As our small groups wind down for the summer, our Small Group Ministry newsletter column will also take a brief pause. In its place, we will begin a new series throughout the summer that reflects on the history of the church.
This subject is very dear to my heart. Church history is not merely a collection of old names, dates, controversies, and movements. It is our family story. It tells us who we are, where we have come from, the dangers the church has faced, the treasures handed down to us, and how Christ has kept his promise to build his church.
Yet we live in a time with little patience for history. We tend to prize what is new, immediate, efficient, and practical. Church history can seem remote or irrelevant. But that is a serious loss. A church without memory is vulnerable to old errors, shallow in its convictions, and forgetful of God’s faithfulness.
In his introduction to Athanasius’s on the Incarnation, C. S. Lewis reminds us why the wisdom of the past matters. Church history matters, according to Lewis, because:
- It helps us avoid false teaching and set theological boundaries.
- It is fascinating.
- It gives us reason to be optimistic.
- It is the continued story of God working in and through his people.
- It is the story of the church seeking to understand Christ more faithfully.
Robert L. Calhoun once wrote that “the relation between historical and systematic theology is one of continuous reciprocal influence that brings the influence of historical study directly to bear on present-day Christian living” (“The Role of Historical Theology” The Journal of Religion. Vol. 21, No.4, 1941). Church history is not merely about the past. It shapes how we believe, worship, pray, suffer, serve, and follow Christ today.
So this summer, we will look backward—not out of nostalgia, but in order to grow in faithfulness. We will listen to the saints who have gone before us, learn from their wisdom and their mistakes, and remember that we belong to something much larger than ourselves.
This summer, we will look back so that we might follow Christ with greater humility, gratitude, and confidence today.
By Pastor Chad Burrow
