Category Archives: Study

If You Taught Church History…

This next semester I get the shot at teaching a subject I have been desiring to teach for quite some time: CHURCH HISTORY. I get to teach one section covering the early church to the Reformation, then another section covering the Reformation to today.

I want to cover key figures in both sections.

Church History I — Augustine, the Desert Fathers (my key area of interest), the Seven Church Councils, Constantine’s conversion, the forming of the Canon, the East/West split, possibly Anselm, and definitely Aquinas.

Church History II — Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Wycliffe and the English translations, early American revivals, the Wesleys, American revivals (Finney, Moody, etc.), and 20th Century missions.

That’s not exhaustive, but key.

What would YOU cover in either section of history? I remember another professor at my school that was upset because his son had gone to the school and couldn’t remember hearing about Luther or Calvin ONCE. I know we’re more of a “liberal arts” school now, but REALLY? We require students to take a LOT of Bible classes and we couldn’t fit in Luther and Calvin?

If your child was going to learn church history, what do you want to make sure they do not miss?


The Lost Art of Notetaking


I am a huge fan of taking notes. Not too many seem to be these days. It could be that people have better memories than I do, which is a distinct possibility.

When I have a rare chance to sit and listen to a sermon (rather than preaching it) I love taking notes. There are several reasons:

1. It helps me stay focused. I may not be preaching because I am tired, so I use notes to help me stay focused.

2. It helps me follow the train of thought of the speaker or preacher. Do they have a train of thought? How is this developing?

3. It is an excellent opportunity for the Spirit to speak to me. I can highlight something the speaker said and go back to it. Sometimes I find myself writing furiously to capture a thought the Spirit is giving me in that moment. I want to develop it later.

I will often have my journal with me in a service even if I am preaching because there are times when I hear the Lord speaking to me in the worship time and I don’t want to forget what he is saying.

If we can’t remember what the message was from last Sunday, it might be a good idea to take a few notes. Stay focused. Listen to the Spirit.