10.15.09
Roland Allen – Spontaneous combustion
Steve Addison recounts Roland Allen in the “Spontaneous Expansion of the Church.” Allen describes seven ways to inhibit growth and expansion. I list six of them here:
1. when the church is dependent on paid leadership
2. when the spread of the gospel is controlled out of fear of error, and both error and godly zeal are suppressed
3.when it is believed that the church is to be founded , educated, equipped, and established in the doctrine, ethics and organization before it is to expand
4. when emerging leaders are restricted from ministering until they are fully trained and so learn the lesson of inactivity and dependency
5. when conversion is seen as the result of clever argument rather than the power of Christ
6. when professional clergy control the ministry and discourage the spontaneous zeal of non-professionals. They may protect the new believers from charlatans (Acts 8:9-24) but they also block unconventional leaders like Peter the fisherman
On the other hand, spontaneous expansion is enhanced under alternate conditions:
1. when new converts immediately tell their story to others who know them
2. when evangelism is the work of those within the culture
3. when true doctrine results from the experience of Christ rather than only classroom instruction
4. when the church is self-supporting and provides for its own leaders and facilities
5. when new churches are given the freedom to learn by experience and are supported but not controlled. The great things of God are beyond human control (strong echoes of Newbigin here)
