Church history is at times discouraging and at times inspiring. So why should we explore it? The obvious reason is as the famous motto states, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." If church history is a litany of mistakes and false statements then it offers an unlimited number of opportunities to learn: it is a great source of practical advice on what not to do. No part of Christianity is without fault. All of us need significant mid-course corrections to the path of our own particular congregation, or church movement.
Church history is important because it shows how movements went astray, stayed on track, and even became stagnant. This series is important because it gives us insight into how to "do" church today.
This contains 8 hours of in-depth messages, and includes a class outline and a PowerPoint presentation.
About the authors: John Oakes is President of the Apologetics Research Society and Robert Carillo serves as President and CEO of HOPE worldwide, Inc.