Introduction
Introduction
I have had an interest in Albert Benjamin Simpson for over thirty years. It began shortly after I became a Christian. The person who shared the gospel with me and discipled me took me to a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church. It was there that I first heard of A. B. Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination. It was at the First Alliance Church in Columbus, Ohio, that I first heard of the Fourfold Gospel and the distinctive biblical message that characterized Simpson’s preaching. It was while I was at this same church that I began to read some of Simpson’s works such as The Four-Fold Gospel and A Larger Christian Life. It was there that I read two biographies of Simpson’s life: Wingspread by A. W. Tozer and A. B. Simpson: His Life and Work by A. E. Thompson. Both books helped generate a personal interest in A. B. Simpson that has continued to the present.
Years later, I became an Alliance pastor. Going through the ordination process, I was again exposed to Simpson and his message of the Fourfold Gospel, although in much greater detail. During my time as a pastor in the Alliance, my interest in Simpson steadily increased. Over time, I endeavored to learn more from Simpson’s works, but my interest did not come to full fruition until I was a student at Princeton Theological Seminary. While working on my Master’s of Theology in Church History, a professor of American Church History told me that there had yet to be a definitive work written on A. B. Simpson and his impact on the church. As I began my doctoral study program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the program’s “Revival and Renewal: Renewing the Congregational Life” track, I had the opportunity to write a thesis on A. B. Simpson as part of my studies.
The question must be asked, “What is revival?” Walter Kaiser defines it as “the restoration of something to its true nature and purpose. In as much as all of us were made to glorify God, revival simply fulfills his desire that we might know him in the fullness of his spirit and declare his praise to the ends of the earth.” Keith Hardman goes further to elaborate on revival. He states,
The words revival or awakening may be defined as the restoration of God’s people after a period of indifference and decline. There are two main thrusts: (1) The conversion or salvation of a number of unbelievers, and (2) the re-establishment of biblical truth so that the church is built up and empowered for the work of God in a lost and dying world.
As I examined the Third Great Awakening, I discovered the great impact that Simpson had on the Awakening. Simpson’s life and ministry were intricately interwoven with the Awakening, but I found that very little had been written to demonstrate this fact. This explains the rationale for why this book, A. B. Simpson: His Message and Impact on the Third Great Awakening, needed to be written. The question I asked was “What impact did Simpson have on the Third Great Awakening, and how has this impact influenced the modern church and the denomination he founded, the Christian and Missionary Alliance?” This is the question I will attempt to answer in this book.
Simpson’s life as a minister and leader corresponded to the period of the Third Great Awakening and, as a result, he would play an important role in that Awakening. Before exploring the life of A. B. Simpson, we need to consider the historical period and environmental milieu he ministered in. In chapter 1, titled “The Great Century,” we will look at what was going on in the Christian church during this important period.
. Simpson, Four-Fold Gospel. The original title of Simpson’s The Four-Fold Gospel had a hyphen between the words “Four” and “Fold.” The hyphen was dropped and the term came to be spelled “Fourfold.” Newer reprints of this work use the corrected spelling.
. Kaiser, Revive Us Again, ix.
. Hardman, Seasons of Refreshing, 16.