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 Through extensive examination of unpublished archival papers, including lesser known letters and sermons, Steven Richard Rutt has uncovered the growth of a forthright, morally indefatigable churchman, who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.

In Roland Allen: A Theology of Mission, a companion work with Roland Allen: A Missionary Life, Steven Richard Rutt completes a portrait of Roland Allen (1868-1947) in this intellectual biography. Extensive archival evidence discloses how apostolic principles formed the basis for Allen's missionary theology. Although it is well-known that Allen's hermeneutical ideas were born of Pauline principles, Steven Richard Rutt expounds the ways in which Allen's missionary experiences had profoundly impacted Allen's theological beliefs. Allen wrote about his findings in letters, sermons, articles and books, some of which were never published. Allen's writings tenaciously challenged the methodology of colonial missionary societies and exposed the causes hindering Church expansion: failures occurred in missions due to the imposition of Western missionary paternalism and institutional devolution. Allen advocated the empowerment of indigenous churches to apply the principles of self-government and self-support. He asserted the importance of the Pauline concept of 'Spirit and order', which encompasses both the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as well as that of the Church. Allen's diagnosis of the missionary situation and the proposed ways to restore apostolic order presented contemporary controversy but since his death, we have seen the importance of Allen's ideas in Mission studies grow steadily. With an expert evaluation of Allen's theological insight, Roland Allen: A Theology of Mission also offers a superb contribution to the discipline of historical theology and historical missiology as Rutt delves into a contextual assay into the missionary landscape of the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries.