangerous and immoral than sins of the flesh? Is it certainly true that a man who commits these offences is less guilty before God than a man who, having followed the custom of his tribe, has more than one wife, or even than a man who, following the custom of his tribe gets drunk at a feast? Is a man who gives way to fits of impatience whenever things do not go to his liking less a sinner because he conforms to our standard of external purity, than a man who can show a most Christ-like patience and meekness under ill-treatment, yet is bound by circumstances to a life which we call a life of sin, a condition from which he cannot escape except by an act of most questionable morality? Why do we act so differently towards these two? Why do we point the one to the example of Christ and assure him that if he will receive the grace of Christ, Christ will enlighten and strengthen and release him, while we present the other with a law, exclude him, and demand obedience to the letter of the law before we admit him? Is it because the one offence shocks us, whilst the other, because it is a besetting sin of our own race, does not shock us? Is it not because our moral sense is perverted and one-sided? The people to whom we go have their own moral scruples; and, if they could exclude us as we exclude them, they would exclude us for showing impatience and racial pride in word and act; they would forbid our dances as we forbid theirs. Is not this sufficient proof that our demands are arbitrary? (61)
"We must," we say, "maintain the Christian standard of morality." We cannot. It does not lie with us. Morality for us as Christians should be truth in the inward parts. And that we cannot maintain. All that we can do is to enforce an external law; and that we must not do. But because we say we must, we do exactly that very thing which we condemn the judaizing Christians for doing; and we come near to committing that very fault which we applaud St. Paul for opposing. (73)
There is a horrible tendency for an organization to grow in importance till it overshadows the end of its existence, and begins to exist for itself. (98)
September 25, 2022
Spontaneity is a central focus of this 1927 work concerning mission outreach history. A well-paced, analytical read to refresh our memories of the importance of 'freshness' in missionary ministry and the gatherings of the church. "If the natural instinct is not opposed to order, still less is the Divine Spirit opposed to order." "Spontaneous expansion must be free: it cannot be under our control; and consequently, it is utterly vain to say, as I constantly hear men say, that we desire to see spontaneous expansion, and yet must maintain our control. If we want to see spontaneous expansion, we must establish native churches free from our control."
We must also bear in mind, that when reaching 'rural' cultures, learning their language fluently, as well as their cultural understandings, is foundational to accurate translation of Scripture into a 'tribal' language/dialect. Creation of an alphabet, teaching to read, reading comprehension testing, feedback for clarity and understanding, and Scripture edits-edits-edits, are just the beginning of preparation for missionary work in the field. Fortunately, God is not in a box, or confined to 'what works' in a one-size-fits-all pattern of outreach implementation. Matthew 13:52: "Then He said to them, 'Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
"Fear for the Doctrine" and "The Christian Standard of Morals" are two chapters you will not wish to miss if you enjoy stimulating dialogue and contemplative thought.
The need for the personal tailored development of those 'reached' to equip them to evangelize their own communities and cultures is covered throughout this work in many facets.
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor." 1 Corinthians 3:6-8
Sola Gratia - Sola Fide - Solus Christus -Sola Scriptura - Soli Deo Gloria
- Excerpts:
"Europe has become the dark continent, shrouded in the mists of vain secularism and proud to be identified as post Christian. Numerical growth and strength are found in Asia, Africa and Latin America."
"This then is what I mean by spontaneous expansion. I mean the expansion which follows the unexhorted and unorganized activity of individual members of the Church explaining to others the Gospel which they have found for themselves; I mean the expansion which follows the irresistible attraction of the Christian Church for men who see its ordered life, and are drawn to it by desire to discover the secret of a life which they instinctively desire to share; I mean also the expansion of the Church by the addition of new churches."
"We speak as if the Gospel and the doctrine, preaching Christ and preaching Christianity, were identical terms. It is impossible to read a page of a missionary magazine or to speak five words about missions without finding out how habitually we do this. But is it really true? Far from it: Christianity, the doctrine, is a system of thought and practice: preaching Christ, the Gospel, is a revelation of a Person."
"A writer from Japan told us the other day that ‘There is a very serious danger of modern Japan trying to adopt Christian moral and social standards without Christ,’ and he added: ‘We all know what a hopeless, disheartening, disillusioning thing that is; for it is building without foundations.’" (a Christianized Heathendom)
"Nothing is so weakening as the habit of depending upon others for those things which we ought to supply for ourselves...If the growth of the church depends upon the supervision of foreigners and of natives trained by them, the extent to which it can grow is severely limited."
"Illiterate members often bring to the church a profound spiritual knowledge, and a sense of the practical application of Christian truth to daily life, which is hidden from the accomplished student." ('I thought age should speak, and increased years should teach wisdom. But it is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. The abundant in years may not be wise, nor may elders understand justice.' -Job 32:7-9)
- Works that may also be of interest to you:
World Shapers: A Treasury of Quotes From Great Missionaries -Compiled by Vinita Hampton & Carol Plueddemann
Your Home A Lighthouse: Hosting An Evangelistic Bible Study by Bob and Betty Jacks
2000 Years of Small Groups by Joel Comiskey
Too Many to Jail: The Story of Iran's New Christians by Mark Bradley
We must also bear in mind, that when reaching 'rural' cultures, learning their language fluently, as well as their cultural understandings, is foundational to accurate translation of Scripture into a 'tribal' language/dialect. Creation of an alphabet, teaching to read, reading comprehension testing, feedback for clarity and understanding, and Scripture edits-edits-edits, are just the beginning of preparation for missionary work in the field. Fortunately, God is not in a box, or confined to 'what works' in a one-size-fits-all pattern of outreach implementation. Matthew 13:52: "Then He said to them, 'Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
"Fear for the Doctrine" and "The Christian Standard of Morals" are two chapters you will not wish to miss if you enjoy stimulating dialogue and contemplative thought.
The need for the personal tailored development of those 'reached' to equip them to evangelize their own communities and cultures is covered throughout this work in many facets.
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor." 1 Corinthians 3:6-8
Sola Gratia - Sola Fide - Solus Christus -Sola Scriptura - Soli Deo Gloria
- Excerpts:
"Europe has become the dark continent, shrouded in the mists of vain secularism and proud to be identified as post Christian. Numerical growth and strength are found in Asia, Africa and Latin America."
"This then is what I mean by spontaneous expansion. I mean the expansion which follows the unexhorted and unorganized activity of individual members of the Church explaining to others the Gospel which they have found for themselves; I mean the expansion which follows the irresistible attraction of the Christian Church for men who see its ordered life, and are drawn to it by desire to discover the secret of a life which they instinctively desire to share; I mean also the expansion of the Church by the addition of new churches."
"We speak as if the Gospel and the doctrine, preaching Christ and preaching Christianity, were identical terms. It is impossible to read a page of a missionary magazine or to speak five words about missions without finding out how habitually we do this. But is it really true? Far from it: Christianity, the doctrine, is a system of thought and practice: preaching Christ, the Gospel, is a revelation of a Person."
"A writer from Japan told us the other day that ‘There is a very serious danger of modern Japan trying to adopt Christian moral and social standards without Christ,’ and he added: ‘We all know what a hopeless, disheartening, disillusioning thing that is; for it is building without foundations.’" (a Christianized Heathendom)
"Nothing is so weakening as the habit of depending upon others for those things which we ought to supply for ourselves...If the growth of the church depends upon the supervision of foreigners and of natives trained by them, the extent to which it can grow is severely limited."
"Illiterate members often bring to the church a profound spiritual knowledge, and a sense of the practical application of Christian truth to daily life, which is hidden from the accomplished student." ('I thought age should speak, and increased years should teach wisdom. But it is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. The abundant in years may not be wise, nor may elders understand justice.' -Job 32:7-9)
- Works that may also be of interest to you:
World Shapers: A Treasury of Quotes From Great Missionaries -Compiled by Vinita Hampton & Carol Plueddemann
Your Home A Lighthouse: Hosting An Evangelistic Bible Study by Bob and Betty Jacks
2000 Years of Small Groups by Joel Comiskey
Too Many to Jail: The Story of Iran's New Christians by Mark Bradley
October 11, 2017
What a great book on missions theology! what Mr Alien wrote over 6 decades ago! His teachings here echo what I learned as an urban missions student at Fuller Theological Seminary and are still so vital not only to missions but to every area of church work! (btw, I skipped the intro by Leslie Newbigin. I found it boring and distracting from the book itself, IMHO!)
February 15, 2018
This 100 year old work can speak to us today; help us realize where we can correct course, and realize that nothing is new under the sun.
April 1, 2024
This was a slow read for me but one I would recommend to any church or mission leader. Such wisdom! This was written over 100 years ago yet still very relevant today.
April 9, 2015
I can think of few writers who wrote so prophetically about ministry like Rolland Allen. He predates the national churches, indigenous leadership and apostolic function that punctuate our 21st century missiology, yet he describes them perfectly.
This book is especially salient for those who desire a model that is replicable and Spirit driven. Throughout the chapters he peals away the fears and rationalism that have caused missions agencies to impeded local believers to go proclaim the truth to their neighbors.
There are several critical areas where Allen presents a different vision to current missions orthodoxy. Fear of false teaching and the combination of Western learning as a means of expanding the kingdom are clearly exposed as obstacles to simple lives being used for God's purposes. He also exposes the dangers of foreign support to workers and a system where clergy is selected by the values of the leadership with no regard for what their congregants look for in a spiritual leader. Finally, the issues of moral laxity and ecclesiastical structure are given a thorough review through the prism that God must be entrusted with the ultimate care of His church and that the missionary's role is to share the good news without controlling its transmission to others.
I highly recommend this book to anyone desiring to see churches appear in places where the gospel is currently silent.
This book is especially salient for those who desire a model that is replicable and Spirit driven. Throughout the chapters he peals away the fears and rationalism that have caused missions agencies to impeded local believers to go proclaim the truth to their neighbors.
There are several critical areas where Allen presents a different vision to current missions orthodoxy. Fear of false teaching and the combination of Western learning as a means of expanding the kingdom are clearly exposed as obstacles to simple lives being used for God's purposes. He also exposes the dangers of foreign support to workers and a system where clergy is selected by the values of the leadership with no regard for what their congregants look for in a spiritual leader. Finally, the issues of moral laxity and ecclesiastical structure are given a thorough review through the prism that God must be entrusted with the ultimate care of His church and that the missionary's role is to share the good news without controlling its transmission to others.
I highly recommend this book to anyone desiring to see churches appear in places where the gospel is currently silent.
August 26, 2010
"[The hierarchy of missions suggested:]...at the very beginning that there was something essentially foreign about the church which demanded the direction of a foreign governor."
"We have taught [our converts:] to depend upon us, rather than upon Christ."
"What is necessary is faith. What is needed is the kind of faith which uniting a man to Christ, sets him on fire. Such a man can believe that others finding Christ will be set on fire also. Such a man can see that there is no need of money to fill a continent with the knowledge of Christ. Such a man can see that all that is required to consolidate and establish that expansion is the simple application of the simple organization of the Church."
"We have taught [our converts:] to depend upon us, rather than upon Christ."
"What is necessary is faith. What is needed is the kind of faith which uniting a man to Christ, sets him on fire. Such a man can believe that others finding Christ will be set on fire also. Such a man can see that there is no need of money to fill a continent with the knowledge of Christ. Such a man can see that all that is required to consolidate and establish that expansion is the simple application of the simple organization of the Church."
October 26, 2018
I read the paperback version of this book in 1981. Roland argues that the church doesn't need complex structures and systems to be effective. Rather the church needs to free it's members to follow after God. Too often, church leadership trying to control what is happening and how it's happening. This is almost always a mistake. The church is a group of people who are together, trying to follow after God and responding to what they are learning. This books resulted in me being much more laid back when in leadership roles within the church, and has lead me to select a church that favors less structure and control.
March 17, 2022
This was not an easy book to read, but I considered it an extremely important book for me to read as I prepare to launch an evangelistic church plant. Much like Allen’s previous book, “Missionary Methods” (which this book was written to defend and reinforce), this book is full of timeless insights. To transfer the application of those insights into my 21st century North American context, I regularly thought about traditional church methodologies whenever Allen addressed traditional Anglican missionary methodologies. The parallels abounded. There were quite a few times when I felt truly wowed by Allen’s wisdom, and amazed at the obvious present-day applicability of his observations.
October 29, 2014
Everything about this is awesome. But, seeing as it was written nearly 100 years ago, I almost wonder if it's too good to be true. Has anyone tested his ideas? Found them to work? Or be a complete failure? Anyway, the logic and pathos are both strong and moving. I'd love to see his ideas (which really seem to be Paul's ideas) implemented church-wide, so that churches spread the Gospel more than they attempt to spread the denomination.
March 5, 2009
This book changed how I view church and missions..... basically it gave me a greater love for the body of Christ and showed me the importance of working through the local body of believers and not on your own.
July 13, 2007
This guy is way ahead of his time...
June 23, 2015
Recommended by Brittany Petruzzi last summer. Finally finished it; really solid and self-evident thesis, I think, although I would love to hear the reaction of some actual missionaries.
Want to read
March 7, 2018Cited in on the block
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