A. A. Allen
Born in Sulphur Rock, Arkansas, in 1911, he grew up with an alcoholic father and an unfaithful mother who lived with a series of men. âBy the time I was twenty-one,â recalled Allen, âI was a nervous wreck. I couldnât get a cigarette to my lip with one hand. . . . I was a confirmed drunkard.â (Lexie Allen, Godâs Man of Faith and Power, p57, 1954). Two years later he served a jail sentence for stealing corn in the midst of the depression and thought of himself as âan ex-jailbird drifting aimlessly through life.â It was at this point that Allen was converted in a âtongues speakingâ Methodist church in 1934 He met his wife, Lexie in Colorado and she became a powerful influence in shaping him for his future ministry.
Licensed by the Assemblies of God as a minister in 1936 began an effective evangelistic ministry at a small church in Colorado. After a two year pastorate he spent four-and-a-half years during World War II, as a full-time revivalist. He was the worship leader, musician and preacher but low finances and mediocre results took their toll on this father of four children. He left the itinerant ministry in 1947 when he was offered the security of a pastorate in a stable Assemblies of God church in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Soon after moving to Texas he heard news of the revival and read a copy of âThe Voice of Healingâ magazine which he found incredulous and labelled the revivalists âfanatics.â However, in 1949, he attended an Oral Roberts campaign in Dallas where he was enthralled by Robertsâ power over the audience and left convinced that the revival was from God
Back in Texas, when his church board refused to sponsor a radio program, he resigned and began conducting revivals again with the hope that he too might develop a major healing ministry. In, He sent his first report to The Voice of Healing in May 1950, from Oakland, California, âMany say this is the greatest Revival in the history of Oaklandâ in what was to become typical AAA style.
He said, âAlthough I do not claim to possess the gift of healing, hundreds are being miraculously healed in this meeting of every known disease. I do not claim to possess a single gift of the Spirit nor to have the power to impart any gift to others, yet in this meeting, as well as in other recent meetings, all the gifts of the Spirit are being received and exercised night after night. (The Voice of Healing May 1950)
Observing the burgeoning ministry of others he noticed that the evangelists who were drawing the largest crowds were doing so under canvas. In the summer of 1951 joined the ranks of the tent ministries giving a down payment and commitment to pay off the remaining amount as the ministry grew â and it did. He established his headquarters in Dallas and in 1953 launched the Allen Revival Hour on radio. He conducted overseas campaigns in Cuba and Mexico regularly, and by1955 was broadcasting on seventeen Latin American radio stations as well as eighteen American ones.
Allenâs sanguine personality expressed itself in his enthusiastic reports, unparalleled showmanship and startling miraculous claims. He was a persuasive preacher, with a compelling presence and unusual empathy and rapport with the common people. He preached an old-time Pentecostal message with consummate skill. His message of holiness resonated in the hearts of those reared in austere Pentecostalism.
His stage presence and theatrical approach endeared him to the economically deprived working class and also to black communities. Ever the showman he made religion enjoyable and church-going fun.
But, above all, it was the power of God which attracted the huge audiences over the years. Thousands were converted in the midst of dramatic public healings and deliverances from evil spirits. Nothing was âdone in a cornerâ but all was employed to support the message that Jesus was alive and interested in the needs of ordinary people.
A. A. Allen considered himself the most persecuted preacher in the world. The Assemblies of God were not happy with his apparently questionable, or at least exaggerated, claims. His readiness to publicly counter-attack his accusers brought a continual stream of criticism and alienation from mainline Pentecostals.
But the accusation that he drank abusively was the straw that broke the camelâs back. In the fall 1955, he was arrested for drunken driving while conducting a revival in Knoxville, Tennessee. The local press took the opportunity to attack and expose Allen and the beleaguered minister forfeited his bail rather than stand trial on the charge.
Whatever the truth was Allen called the incident an âunprecedented persecutionâ aimed at ruining his ministry. As always he employed even the worst accusations to reinforce his claims that his commitment to Godâs work in Godâs way was truly from heaven, despite the fact that the Devil continually tried to destroy his ministry. His Miracle Magazine published his defense:
Allen declares that all this is but a trick of the devil to try to kill his ministry and his influence among his friends at a time when God has granted him greater miracles in his ministry than ever before. . . . If ministers pay the price of real MIRACLES today, they will meet with greater persecution than ever before. The only way to escape such persecution is to fold up and quit! But we are going on! Will you go on with us? (Miracle Magazine October, 1955)
Gordon Lindsay felt that the Voice of Healing had to take âa strong stand on ethics.â Allen resigned from the group, pre-empting their imminent dismissal. He immediately began publishing his own magazine, and, although he affected a cordial relationship with his former colleagues in the Voice of Healing, feelings remained strained.
In some ways independence suited Allen. His daughter recalled:
The Knoxville event also led to Allenâs separation from the Assemblies of God. It was suggested that he âwithdraw from the public ministry until the matter at Knoxville be settled.â Allenâs response was to surrender his credentials as âa withdrawal from public ministry at this time would ruin my ministry, for it would have the appearance of an admission of guilt.â
By the mid-1950âs many of the more moderate ministers tried to continue to work with the Pentecostal denominations â or at least to remain friendly â but Allen repeatedly attacked organized religion and urged Pentecostal ministers to establish independent churches which would be free to support the revival. He charged that the Sunday school had replaced the altar in the Pentecostal churches and that few church members were filled with the Holy Ghost:
âRevivals are almost a thing of the past. Many pastors, and even evangelists, declare they will never try another one. They say it doesnât work. They are holding âSunday School Conventions,â âTeacher Training Courses,â and social gatherings. With few exceptions the churches today are leaning more and more toward dependence upon organizational strength, and natural ability, and denominational âmethods.â They no longer expect to get their increase through the old fashioned revival altar bench, or through the miracle working power of God, but rather through the Sunday School.â
In fall 1956, Allen announced the formation of the Miracle Revival Fellowship, an alternative fellowship intended to license independent ministers and to support missions. Theologically, the fellowship welcomed all who accepted âthe concept that Christ is the only essential doctrine.â Allen urged laymen as well as ministers to join his fellowship, through his âEvery Member an Exhorter plan.â Although Allen announced that âMRF is not interested in dividing churches,â he also disclosed that âthe purpose of this corporation shall be to encourage the establishing and the maintenance of independent local, sovereign, indigenous, autonomous churches.â The fellowship listed more than 500 ministers in its âfirst ordination
Interestingly, as other ministries were struggling and the revival was waning, Allenâs charisma and ministry skills coupled with well-staged revivals and an amazingly gifted team, enabled him to re-establish his ministry and rebuild a substantial and effective work.
Miracle Magazine was resounding success. At the end of a yearâs publication in 1956, it had a paid subscription of about 200,000,and, according to Mrs. Allen, was âthe fastest growing subscription magazine in the world today.â In 1957, Allen began conducting the International Miracle Revival Training Camp, an embryonic ministerial training centre. In 1958, he was given land in Arizona where he began building a permanent headquarters and training centre. At the height of the 1958 crisis in the revival, Allen announced a five-pronged program for his ministry: tent revivals, the Allen Revival Hour radio broadcast, an overseas mission program, the Miracle Valley Training Centre, and a âgreat number of dynamic books and faith inspiring tractsâ published by the ministry. In 1958, Allen purchased Jack Coeâs old tent and proudly announced that he was moving into the âlargest tent in the world.â His old-time revivalism, up-beat gospel music and anointed entertainers continued to attract the masses.
Allan died at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco, California on June 11, 1970 at the age of 59. Some claim that Allen died an alcoholic because the coronerâs report concluded Allen died from liver failure brought on by acute alcoholism. Others know that he had battled with excruciating pain from severe arthritis in his knees, for over a year. It is true that Allen had undergone surgery on one of his knees and in June of 1970, was considering surgery on the other knee. They believe that the Coronerâs Report of âfatty infiltration of the liverâ was a result of the few times he used alcohol in his last days to alleviate the excruciating pain of his arthritis.
Whatever is true of his death the life of A. A. Allen was one of extraordinary commitment to Jesus Christ which brought victory over the enemy of mankind. A. A. Allen was a true survivor. Even though the revival was declining in the late 1950âs and 1960âs his commitment to old-time faith-healing campaigns ensured the continuing testimony of signs and wonders to the next generation. He may have had his personal âquirks and foiblesâ but the testimony of thousands of the blessing they received, the enduring love for God that resulted and the demonstration of the power of the Gospel are good reasons to give God thanks for such an amazing life!
Faithfulness in Forgotten Places
When the Holy Spirit cultivates his fruit in our lives, he often works in ways we would never pray for (Galatians 5:22â23). To grow the fruit of love in us, he may give us an enemy; to grow the fruit of peace, he may allow conflict to come near. And to grow the fruit of faithfulness, he may send us to forgotten places. Forgotten places are those corners of the world where no one seems to be watching, where our efforts go unseen, unthanked. Perhaps we labor among diapers and dishes, cubicles and emails. Or maybe, more painfully, among unfruitful mission fields, rebellious children, or spouses whose love has cooled. All of us live in forgotten places sometimes; some live there all the time. Drudgery as a Disciple We should beware of underestimating the spiritual strain of such monotonous and seemingly unrewarded toil. The daily duties in forgotten places may be small, but pile them up over months, years, or decades, and you may start to sympathize with Oswald Chambers when he writes, We do not need the grace of God to stand crises, human nature and pride are sufficient, we can face the strain magnificently; but it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours in every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a disciple, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. âTo grow the fruit of faithfulness, God may send us to forgotten places.â Chambers may overstate his case â but not by much. In truth, the forgotten places can feel like a wilderness, and many days come when we find ourselves searching for something to keep us going, some water from the rock to sustain us in this desert (Psalm 105:41). We will find it, not in the forgotten places themselves, but in the God who sent us here, who is with us here, and who promises to reward us here. Godâs Providence At times, we may stare at the responsibilities in front of us and wonder how we landed here. How did we wander into this wilderness of drab days and hidden obedience? We have become familiar with the backward glance, wondering if we missed a turn somewhere. How clarifying, then, to remember that our life situation is not ultimately a matter of chance, nor of any mistakes we have made, nor even of the string of events leading up to the present, but of Godâs providence. The tasks in front of us are, at least for today, Godâs assignment to us. To be sure, Godâs providence does not nullify the decisions â and perhaps the mistakes or sins â that led us to this station in life, nor does it discourage us from striving after better circumstances: we are more than twigs in the stream of Godâs purposes. But Godâs providence does teach us to see, as the Heidelberg Catechism puts it, that âleaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.â No matter how we got here, the forgotten places are ultimately from our Fatherâs hand. Over and again, God describes our own plans and efforts as significant, but his as decisive â even over the most personal matters of life. He determines when and where we live (Acts 17:26). He assigns to us a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). He apportions spiritual gifts as he wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). He entrusts to us a number of talents â whether five, two, or just one (Matthew 25:15). He gives us a specific ministry (Colossians 4:17). He even calls us to a particular life (1 Corinthians 7:17). In time, this forgotten place may give way to somewhere different â and depending on the circumstances, we may be wise to seek that change. But for now, we can look at the responsibilities in front of us and say with relief, âMy Fatherâs hand has led me here.â Godâs Pleasure God not only sends us to the forgotten places, however; he also meets us there. When we labor in obscurity, he is near (Psalm 139:5). When our work escapes the notice of every human eye, it does not escape his (Luke 12:7). He catches every whispered prayer, every Godward groan. He stands ready at every moment to mark the smallest tasks we perform in faith. The wise man tells us why: âLying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delightâ (Proverbs 12:22). God delights not mainly in the greatness of the work, but in the faithfulness of the worker. What else could explain the New Testamentâs insistence that even the lowest, most invisible members of society are âserving the Lord Christâ when they walk faithfully in their callings (Colossians 3:24)? The smallest duties done in faith become duties done for Christ. âGod delights not mainly in the greatness of the work, but in the faithfulness of the worker.â The missionary Hudson Taylor was fond of saying, âA little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing.â Cooking a meal, filling a spreadsheet, buying groceries, wiping a childâs nose â these are little things. But if done faithfully for Christâs sake, they become greater than all the triumphs and trophies of an unbelieving world. They become the delight of our watching Lord. Godâs Promise Once we have traced Godâs providence in the past and felt his pleasure in the present, he would have us consider the future, when all our obedience will be rewarded. When many Christians imagine judgment day, we assume the spotlight will fall on the grand acts of sin and righteousness. And surely it will â but not only. Remarkably, when Jesus and the apostles speak of that day, they often focus on lifeâs ordinary moments. âOn the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,â Jesus tells us (Matthew 12:36). On the other hand, God will reward his people for the smallest good works they do by his grace: for giving to the needy (Matthew 6:4), for praying in the closet (Matthew 6:6), for fasting in secret (Matthew 6:18), even for giving a cup of cold water to one of Christâs disciples (Matthew 10:42). The apostle Paul similarly writes that âwe must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evilâ (2 Corinthians 5:10). But then in Ephesians he clarifies the kind of good he has in mind: not just extravagant good, impressive good, or above-average good, but âwhatever goodâ (Ephesians 6:8). Come judgment day, every scrap of unseen obedience will find its fitting reward. Living and dying in forgotten places, then, is no infallible index of our labor in Godâs eyes. Many saints, in fact, will not know the true worth of what theyâve done for Christ until Christ himself tells them (Matthew 25:37â40). Exceptional in the Ordinary Chambers, after remarking on the grace required to endure drudgery as a disciple, goes on to write, âIt is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, and this is not learned in five minutes.â Again, Chambers may slightly overstate his case. God sometimes does call us to do exceptional things for him: to adopt children, to launch ministries, to plant churches, to move overseas. But the point still holds, because none of us will do anything exceptional unless we have first learned, through ten thousand steps of faithfulness, to be exceptional in the ordinary. We are not on our own here. Faithfulness, remember, is a fruit of the Spirit. And to bear that fruit in us, he would have us treasure up the providence, the pleasure, and the promises of God that hem us in behind and before, and follow us into every forgotten place. Article by Scott Hubbard
