Church History
Showing 1–12 of 547 results
-
When God Became White
$18.00Add to cartWhen Western Christians think about God, the default image that comes to mind is usually white and male. How did that happen?
Christianity is rooted in the ancient Near East among people of darker skin. But over time, European Christians cast Jesus in their own image, with art that imagined a fair-skinned Savior in the style of imperial rulers. Grace Ji-Sun Kim explores the historical origins and theological implications of how Jesus became white and God became a white male. The myth of the white male God has had a devastating effect as it enabled Christianity to have a profoundly colonialist posture across the globe. Kim examines the roots of the distortion, its harmful impact on the world, and shows what it looks like to recover the biblical reality of a nonwhite, nongendered God. Rediscovering God as Spirit leads us to a more just faith and a better church and world.
-
Nicene Creed : A Scriptural, Historical, And Theological Commentary
$49.99Add to cartThough the Nicene Creed is regularly recited in weekly church services, few understand its historical origins and connections to Scripture and key Christian doctrines.
This volume bridges the gap, providing an accessible introduction that explains how the Creed is anchored in the Bible and how it came to be written and confessed in the early history of the church. The authors show how the Creed reflects the purpose of God in salvation, especially in relation to Christians’ divine adoption as sons and daughters, leading to glorification. Each chapter includes sidebars highlighting how the Creed has been received in the church’s liturgy.
Professors, students, clergy, and religious educators will benefit from this illuminating and edifying guide to the Nicene Creed.
-
10 Women Who Changed The World
$17.99Add to cart10 Women Who Changed the World is seminary president Daniel L. Akin’s powerful tribute to the transformational work done by some truly inspiring female Christian missionaries.
With each profile, he journeys into the heart of that gospel servant’s mission-minded story and makes a compelling connection to a similar account from the Bible. By reading each missionary story, and how each woman embodies a certain passage of Scripture, prepare to be challenged and inspired to follow in their footsteps–because intentionally living on mission isn’t something reserved for heroes of the past. It’s something each one of us can pursue in everyday life!Women featured in this book:
1. Sarah Hall Boardman Judson (and how she embodies Psalm 138)
2. Eleanor Chesnut (and how she embodies John 13:34-35)
3. Ann Hasseltine Judson (and how she embodies Psalm 142)
4. Harriet Newell (and how she embodies Psalm 116)
5. Darlene Deibler Rose (and how she embodies Psalm 27)
6. Betsey Stockton (and how she embodies 1 Corinthians 7:17-24)
7. Bertha Smith (and how she embodies Galatians 2:20)
8. Charlotte Atlee White Rowe (and how she embodies 1 Corinthians 9:19, 22-23)
9. Yvette Aarons (how she embodies Proverbs 3:5-8)
10. Lilias Trotter (and how she embodies 2 Corinthians 12:7-10) -
Gods Ghostwriters : Enslaved Christians And The Making Of The Bible
$30.00Add to cartFor the past two thousand years, Christian tradition, scholarship, and pop culture have credited the authorship of the New Testament to a select group of men: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul. But hidden behind these named and sainted individuals are a cluster of unnamed, enslaved coauthors and collaborators. These essential workers were responsible for producing the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament: making the parchment on which the texts were written, taking dictation, and refining the words of the apostles. And as the Christian message grew in influence, it was enslaved missionaries who undertook the arduous journey across the Mediterranean and along dusty roads to move Christianity to Rome, Spain, and North Africa–and into the pages of history. The impact of these enslaved contributors on the spread of Christianity, the development of foundational Christian concepts, and the making of the Bible was enormous, yet their role has been almost entirely overlooked until now.
Filled with profound revelations both for what it means to be a Christian and for how we read individual texts themselves, God’s Ghostwriters is a groundbreaking and rigorously researched book about how enslaved people shaped the Bible, and with it all of Christianity.
-
Zwingli The Pastor
$26.99Add to cartThe Reformer at war
In Zwingli the Pastor, Stephen Brett Eccher tells the story of Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531), embattled pastor and reformer. Zwingli’s ministry in Zurich was characterized by conflict–conflict that fueled him. It influenced his theological development, inspired his commitment to bring reform, and compelled his devotion to the congregation he led through the tumult of the Reformation. Eccher reveals a complex Zwingli, whose life and legacy continue to influence Protestantism today.
-
History Of Christianity
$19.99Add to cartHow did Christianity get shared around the world? And how has Christian belief changed over the last 50 years? Providing some of the answers to these and many other questions, this overview charts the 2,000-year-long history of the world’s largest religion.
A History of Christianity covers everything from the world of the Old Testament to Christianity in the 21st century, including topics such as the early martyrs, the birth of the monasteries, the Crusades, the Reformation, and the rise of the Church in the Americas and Africa.
Explore the wide-ranging beliefs and doctrines found within the Church and the role Christianity plays in people’s lives. Discover the key events, figures, and movements that helped shape the Church, with a fresh and highly visual approach.In this Christianity book, you can find:
– An accessible illustrated guide to the key events and thinkers of the last 2,000 years of Christianity
– Detailed contextual illustrations, maps, and annotated works of art
– Insightful quotes from Christian thinkers and the Bible
– Chapters outlining different elements of Christianity and important moments that shaped beliefs including: The Roots of Christianity, Challenges to the Early Church, The Renaissance, Social Issues & Activism, and more
Beautifully illustrated, clearly presented, and written in an accessible style, this guide is the ideal companion for those who want to know about the history of the Church. This is a great guide for readers looking for a clear and accessible introduction to Christianity.
-
Exiles : The Church In The Shadow Of Empire
$19.99Add to cartA thoughtful exploration of the intersection of faith and politics, Exiles asks: What if we considered ourselves “exiles in Babylon” and turned to Scripture, not political parties, to shape our most passionate values?
Politics are dividing our churches like never before. New York Times-bestselling author Dr. Preston M. Sprinkle reminds us that the first-century church was not an apolitical gathering, where Christians left their Roman politics at the door. It also wasn’t a place where Christians mounted a Roman flag next to–or above–a Christian one. Church was a place where God’s plan for governing the world was revealed, where one could witness what it means to follow the Creator’s design for human flourishing.
In this timely book, Preston explores why:
*Israel’s exile to Babylon profoundly shaped the political identity of God’s people–and still does today.
*Christians should see themselves as foreigners in the country where they live.
*The gospel of Jesus’ kingdom was politically subversive.
*The church today should view its political identity as fundamentally separate from the empire.
Total allegiance to a political party dilutes the church’s witness. Discover a more biblical, powerful way to live in a secular world. Discover what it means to live in exile.
-
Strange Religion : How The First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, And Comp
$18.99Add to cartThe first Christians were weird. Just how weird is often lost on today’s believers.
Within Roman society, the earliest Christians stood out for the oddness of their beliefs and practices. They believed unusual things, worshiped God in strange ways, and lived a unique lifestyle. They practiced a whole new way of thinking about and doing religion that would have been seen as bizarre and dangerous when compared to Roman religion and most other religions of the ancient world.
Award-winning author, blogger, speaker, and New Testament teacher Nijay Gupta traces the emerging Christian faith in its Roman context in this accessible and engaging book. Christianity would have been seen as radical in the Roman world, but some found this new religion attractive and compelling. The first Christians dared to be different, pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable, transformed how people thought about religion, and started a movement that grew like wildfire.
Brought to life with numerous images, this book shows how the example of the earliest Christians can offer today’s believers encouragement and hope.
-
Empowered Witness : Politics, Culture, And The Spiritual Mission Of The Chu
$17.99Add to cartRediscovering the Spirituality of the Church in Our Highly Politicized Age
The goal of the church should be simple-share the gospel to the ends of the earth. But in our highly politicized age, Christians can tend to place earthly political and social agendas over God’s spiritual mission of the church.
In Empowered Witness, author Alan D. Strange examines the doctrine of the spirituality of the church, making a clear distinction between the functions of the church and other institutions. Strange argues that if the church continues to push political agendas, no institution will be focused solely on the Great Commission and the gospel will be lost entirely. This book calls readers to become aware of the church’s power and limits and shed light on moral issues in a way that doesn’t alter the deeply spiritual and gospel-centered mission of the church.
*Explores the Spirituality of the Church: An important biblical doctrine developed in the 19th century
*Appeals to Thoughtful Laypeople and Church Leaders: Considers the critical distinctions between the church and other institutions
*Historical: Examines the purpose of the church throughout history and the development of the spirituality of the church in the 19th century
-
Turning Points In American Church History
$24.99Add to cartAmerican history has profoundly shaped, and been shaped by, Christianity. This engaging introduction provides a brisk and lively yet deeply researched survey of these intertwined forces from the colonial period to the present.
Elesha Coffman tells the story of Christianity in the United States by focusing on 13 key events over four centuries of history. The turning points are as varied as the movements they track, including a naval battle, a revival, a schism, a court case, an outpouring of the Spirit, an act of terrorism, the election of a bishop, and the election of a president. Coffman highlights women and men from a range of traditions and shows how throughout these events, Christians endeavored to discern what it meant to live faithfully in the diverse and rapidly changing place that became the United States.
This book helps readers understand their own faith and the landscape of American religion. Each chapter includes a hymn, a prayer, relevant historical images, excerpts from primary sources, and resources for further reading. Foreword by Mark A. Noll.
-
William J Seymour
$16.99Add to cartWilliam J. Seymour: Pentecostal Trailblazer and Revered Pastor of the Azusa Street Revival? is a rich and thorough account of the life and ministry of William J. Seymour. Seymour, the son of former slaves rose to prominence within the Pentecostal movement as the pastor of the Azusa Street Revival.
Dr. Larry Martin’s extensive research and knowledge of William J. Seymour provides a solid framework for the telling of Seymour’s life, ministry, and the history of the Azusa Street Revival. Martin’s work not only provides details on Seymour’s life and ministry but also recounts the racism and discrimination that Seymour faced in everyday life and within the church.
Seymour followed God’s call to Los Angeles and in 1906 the Azusa Street Revival began ushering in a new era of Pentecostal revival in Los Angeles and spreading throughout the country and around the world. While the revival’s prominence over the year’s waned due to ongoing prejudice, divergent ministry objectives and attempted takeovers the worldwide Pentecostal movement remains unbowed and strong over a century later.
Dr. Martin is part of the Pentecostal legacy and has over fifty years devoted to ministry as a pastor, educator, and evangelist. He is the author of several books on the Azusa Street Revival, the history of early Pentecostals, and the Pentecostal Church of God.
Includes photos of Seymour’s life and ministry. -
Missionary Fellowship Of William Carey
$16.00Add to cartThe eighteenth century was a time of remarkable missionary activity. As the British Empire expanded around the world, Christian missionaries followed in the wake of merchants and explorers to bring the gospel to places where Christ had never before been named.
At the heart of this global missionary movement was William Carey. From humble beginnings in England, Carey journeyed halfway around the world to preach the gospel on the Indian subcontinent. Known as the founder of modern missions, Carey is often portrayed as a solitary trailblazer and pioneer. But that isn’t the full story.
In The Missionary Fellowship of William Carey, Dr. Michael Haykin explores Carey’s life and introduces us to the band of brothers who labored with him to spread the gospel on a global scale. As we follow their stories, we discover how God uses Christian friendship to advance His kingdom, and we’re encouraged to nurture Christ-honoring friendships in our own lives.
This book is part of the Long Line of Godly Men Profile series, edited by Dr. Steven Lawson.