Whatever history may record about the church of this era, it certainly will not record that we had a shortage of Bibles or excellent resources to help us better understand the Bible. To the contrary, there is a host of faithful Bible translations in the English language and there are far more excellent resources than…
I’m very thankful for the recent rise of the Christian documentary. Over the past few years we’ve been treated to quite a number of excellent productions that focus on key Christian characters, on important topics, and even on the whole sweep of Christian history. We are blessed to have access to this bounty of riches.…
As Easter weekend begins and this time of being housebound continues, I find myself thinking beyond the confines of my home. I find myself thinking wistfully of some of the places around the world I’ve had the privilege to visit, and some of the Easter-related objects I’ve found there. Here are a couple of objects…
Over the past eighteen months, I have been traveling the world searching for objects related to the history of Christianity. Over the course of my journey I have visited some of the world’s great museums. And as much as I have enjoyed these world-class institutions, I have also found special benefit in visiting much smaller…
As I’ve traveled the world over the past year, I’ve made many new friends. Some of these friends are living, but many more of them have long since gone to glory, and I’ve had to meet them through their biographies and through the objects they’ve left behind. One of my new friends is Selina Hastings,…
It is impossible to consider the modern history or contemporary state of Christianity without accounting for the sudden rise, the explosive spread, and the worldwide impact of Pentecostalism. To that end, I’ve been reading several books on the subject, focused especially on the Azusa Street Revival, which most historians consider the setting in which Pentecostalism…
My latest EPIC journey took me to Switzerland (and France and Germany) where I was searching for objects relating to the Reformers and the Huguenots. Join me as I explore this beautiful country and a couple of its neighbors. This video was made possible in part by Zondervan and the forthcoming two-volume set by Michael…
There are entire academic disciplines that exist in a kind of self-perpetuating circle. Professors teach students so those students can become professors and, in turn, teach more students. Such disciplines serve no practical purpose and have no reason to exist beyond academia. Like mathematics, for example. It serves no purpose in the world and nobody…
On a recent trip to Scotland, I held an Ask Me Anything event at FM Bookstore and Cafe in Edinburgh. One of the questions I was asked was “what are the benefits of studying church history?” Here is my answer. Transcript What are the benefits of studying church history? I think church history is an…
This is my year of traveling, searching, and scouring the world to uncover the treasures of church history. Since December I’ve been in 11 different countries (with many more remaining) and have gazed upon some amazing objects. This is, of course, all part of the project I’m calling EPIC that is meant to culminate in…
I spent last week traveling through Australia and New Zealand exploring, meeting lots of people, and learning about the history of Christianity in those two great lands. Here’s just some of what I experienced along the way. This video was made possible with special thanks to Sam Chan and his new book Evangelism in a…
I spent last week in Ireland, researching history, meeting Christians, and breaking bones. Here’s a brief video recap of what I saw and experienced along the way. I hope you enjoy it!
I recently spent a few days in Jerusalem, looking through museums, churches, and other sites for objects related to the history of the Christian faith. This was, of course, all part of my EPIC church history project which will be continuing all through 2018 (Ireland, I’ll see you in January!). This time around I’ve got…
There was a time, and it was not so very long ago, that we wanted heroes who were flawless. We would look to the past to find people who had an outsized impact on our world and prepare biographies tipped well in the direction of hagiography. We might read a thousand or two thousand pages…
A little while ago I announced a new project I’ve titled EPIC. In a series of journeys unfolding over the next 12 or 18 months, I’ll be traveling all over the globe searching for church history. I’ll be looking especially for key historical objects through which I’ll be able to tell the story of the…
A friend of mine recently became a citizen of the United States of America. Until that point, he had been a mere resident, a visitor, a sojourner, a citizen of some other place. But he followed the process, he fulfilled his obligations, and he at last received the decision of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration…
Over the past few weeks I have been reading through The Lord of the Rings, slowly meandering my way through Middle Earth for the umpteenth time. Every time I read the books, I find myself drawn to something different, some new demonstration of Tolkien’s brilliance. One of the strengths that distinguishes his work from other…
The times are changing. Sexual morality is undergoing nothing less than a revolution as traditional morality gives way to something radically different. The former morality, based on the Christian scriptures, is being shoved aside by a new one that not only departs from the Bible, but outright rejects it. Meanwhile, Christians who abide by those…
This fall I am going to be taking a course taught by R.C. Sproul—a brand new course based on his most recent teaching series, “Justified by Faith Alone.” Even better, I’ll be moderating the course so you can take it with me, for free! With the 500th anniversary of the Reformation fast approaching, there is…
Human history contains few lives more interesting, more unusual, more significant, than that of the Apostle Paul. The words he wrote transformed the ancient world and, when rediscovered at the time of the Reformation, shaped the modern world as well. It is impossible to construct an accurate picture of the world today without considering Paul…