Roland Allen And Modern Missional And Apostolic Ideals

It is almost 100 years since Roland Allen published his at the time intensely controversial book, Missionary Methods, ours or St Pauls? It is a book that has been strikingly influential with today both those from the “missional” wing of the church and is still cited and read both by those who advocate a return to the “New Testament Model of the Church” and modern day apostles. It is a book that is well worth reading, but it is one that even if you have not read it, the chances are high that you have been influenced by ideas made popular by it:

More than likely, you have been influenced by Roland Allen if you:

have ever talked about church planting movements

have pondered church multiplication

believe churches can be indigenous from the moment of their birth

have considered the role of the Holy Spirit in new churches and in missionaries

have despised the thought of supporting paternalism

have realized that church leaders can be both thoroughly biblical and effective without lengthy periods of training (divorced from their people) and without financial support from sources beyond their churches

have advocated that Spirit-empowered national believers generally are able to carry the gospel farther and faster than missionaries can among those nationals

have believed the missionary practices of the New Testament Church reveal principles that are applicable today, and not simply a description of an Age long gone

From Missiologically Thinking » Roland Allen: Part 1, The Man (no longer active)