Roland Allen: A Missionary Life

Roland Allen (1868-1947) is remembered as one of the foremost missionaries of the last century. Throughout his life, Allen travelled the world, following his vocation and building his missionary methods centred on a theology of indigenisation. From his early days as a Chaplain in China (during which Allen was forced to flee to the British Legation in Beijing), through to his continued mission to India, Canada and South Africa, he developed as man, missionary and theologian. The first of two volumes, Roland Allen: A Missionary Life is an intellectual biography which explores the people and ideas that influenced Allen while tracing the ways in which his missionary ecclesiology evolved during his life. Through extensive examination of unpublished archival papers, including lesser known letters and sermons, Steven Richard Rutt has uncovered the growth of a forthright, morally indefatigable churchman, who was also a loving family man with close and long-running friendships. Rutt unpacks Allen’s Church-centred missionary ecclesiology and ‘missiology of indigenisation’, which were based on Allen’s knowledge, gained from experience. Roland Allen: A Missionary Life and Roland Allen: A Theology of Mission explore the thought of a Christian whose writings provided farsighted clarity on global Christian missionary work that is still relevant today.