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Forerunners of the Faith: 13 Lessons to Understand and Appreciate the Basics of Church History
Enter God’s Story of Faithfulness to His People
The Christian faith extends beyond our personal experiences, our individual churches, and far beyond our present age. This, for the Christian, is great news. When we become acquainted with the legacy of our Christian heritage, we connect our stories to those of the faithful believers who have come before us.
This connection is precisely what Nathan Busenitz, Dean of Faculty and professor of church history at The Master's Seminary, seeks to provide. Based on the bestselling Fundamentals of the Faith, Forerunners of the Faith outlines the biblical orthodoxy that characterizes the true church. Busenitz then succinctly identifies thirteen key lessons that capture the trials and triumphs of the historical Church, providing insights for how the ancient Christians responded to the problems of their day to become the pillars of faith we now consider them to be. Learn how your faith stands on the shoulders of giants like Athanasius, Augustine, and Wycliffe. As more than a didactic resource, Forerunners of the Faith serves as spiritual encouragement as we remember the legacy of God’s faithfulness to his people.
Using this teaching guide, become empowered and equipped to lead your group through Forerunners of the Faith. Find answers to every lesson and insightful teaching notes.
The Christian faith extends beyond our personal experiences, our individual churches, and far beyond our present age. This, for the Christian, is great news. When we become acquainted with the legacy of our Christian heritage, we connect our stories to those of the faithful believers who have come before us.
This connection is precisely what Nathan Busenitz, Dean of Faculty and professor of church history at The Master's Seminary, seeks to provide. Based on the bestselling Fundamentals of the Faith, Forerunners of the Faith outlines the biblical orthodoxy that characterizes the true church. Busenitz then succinctly identifies thirteen key lessons that capture the trials and triumphs of the historical Church, providing insights for how the ancient Christians responded to the problems of their day to become the pillars of faith we now consider them to be. Learn how your faith stands on the shoulders of giants like Athanasius, Augustine, and Wycliffe. As more than a didactic resource, Forerunners of the Faith serves as spiritual encouragement as we remember the legacy of God’s faithfulness to his people.
Using this teaching guide, become empowered and equipped to lead your group through Forerunners of the Faith. Find answers to every lesson and insightful teaching notes.
- GenresHistory
110 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 7, 2020
About the author
Nathan Busenitz
30 books35 followersNATHAN BUSENITZ, (M.Div., Th.M., Ph.D., The Master's Seminary) is the Dean of Faculty and Assistant Professor of Theology at The Master's Seminary. He holds a doctorate in church history, with a specific focus on patristic theology. He has served as a full-time member of the pastoral staff at Grace Community Church, director of the Shepherd's Fellowship, managing editor of Pulpit magazine, and as the personal assistant to John MacArthur.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 25, 2020
Church history is beneficial to the believer to understand where we have come from and where we are going. It is not merely to lament the good ol days but to have a better understanding of faith, how it moves us forward to a way of life, and to love God and others with all our being. It also beneficial to know what God has done so we know what he is doing. Knowing church history also helps us be more discerning on present day teaching. As you can see there are benefits to learning church history, but the most important is Jesus.
The text is in three parts
The Apostolic Age
The Patristic Age (2nd - 5th Centuries)
The Middle Ages (6th-15 Centuries)
Each age are men and women who fought for the faith, stood by the faith with confidence in Jesus. We can to in learning about where we come from and what we were made for.
A special thank you to Moody Publishers and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
June 29, 2021
Good survey of church history. Helpful for a small group or class. Necessarily selective for it to be 13 lessons, yet gives a sweeping overview.
August 5, 2020
The great Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said: "Life is lived forward but understood backwards." In trying to make sense of history, we are in effect trying to understand the meaning and significance of how past events have impacted or are still influencing our modern world. As a kid, history is one of those subjects that tend to be old and boring. Who wants to study the past when the future is so much more exciting? Once we get older, we realize that many things that we are trying to solve in the present have happened before in the past. In fact, the more we know of the past, the better we are able to plan for the future. With regard to faith, it is no different. In this survey of Church History, Church Age, or some might prefer to call it the History of Christianity, author and professor Busenitz divides post-Resurrection age in four periods:
1) The Apostolic Age (1st Century)
2) The Patristic Age (2nd-5th Centuries)
3) The Middle Age (6th-15th Centuries)
4) The Reformation and Modern Period (16th-20th Centuries)
These 13 lessons help us appreciate the paths of Christianity beginning with the WORD of God that is the foundation of the pillar of faith; followed by the WORK of God as the faith spreads and develops in many regions of the world. The WORSHIP of God is the ultimate goal of the Church. This book is a companion manual or workbook for students to maximize their study and discussion of these 13 lessons. Students can follow through this workbook along with lectures that could be downloaded from www.tms.edu/forerunners.
The three goals of the book are:
1) To know some of the key figures and Church events
2) To understand the historical framework
3) To learn about the Christian faith in terms of how God deals with past generations.
Some of the features include "fill in the blanks" sections; spaces for one to write down pointers; discussion questions; recommended readings; etc.
My Thoughts
==============
Those who have studied Church History before would appreciate the clear and concise framework put forth by the author. Aided by creative diagrams and pointers, I find the teaching very clear. Busenitz is very economic with his descriptions, making this book a quick reference guide rather than an encyclopedia of words. The way to use the book effectively is to first listen to the lectures on the website. This is a creative way to teach, that utilizes the modern technological tools we have and the ubiquitous availability of the Internet. In the past, we would have a textbook with a companion workbook. Here, instead of a textbook, we have the audio-visual resources available on the website as a form of independent e-learning. The workbook could be used to prompt us to listen more carefully to the lectures. This might not benefit those who are simply rushing for time or trying to speed through the contents. Perhaps, the way to use this would be in a small group setting. It can be used for churches Sunday School too.
Has the author accomplished his objectives? With regard to the key figures, it is definitely yes. He introduces us to huge figures such as Athanasius, Clement, Igatius, Polycarp, Tertullian, Irenaeus, Augustine, Chrysostom, as well as major church councils. He recognizes the impact of the schisms and lists the key figures in the pre and post Reformation as well. Some of the more recent figures include William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor, Charles Hodge, and the rise of the modern evangelicals. The historical framework definitely helps in understanding the contexts of the respective movements. Things do not simply happen in a vacuum. Busenitz gives us both the contexts and the period to help us see why the figures rise to the challenge in their generation. In doing so, we are challenged to seek God on our own contexts and how we can be witnesses for Jesus. These people are definitely "forerunners" of the faith due to their impact to the formation of the Church.
I would caution anyone who is new to Church history to use this book as the only text. They need to check out the website and listen to the lectures. That too is not sufficient. We need to use the lectures, the website, and this book as primers to launch us into a deeper study of Church history. After all, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, etc cannot be reduced to a simple paragraph or a "fill in the blanks" statement. What this book does well is to introduce us to the awareness of such figures and the periods of Church historical development. The rest is really up to us to discover more of the rich history. Welcome to Church history!
Book Resource Link: Forerunners of the Faith
Dr. Nathan Busenitz serves as Dean of Faculty and Associate Professor of Theology at The Master’s Seminary, in Los Angeles, California. He has previously served as a member of the pastoral staff at Grace Community Church.
Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.
conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Moody Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
1) The Apostolic Age (1st Century)
2) The Patristic Age (2nd-5th Centuries)
3) The Middle Age (6th-15th Centuries)
4) The Reformation and Modern Period (16th-20th Centuries)
These 13 lessons help us appreciate the paths of Christianity beginning with the WORD of God that is the foundation of the pillar of faith; followed by the WORK of God as the faith spreads and develops in many regions of the world. The WORSHIP of God is the ultimate goal of the Church. This book is a companion manual or workbook for students to maximize their study and discussion of these 13 lessons. Students can follow through this workbook along with lectures that could be downloaded from www.tms.edu/forerunners.
The three goals of the book are:
1) To know some of the key figures and Church events
2) To understand the historical framework
3) To learn about the Christian faith in terms of how God deals with past generations.
Some of the features include "fill in the blanks" sections; spaces for one to write down pointers; discussion questions; recommended readings; etc.
My Thoughts
==============
Those who have studied Church History before would appreciate the clear and concise framework put forth by the author. Aided by creative diagrams and pointers, I find the teaching very clear. Busenitz is very economic with his descriptions, making this book a quick reference guide rather than an encyclopedia of words. The way to use the book effectively is to first listen to the lectures on the website. This is a creative way to teach, that utilizes the modern technological tools we have and the ubiquitous availability of the Internet. In the past, we would have a textbook with a companion workbook. Here, instead of a textbook, we have the audio-visual resources available on the website as a form of independent e-learning. The workbook could be used to prompt us to listen more carefully to the lectures. This might not benefit those who are simply rushing for time or trying to speed through the contents. Perhaps, the way to use this would be in a small group setting. It can be used for churches Sunday School too.
Has the author accomplished his objectives? With regard to the key figures, it is definitely yes. He introduces us to huge figures such as Athanasius, Clement, Igatius, Polycarp, Tertullian, Irenaeus, Augustine, Chrysostom, as well as major church councils. He recognizes the impact of the schisms and lists the key figures in the pre and post Reformation as well. Some of the more recent figures include William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor, Charles Hodge, and the rise of the modern evangelicals. The historical framework definitely helps in understanding the contexts of the respective movements. Things do not simply happen in a vacuum. Busenitz gives us both the contexts and the period to help us see why the figures rise to the challenge in their generation. In doing so, we are challenged to seek God on our own contexts and how we can be witnesses for Jesus. These people are definitely "forerunners" of the faith due to their impact to the formation of the Church.
I would caution anyone who is new to Church history to use this book as the only text. They need to check out the website and listen to the lectures. That too is not sufficient. We need to use the lectures, the website, and this book as primers to launch us into a deeper study of Church history. After all, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, etc cannot be reduced to a simple paragraph or a "fill in the blanks" statement. What this book does well is to introduce us to the awareness of such figures and the periods of Church historical development. The rest is really up to us to discover more of the rich history. Welcome to Church history!
Book Resource Link: Forerunners of the Faith
Dr. Nathan Busenitz serves as Dean of Faculty and Associate Professor of Theology at The Master’s Seminary, in Los Angeles, California. He has previously served as a member of the pastoral staff at Grace Community Church.
Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.
conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Moody Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
December 6, 2020
***DISCLAIMER: I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FOR FREE FROM MOODY PUBLISHERS TO REVIEW. MOREOVER, THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE WORKBOOK, NOT THE TEACHER’S GUIDE***
Nathan Busenitz’s Forerunners of the Faith: 13 Lessons To Understand and Appreciate The Basics of Church History represents the sixth book I have reviewed for Moody Publishers this year. I chose this book as the next one to review for Moody Publishers because the book appeared to be about church history. I have yet to review a book from Moody Publishers that had a focus on church history. I first heard of Nathan Busenitz last month upon reviewing a book by Michael Huskey. This book from Huskey used many resources from Busenitz. Moreover, Huskey’s book, Huskey’s Study Notes On Historical Theology, was a good one. Therefore, I thought I had a winner with Busenitz’s book. Moreover, seeing that John MacArthur wrote the book’s foreword certainly doesn’t hurt (p. 6).
This is an excellent work. In it, Busenitz upholds Scripture, proclaims Christ, cites excellent quotes from church history, and gives the reader addition resources for further study for church history. Busenitz's work is an excellent resource for the Christian to have.
Nathan Busenitz’s Forerunners of the Faith: 13 Lessons To Understand and Appreciate The Basics of Church History represents the sixth book I have reviewed for Moody Publishers this year. I chose this book as the next one to review for Moody Publishers because the book appeared to be about church history. I have yet to review a book from Moody Publishers that had a focus on church history. I first heard of Nathan Busenitz last month upon reviewing a book by Michael Huskey. This book from Huskey used many resources from Busenitz. Moreover, Huskey’s book, Huskey’s Study Notes On Historical Theology, was a good one. Therefore, I thought I had a winner with Busenitz’s book. Moreover, seeing that John MacArthur wrote the book’s foreword certainly doesn’t hurt (p. 6).
This is an excellent work. In it, Busenitz upholds Scripture, proclaims Christ, cites excellent quotes from church history, and gives the reader addition resources for further study for church history. Busenitz's work is an excellent resource for the Christian to have.
February 28, 2021
Absolutely fantastic study, with accompanying seminary lectures and sermons online.
November 25, 2024
I learned more from this study than any other study I have ever done. I highly recommend to anyone!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews