Abstract
As a researcher of Pentecostal/Charismatic missiology, the title of this work captured my attention and piqued interest; I was not disappointed. The emergence of movements emphasizing the contemporary renewal of a more robust pneumatic missiology is one of the backdrops to Allen’s Poured Out. In joining the current conversation, the author provides biblical authenticity to recapture an ecclesial portrait that was once a Spirit-led pilgrim mission to engage the peoples of the word with the gospel of Christ. Along that historical narrative, the author discusses the development of a Christianity that replaced the dynamism of pneumatic presence and empowerment with an institutional and mechanistic devolution of a Christendom model of church being inseparable from the state. This volume examines the question of “where the Spirit went” (20) and proceeds to unveil the reinvigoration of a pilgrim church on mission with God’s Spirit. His first agenda is to recount the historical development of a diminished emphasis on “the Spirit’s central role in the inbreaking of the eschaton” and “the Spirit’s role in creating community among the people of God” (21). When this empowering presence “becomes the dispenser of grace through the church and the inspirer of its Scriptures,” she loses identity “as the compelling force of an end-time community” (91).
Allen establishes his discussion points in chapters 1 and 2 as he recounts the devalued pneumo-centrism of institutional traditions and the emergence of modern Pentecostal/Charismatic movements which emphasize experiential immediacy through the Spirit. Strong biblical responses follow as he analyzes trinitarian theological formulation and Kingdom of God characteristics (chapters 3 and 4). In chapter 5, Allen declares that Incarnation is the pivotal point of history by which God will create a Kingdom community declaring his praises. “The Spirit of God is the sign, seal, and power of this emerging new creation” (97) and she empowers the church by being poured out among them to continue Christ’s mission.
The remaining chapters (6–9) elevate the Spirit’s work in the life of the church and individual disciples as they become formed for mission through cruciformity, declaring the values of another Kingdom already breaking into this world, but not yet fully realized until the end of history. The Spirit is the main protagonist in continuing the Risen Savior’s mission to the world.
This volume is a welcome addition to works on pneumatic missiology and an important contribution toward understanding the central empowering role of the Spirit in continuing Christ’s mission through the church. Scholars and students alike will find this informative, theologically astute, and academically relevant.