Book Review of The Gospel of Healing by A.B. Simpson

A.B. Simpson was the founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. He was in many ways a study in contrasts. He was trained and raised a Scottish Presbyterian who was steeped in Calvinism. However, his own personal religious path, brought him in touch with the holiness movement of the later 19th century and he was very much influenced and attracted to the spiritual dynamism that was so different from his own more conservative tradition.

Simpson retained his theological training but branched out in the influence of what he say as a necessary enthusiasm and dynamic spiritual life. His training was often in conflict with his experience. Yet he seemed to be little concerned about that and to reach out and grasp that which in his experience and observation worked.

As a result, he became a leading spokesman for foreign missions and for the fourfold gospel. Key within the fourfold Gospel was the importance of healing. Simpson believed healing was in the atonement and thus the Christian should in faith reach out and receive. He rejected much of medicine opting instead for direct healing intervention from God. To this end he himself sought healing in camps and meetings organized for just that purpose.

Today’s C&MA and much of the evangelical church no longer holds to such an extreme line. This is evidenced within the C&MA where Simpson’s works on healing are no longer held in high regard as evidenced by their low circulation. If you want to see what the Alliance holds to today, you must go to the later work “The Children’s Bread” by Keith Bailey.

Of the original 4-Fold gospel, healing and sanctification receive considerable less attention than they did historically. Much of that change can be traced to the exodus in the early 20th century from the Alliance into what became the Assemblies of God. The Alliance is not stated anti-charismatic but in practice the gifts and the elements of healing embraced and evidenced in this book by Simpson are just not a viable and important part of most Alliance Churches.

There still remains a very strong appeal for the faith and experience of Simpson. This is an excellent work to study and see from whence the C&MA has come and where it is now. Perhaps the pendulum has swung too far and Simpson ironically has something more to say to his prodigal movement today.

Book Review of Divine Healing: The Children’s Bread by Keith M. Bailey

Keith Bailey has written a book here to effectively clarify and present in an organized fashion the position of healing espoused by the Christian & Missionary Alliance.

This was necessary for 2 reasons.

First, there was not really a systematic theology in this area present for the C&MA prior to this. George Pardington had some writing in this area but it was deemed not entirely sufficient.

Secondly, the C&MA has departed, if not in spirit from the earlier teachings and practices in this arena from the founder A.B. Simpson, then certainly from the emphasis of the earlier days. Therefore a statement was needed that more closely approximated the current practices. In the 30′s there was an exodus of about 1/4 of the membership and Churches from the C&MA over to the Assemblies of God. That history generated a recoil from those practices and teachings within the C&MA that smacked of the Charismatic. The Alliance does not disavow these teachings from the earlier days, but in practice they effectively de-emphasize them and so a different work was needed to provide a platform more in keeping with what the C&MA has morphed into since the 1930′s. With the establishment in the 1970′s as a formal denomination a book was needed to explain the current practice. This was what come out.

An enlightening and helpful work. It is usually used by Districts of the C&MA in the ordination process. It is valuable as well to elders with C&MA churches and reads well and is of value to the general Christian community.

To see where the Alliance moved from, read and compare with “The Gospel of Healing” by the founder A.B. Simpson. You’ll see a much stronger healing message there and have a better flavor for what the C&MA used to be.