Ten Great Leaders

Manuscript for Jonathan Edwards Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

     There are so many great leaders down through the ages of church history. I picked ten leaders that I would recommend reading. These leaderships had an impact on the life of the church during their day and the communities that they lived in to the extent that their positive impact is still felt today. Each of these ten great leaders modeled, though imperfectly, the nine qualities that define great leaders as depicted in Jeff Iorg’s book “The Character of Leadership.”1

     Irenaeus of Lyons was the consummate Pastor-Theologian of the early church. He was wholly dedicated as under-shepherd of the flock given to him and wholly dedicated to the theology of scripture refuting heresy.2

     Athanasius of Alexandria modeled the quality of security. He was both pastor and theologian who trusted the Lord when the Roman world was against him. Athanasius spoke against heresy between two ecumenical councils; Nicaea and Constantinople, all the while holding to the doctrine of the trinity and divinity of Christ. He had what Jared Wilson calls the pastors justification, because he had convicted trust and not vague belief.3

     Augustine of Hippo modeled the quality of purity. Sex was his besetting sin. He left it behind to follow Christ. He pastored the church in Northern Africa. He would become, through his writings, one of the greatest theologians in the history of the church.4

     Anselm of Canterbury modeled the quality of humility. Anselm was significant in the development of scholasticism; that one should apply reason to faith, but he did not put his reasoning above his faith.5 His book Cur Deus Homo was significant in linking the atonement to the incarnation.6

     Martin Luther modeled servanthood to his congregation in Wittenberg. He was Professor of Scripture at the university and at the same time he pastored the parish church, preaching three sermons a week.7 Luther’s fault in leadership was his tendency towards anger.

     John Calvin modeled the character quality of gaining wisdom. This can be seen in the changes that he made over his life in The Institutes of Christian Religion. The character flaw that lead to his early departure was his unwillingness to rest. His hard pace of reading, writing and praying took a toll which resulted in illness and death in 1564.8

     Jonathan Edwards was a leader who modeled discipline. Edwards made a list of seventy resolutions, “Never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God.”9 The downside of Edwards was that in social situations he did not like small talk, but would rather talk on higher things, which made him appear to be unsociable.10

     William Carey was a leader who modeled courage. He has been dubbed the father of the modern evangelical missions movement. Can you imagine the courage that it would take to be the first to leave the comforts of home, family, church and country, to go to a foreign land among the heathen? 

     Charles H. Spurgeon modeled sustaining passion. During his life, he battled depression, gout, and other maladies, but continued faithfully running to the cross in every sermon. It was the infinite love of God that drove him. In one of my favorite books, All of Grace, he describes faith as being made up of three things: knowledge, belief and trust.11 It is his faith that sustained his passion.

     Carl F. H. Henry is a bit different than those previously mentioned, because he was not a pastor-theologian, he was a writer-theologian. He would launch the magazine Christianity Today. This magazine was designed to bridge the gap between academic theology and the theology of the evangelical Christian. Henry was aggressive in dealing with the issues of his day modeling the character of leadership.12

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[1] Jeff Iorg, The Character of Leadership: Nine Qualities that Define Great Leaders (Nashville, TN: B& H Pub. Group, 2007).

[2] Justo L. González, The Story of Christianity (New York: HarperOne, 2010), 84.

[3] Jared C. Wilson, The Pastors Justification: Applying the Work of Christ in Your Life and Ministry (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 149.

[4] Justo L. González, The Story of Christianity (New York: HarperOne, 2010), 241-252.

[5] Ibid, 369.

[6] Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan, The Pastor as Public Theologian: reclaiming a lost vision (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015), 77.

[7] John D. Woodbridge, Church history the rise and growth of the church in its cultural, intellectual, and political context (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013), 109.

[8] Jason G. Duesing, Seven summits in church history (Nashville, TN: Rainer Publishing, 2016), 65-66.

[9] Ibid, 83.

[10] George M. Marsden, A short life of Jonathan Edwards (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2008), 142.

[11] C. H. Spurgeon, All of grace (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2003), 59.

[12] Jason G. Duesing, Seven summits in church history (Nashville, TN: Rainer Publishing, 2016), 111-114.

America and Evangelicals

Me at Federal Hall May, 2017

I have noticed a recent rash of post on social media against Evangelicals by Christians and especially by Evangelical Christians who may not understand who they are. I see this as troubling to say the least, because it is contrary to the law of Christ. I am an Evangelical born again Christian of the Paticular Baptists persuasion. I am a citizen of the kingdom of God who was born by the sovereign will of God in America.

In the year of our Lord 1968 I was born to my parents Richard and Carole Peek a citizen of the United States of America. This was not by accident for the Lord is sovereign. My family has been citizens of the U.S.A. since its inception. In fact, my family was among the first settlers to the Virginia Colony in the 17th century.

In April of 2003 I was born of God. I was drawn by the Holy Spirit to follow my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, I am a citizen of the kingdom of God, but presently abide in the kingdom of man.

I am also a veteran of the U.S. Army. I took an oath upon my enlistment to protect and defend the constitution of the U.S.A against all enemies foreign and domestic. I served during my enlistment domestically at Ft. Knox Kentucky, Ft Polk Louisiana. and in the countries of Panama and Korea.

Church history matters, therefore, listen to what I must briefly say with regards to Evangelicals in America: In the early days of the reformation there were Lutherans, Reformed and Anabaptist. When the reformation came to England, the church of England (Anglican) became protestant. In Scotland Presbyterianism was a branch of the Reformed. Within England there came to be puritans who wanted to purify the church, there were non-separating puritans and separating puritans, the pilgrims were separatist. Eventually there were other separatist like Particular Baptists which I am.

Out of the enlightenment Liberal-Protestantism was born. Fundamentalism was a rejection of liberal-Protestantism. Fundamentalist hold to the supernaturalism of the scriptures while liberals do not. Liberals hold to a social gospel while fundamentals focused on individual sin. Evangelicals are found in-between these two extremes. Like fundamentals evangelicals are orthodox in their beliefs:

1. Evangelicals are Trinitarians
2. Evangelicals believe in the Inerrancy of scripture and its supernaturalism
3. Evangelicals believe in the centrality of the cross
4. Evangelicals believe in the importance of evangelism

Any who would deny these tenets are not historical -evangelicals. In addition, evangelicals desire to change the world, this is the reason they are involved in politics. Gregory Thornbury in his book on Carl F. H. Henry and classic evangelicalism said,

Evangelicals have been fascinated by political involvement in part because they believe that it is a way of bringing all things in subjection to the lordship of Christ. They want to change the world…By addressing the political, social, economic, and intellectual questions of the age, God’s people have an opportunity to share the gospel that not only makes us right with God, but also makes human flourishing possible. This was the vision of classic evangelism. (G. Thornbury, Recovering Classic Evangelicalism, 161, 164)

Evangelical Christians are not the enemy. Evangelicals seek to honor God, exalt Jesus Christ, and seek the good of our neighbors whether they be sheep or goats. I am an Evangelical born again Christian, a citizen of the kingdom, who was born at the sovereign will of God in America. I am also a veteran of the U.S. Army. My hope is that this blog post be taken to heart, because I love my brothers and sisters in Christ and love all my neighbors in America.

Our Lord and Savior (on the eve of His betrayal) said to His disciples,

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another. (John 15:12-17, NASB)

The Heavy Stone

George Whitefield Rock, West Brookfield, Massaschusetts

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth with His two hands: His Word and His Spirit.¹ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”² 

The Lord God declared to the man, that the penalty for sin is death.³ Sin is lawlessness; sin is doing what you know to be wrong and not doing what you know to be right.⁴ The Lord God commanded the man to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.⁵ The man ate,⁶ “and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”⁷

“The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”⁸

It is the nature of God to forgive sin and it is the nature of God to by no means leave the guilty unpunished. This creates a paradox, because if God forgives sin He cannot punish the guilty, because if He punishes the guilty man He does not forgive his sin. How can God forgive sin and by no means leave the guilty unpunished? “Could an omnipotent being (God) create a stone so heavy that even they could not lift it?”⁹ The amazing answer to this paradox is given to us in the Epistle to the Romans:

as it is written,

" There is none righteous, not even one;

There is none who understands,

There is none who seeks for God;

All have turned aside, together they have become useless;

There is none who does good,

There is not even one."

"Their throat is an open grave,

With their tongues they keep deceiving,"

"The poison of asps is under their lips";

"Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness";

"Their feet are swift to shed blood,

Destruction and misery are in their paths,

And the path of peace they have not known."

"There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.¹⁰

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1 Cf. Gen 1:1-5 & Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons.

2 Gen 1:27-28.

3 Gen 1:17.

4 1 Jn 3:4.

5 Gen 1:16-17.

6 Gen 3:6.

7 Rom 5:12.

8 Ex 34:6-7.

9 Averroës, 12^th century Aristotelian philosopher.

10 Rom 3:21-28.

You Belong to Christ

1 Corinthians 3:23, “and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.”

Think about the profound meaning of that statement, “and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.” Jesus in His high priestly prayer to the Father said, “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.” (Jn 17:9-10, NASB) All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus. All authority belongs to both the Father and the Son. Nothing can hurt us, because we are His position. The 18^th century Colonial Pastor-Theologian Jonathon Edwards believed that the purpose for creation was to create a kingdom for the Son of God and a people for His own possession.1

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     1 Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan, The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015), 109-110.

Why Church History Matters, An Invitation to Love and Learn from Our Past

Biographical Sketch of the Author

Robert F. Rea, PhD, is professor of church history at Lincoln Christian University in Lincoln, Illinois. He is a member of the North American Patristics Society and the American Society of Church History. Prior to teaching he was in pastoral ministry from 1974-1987. He received a PhD from Saint Louis University. He received a MDiv from Emmanuel School of Religion and a BA/B.Th. from Kentucky Christian University.1

Summary of the Contents

When Dr. Rea began to teach, he knew that he needed a text book that would inspire students to study what he calls “the Christian tradition.” The book is broken down into three sections following an introduction. Each section is further broken down into 2-4 subsections. The main three sections are:

1.      How We Understand the Tradition.

2.      Expanding Circles of Inquiry.

3.      Tradition Serving the Church.

In the introduction, Dr. Rea explains in brief the question that he intends to answer in the book, Why Church History Matters? When Dr. Rea came to do his doctoral work on church history, he was asked by an inquisitor, “If theology only comes from the Bible, and if we can get everything we need from the Bible, why are you here?”2 The inquisitor knew that he was a protestant and heard him answer another inquisitors question about his beliefs on theology by saying, “I believe that theology should be Bible-based.”3

This book is a call to Christians who love the Bible to study historic Christians and their wisdom and experiences throughout the ages—to understand the Bible and theology better and to experience a fuller Christian life…I hope to stimulate the study of church history among those who love God, love the Bible, love the truth and seek to know the truth and its application for life.4

In short, the book is a call for Christians to join hands with all Christians across throughout the ages.

In part 1, “How We Understand the Tradition,” Dr. Rea shows how Christians throughout the ages understood the tradition. That throughout church history Christians looked to their predecessors to understand truth. Some abused this to promote their own agendas, but we should not cast aside tradition because someone in the past used it for wrong.

In part 2, “Expanding Circles of Inquiry,” Dr. Rea explains why church history matters, it is because Christianity is not a self-faith, but it is a we-faith. We can study the Bible ourselves, but then need to go outward, to those closest to us, to our local church, to our own denomination, to other denominations with similar theological views, to those with contrasting theological views, to cultures different than our own, and across the ages. It is when we go through these circles that we come to what he calls “Consensus Fidelium.”

In part 3, “Tradition Serving the Church,” Dr. Rea explains how Christian history helps us to minister more effectively in the same way that it helps us to better understand Scripture. We can study what others did in the past to more effectively minister in the present. In the end, he tells us the real reason church history matters. “Church history helps us celebrate the whole body of Christ!”5 Studying church history helps us to see that our church family extends far beyond the local body.

Critical Evaluation

In the introduction Dr. Rea said, “The ideal reader of this book is a student who, throughout this book, is described as a Bible-focused Christian.”6 What he means by this is Bible-focused Protestants Christian. Having just studied through church history myself, from the 1st century to the 21^st century, and being a Bible-focused Protestant Christian, I can say that it is very worthwhile to know the tradition. My pastor has a PhD in Patristic Church history, because of the things that he says from the pulpit about the early church beliefs and practices while expositing the Scriptures, I decided to study theology formally at a seminary. Encouraging others to study “the tradition” as Dr. Rea does in this book is very important to the body of Christ.

I would recommend this book to all my Protestant brethren. Most love the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the Church. As this book attest, they can understand the Bible better by knowing church history, and know the Church better as well. I would like to use the teaching from this book, especially the three parts:

1.      What is the Tradition?

2.      Expanding Circles of Inquiry.

3.      Tradition Serving the Church.

To encourage my local brethren to study church history in order that they may embrace the whole body of Christ and learn from their extended family. Excellent book for anyone who loves God, loves the Bible, loves the truth and seeks to know the truth and apply it in ministry to others.

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1 Dr. Robert Rea, Lincoln Christian University, accessed May 04, 2017, https://lincolnchristian.edu/academics/faculty/rea-robert/?show=cv.

2 Robert F. Rea, Why church history matters: an invitation to love and learn from our past (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014) 13-14.

3 Ibid, 13.

4 Ibid, 15.

5 Ibid, 192.

6 Ibid, 17.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

If you've been part of the Baptist Church for anytime at all you've surely heard of Charles H. Spurgeon; if you are from another evangelical denomination you've likely heard of Charles H. Spurgeon; if your circle is a little further out, you’ve probably heard of Charles H. Spurgeon; that’s because during the 19th century no other preacher attracted larger crowds in London, England, than Charles H. Spurgeon. 

“A number of superb preachers graced pulpits during the Victorian era, yet Spurgeon garnered the title the Prince of Preachers.”1 As a young pastor his preaching drew large crowds. Not only did Spurgeon’s preaching have an influence on the religious history of Britain, but he also founded a pastors’ college which trained young men for ministry. He published his sermons, edited the magazine, “The Sword and the Trowel, and wrote some seventy books. He was the peoples pastor, because like the people he was subject to the effects of a fallen creation. He battled gout, depression, family issues, and dealt with theological debate regarding the down grade controversy.

Even though Charles H. Spurgeon was a preacher in London, England, during the Victorian era, his ministry has influenced me in 21st America. One of my personal favorite books is “All of Grace” by Charles H. Spurgeon. In the 8th chapter he defines faith as being made up of three things: knowledge, belief, and trust. Spurgeon said, “Faith is believing that Christ is what He is said to be and that He will do what He has promised to do.”2 This changed my thinking about preaching as a Reformed Baptist; I cannot make anyone believe in Jesus, nor can I make anyone trust His promise of eternal life, but I can tell you about Jesus and His promise.

     1 John D. Woodbridge and Frank A. James, Church History Volume 2: From Pre-Reformation to the Present Day. The rise and growth of the Church in its cultural, intellectual, and political context (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013) 601.

     2 C. H. Spurgeon, All of grace (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2003) 63.

History of Christianity During the 17th Century

For the past 20 years, I have worked as a Critical Care Registered Nurse; which means that I take care of people who would normally die without interventional care. Most who are critically ill recover, but some do not, therefore I witness a great deal of suffering and death. This is one of the reason that I am compelled to share the gospel in a lost and dying world.

In this week’s study in History of Christianity we read about the 17th Century. One of the things that stunned me most was the death rates and the reason for it during the 17th Century. In Europe, the infant mortality rate was 30-35%, 50% of the population died by the age of thirteen, and average life expectancy was twenty-three to twenty-six. England had it much better, average life expectancy was thirty to thirty-five.1 The great majority of my patients are seventy years-plus; they have reached the end of a full life and are in critical condition because of infection, organ failure or injury, all of which is related to age. None of them are there because of war, famine, or plague, which was the 17th Century norm.

During the 17th Century western Christianity was divided among Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Reformed. Catholic theology was defined by the Council of Trent (1545-1563). Reformed theology was defined at the Synod of Dort, which repudiated the Remonstrance treatise put forth by Jan Uytenbogaert and Simon Episcopius who were supporters of the deceased theologian Jacob Arminius. The Synod of Dort ruled that Arminius’s teachings were heretical and rejected the Remonstrance with five counter responses known by the mnemonic TULIP. Lutheran Germany fell into infighting after Luther’s death. German Pietism arose through Philipp Jakob Spener as a reaction to dead orthodoxy. The theology of the Pious centered on: conversion, the centrality of scripture, sanctification, and church renewal (the priesthood of all believers). In England, a Puritan movement was occurring. Some within the Puritans sought to reform the Church of England, while others sought separation. The Puritans can loosely be defined as those who relate to the theological tenets put forth by the Westminster Assembly.2

Keeping the Puritan movement in mind, authority played a large part in the History of Christianity during the 17th Century. The people were in a web of hierarchical relations and always subject to superior powers. People were divided into three estates: clergy, nobility and the people, but a monarch enjoyed the privilege of supreme authority over the three estates. There was much revolt during the 17th Century, which lead to the dismal life expectancies. The Roman Catholics accused Calvinist of having such a revolutionary spirit, particularly with the Huguenots in France. There was even infighting among Roman Catholics between Jesuits (Trent Catholics) and Jansenist (Augustinian Catholics). Most in Christendom held that the Bible was the inspired written revelation of God; however Roman Catholics held to a duel authority of tradition and Scripture. Scripture to Roman Catholicism means the Latin Vulgate. Protestants held that Scripture alone held the authority of God on earth. Protestants held that the true Scriptures are the Hebrew and Greek text, but believed that they should be translated into the vernacular for all people to read.3 The 17th Century is an interesting and active period in History of Christianity and forms a great deal of the beliefs and practice of the Church today.

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     1John D. Woodbridge and Frank A. James, Church History Volume 2: From Pre-Reformation to the Present Day. The rise and growth of the Church in its cultural, intellectual, and political context (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013) 285-286.

     2 Ibid, 253-284.

     3 Ibid, 315-354.