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Church History 101:
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… the record of church history teaches us to hold fast to Christ, assured that He is with us always, even to the end of the world. He will build up His church and kingdom to all generations.
What’s Church History 101 About?
That’s the controlling idea behind this book—it’s a survey of Church History—which is the story of Christ building his church. There will be highlights and lowpoints. This, and more, is sketched out in the preface—as well as a description of the book that follows.
The chapters came from Ferguson’s time in the pulpit. Then Beeke, Haykin and their assistants revised them for use in The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible, and then there were published as this book.
Application
Each chapter sums up a century of Church History, talking about major movements controversies and figures incredibly briefly. It’s a ninety-nine page book, covering 20 Centuries—so to say the chapters are brief is an understatement. Most chapters include (not always as the concluding point) a “lesson” for application. Like:
Gregory’s vision produced a kind of nominal Christianity with which the church continues to struggle to this day.
The church should honor Gottschalk’s memory despite his human frailties. We should also continue to educate ourselves about missionaries such as Cyril and Methodius, and remember that the quest for power and recognition, demonstrated by Pope Nicholas, ultimately detracts from the mission and witness of the church.
Today we must see that the church exists to bring light to the world, and we must be willing to separate earthly power and gain from the mission of the church. The church accomplishes her mission by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by the might of kings or political leaders.
I get these came from a Study Bible, and those tend to be very object lesson-oriented, but I’m not sure it’s all that helpful (or necessary) in this context.
So, what did I think about Church History 101?
I think I read something wrong about the length—I knew it was a brief survey, but I didn’t expect it to be so brief that I finished it in under 90 minutes.
But, for a quick, very surface-level look at 2,000 years of History? This is good—it focuses on the essentials, it helps orients the reader to what matters—and hopefully ignites someone’s interest in diving deeper into a person, period, or movement mentioned in these pages.
I enjoyed it, I appreciate what it tried to do, I wish it had done more, but that would’ve defeated the purpose, I guess.
I do recommend this for anyone Junior High and up for a solid overview, a refresher, or a nice way to spend an hour or so. It won’t change your life, but for those who don’t need the introduction, it will serve as a reminder that Christ is building His Church and what that looks like.
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