Abstract
One hundred years after Roland Allen published his ground-breaking work, Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?, this easy-reading volume revisits the complex and difficult issues that precipitated Allen’s visionary work. Very few books remain relevant and in print after one hundred years. Allen’s work was visionary because he recognized problems that missionaries and sending agencies did not perceive at the time. Allen’s findings continue to be a mainstay for the serious student of missions. It is incredulous that many of the issues that Allen identified continue to be concerns in the modern mission era. Plummer and Terry compiled essays from well-known missiologists who till the soil once again to examine church planting methodologies introduced in a classic work and their continued impact in the modern era.
The book divides into two sections, “Paul’s message” and “Paul’s missiology.” The first section includes articles that examine Paul’s historical situation as well as his personal preparation for ministry. Papers in this section also address Paul’s understanding of the Gospel, ecclesiology, suffering, and spiritual warfare. The second section deals with “Paul’s influence on Missions.” Compositions in this section target strategies and make applications how missionary methods address today’s historical and cultural milieu.
It is impractical to critique stylistic elements inherit in each contributor’s article, but it is crucial to highlight important insights that are gleaned in particular essays. Benjamin Merkle’s article on Paul’s ecclesiology rightly illumines how Allen was able to break free from the constraints of his tradition as an Anglican to emphasize the priority that mission churches be autonomous. He also quotes Allen’s views on baptism and points out that the problem remains of requiring new converts to go through a series of extra-biblical steps prior to their baptism. Merkle also clarifies the fact that Paul never pastored a church plant but appointed multiple elders to provide leadership.
Craig Keener cautions against the misdirected “spiritual warfare” of the modern era that emphasizes “casting down the devil” with misguided threats rather than “consistent, patient prayer to God, not commands to the powers themselves” (p. 115). He harkens to Allen, who argued that, “it is faith … which we need today. We need to subordinate our methods, our systems, ourselves to that faith” (p. 107). Furthermore, Michael Pocock contends that missionaries must trust and release national churches. Pocock quotes Allen, who argued that, “If we have no faith in the power of the Holy Spirit in them, they will not learn to have faith in the power of the Holy Spirit in themselves” (p. 153).
David Hesselgrave provides an excellent review of the liberal theology at Allen’s time and the impact that it had upon missional strategy. Allen challenged the colonial mindset of missions and reasserted a more apostolic strategy. Chuck Lawless rightly points out that Allen’s use of the term “indigenous” relates to the mission debate over contextualization. David Sills, however, provides an excellent evaluation of contextualization and the intersection with modern missiological thought concerning “insider movements.” He argued that Allen would have rejected this current development.
Perhaps the most pertinent sections of the volume are those that address the intersection of Allen’s thought with the modern debate on indigeneity, contextualization, and church planting strategies. John Mark Terry addresses the development of the “three selves movement” that was contemporaneous with Allen. Terry suggests that Allen would have emphasized “self-propagating” the most, and argues that Allen “believed that a church could not be indigenous if it was not reproducing itself” (p. 167). Stetzer and Beard further develop this theme when they contend that North American churches will never multiply to their potential until they get away from a “bigger-is-better” mentality in regard to budgets and buildings (p. 194). They suggest that bi-vocational pastors are one of the keys to promoting healthy church development.
The articles presuppose some knowledge of Allen’s original 1912 work that was revised until about 1963 and is fortunately still in print. This book could be used with divinity school students who are unfamiliar with Allen’s work. This current work could be used in an introductory course where Allen’s book is also included. Another potential use would be in an advanced level course on church planting, where this book could be included along with companion volumes that deal more with strategy. Although it is more theoretical in nature, it would provide an excellent foundation for understanding missional matters. Individual articles could also be assigned to highlight specific teaching objectives because each article stands alone. This book makes a significant contribution to the literature both as a marker to Allen’s visionary work and as a model to evaluate current strategic mission concerns.