I am currently taking a Church History class through Moody online. That is the extent of my all-too light load for this semester. Anways, this week, I’ve been studying the late part of the Early Modern Period. This time period stretches roughly from sometime in the 17th century to a certain time during the early 1900s. As you can see, I’m not a very strong student!
I just finished readin about some major people who participated in this time period and the way they did church. Albert Finney Charles Finney was the founder of the “come forward” method to evangelism. He had a bench at the front of the room where people could come and be interrogated by him (he was previously a lawyer), and “encouraged” to become a convert. This doesn’t exactly reflect Jesus’ method of developing disciples.
Then there’s the rest of the 2nd Great Awakening with all of it’s pragmatism and if-it-works-do-it mindset that is still contagious it today’s church.
And don’t get me started on the medieval period and all the terrible mistakes we made back then.
I know there is a lot of good done in the history of the church, but what I’ve taken from this class so far is, the church continues to get in the way of what God wants done. But He still uses us.
