C. Leonard Allen is the Dean of Bible at

Lipscomb University Lipscomb University is a Private university, private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The campus is located in the Green Hills, Nashville, Tennessee, Green Hills neighborho ...

Professor

Leonard Allen has taught at several schools, including

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...

Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor' ...

, and

John Brown University John Brown University (JBU) is a private interdenominational Christian university in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Founded in 1919, JBU enrolls 2,343 students from 33 states and 45 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, online, and c ...

. He was a professor of Christian Studies at

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Christian research university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an R2 (High Research Spending and Doctorate Production) institutio ...

for 15 years.

Publisher

He has authored and co-authored several books that deal primarily with the history and cultural impact of the

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1 ...

. In February 2000, Leonard Allen founded Leafwood Publishers, a publisher of Christian books on a variety of topics, including theology, culture and dealing with the study of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

Orange, California Orange is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District ...

. In 2005, Abilene Christian University Press purchased Leafwood Publishers and hired Leonard Allen as its director. Leonard directed Abilene Christian University Press and Leafwood Publishers until 2014 when he accepted an offer to be the dean of the Bible Department at Lipscomb University.

Dean of Bible

In April 2014, Lipscomb University announced their decision to bring Leonard in as their new Dean of Bible.

Education

B.A.

Harding University Harding University is a Private university, private Christian university with its main campus in Searcy, Arkansas, United States. Established in 1924, the institution offers Undergraduate education, undergraduate, Postgraduate education, gradu ...

(1973)
M.A.

Harding School of Theology Harding School of Theology, known until 2011 as Harding University Graduate School of Religion, is located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It is an entity related to the Christian private university associated with the Churches of Christ known ...

(1975)
Ph.D.

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

(1984)

Publications

*''Illusions of Innocence: Protestant Primitivism in America, 1630-1875'', with Richard T. Hughes,

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

: Abilene Christian University Press, 1988. . *''Discovering Our Roots: The Ancestry of Churches of Christ'', with Richard T. Hughes,

: Abilene Christian University Press, 1988. . *''The Cruciform Church: Becoming a Cross-Shaped People in a Secular World'',

: Abilene Christian University Press, 1990, anniversary edition, 2016. . *''The Worldly Church: A Call for Biblical Renewal'', with Richard T. Hughes and Michael R. Weed,

: Abilene Christian University Press, 1991. . *''Distant Voices: Discovering a Forgotten Past for a Changing Church'',

: Abilene Christian University Press, 1999. . *''Participating in God's Life: Two Crossroads for Churches of Christ, with Danny Gray Swick'',

: New Leaf Books, 2001. . *''Things Unseen: Churches of Christ in (and After) the Modern Age'',

Siloam Springs, Arkansas Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, Benton County, Arkansas, United States, and located on the western edge of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers metropolitan area, Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Unite ...

: Leafwood Publishers, 2004. . *
Contemporaries Meet the Classics on Prayer
',

West Monroe, Louisiana West Monroe is the second largest city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 13,103. It is situated on the Ouachita River, across from the neighboring city of Monroe. The two c ...

Howard Books Howard Books (formerly Howard Publishing) is a Christian publishing company founded in 1969 by Alton Howard and previously based in West Monroe, Louisiana, but which relocated to Brentwood, Tennessee, (south of Nashville) in September 2009. I ...

, 2003. . * In the Great Stream: Imagining Churches of Christ in the Christian Tradition (Abilene, Texas: ACU Press, 2021). . * Answered by Fire: The Cane Ridge Revival Reconsidered, editor with Carisse Berryhill (Abilene, TX: ACU Press, 2020). * The Bookroom: Remembrance and Forgiveness--A Memoir (Abilene, TX: ACU Press, 2024)

Personal life

Leonard is married to Holly Allen. They live together in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. They have three children and five grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, C. Leonard American Christian writers Abilene Christian University faculty Harding University alumni University of Iowa alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Benton County, Arkansas Place of birth missing (living people)