A Brief History of the Church

33 A.D. – 1054 A.D. – Unified Church. Growing power/influence of bishop of Rome over the church. Reasons – a) Location, decline of Roman empire – people looked to bishop of Rome to meet needs and provide security. Called him papa – pope, and b) Petrine doctrine – Jesus gave Peter keys to heaven … Peter first bishop of Rome. Keys handed down to his successors. By 800 A.D., bishop of Rome, or pope, was clearly the leader of the church in western Europe.

1054 A.D. – the Great Schism. The bishops of the large churches in the Eastern part of the former Roman Empire – Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Constantinople – did not acknowledge the bishop of Rome as their superior. 1054 A.D., bishop of Rome demanded that the bishop of Constantinople recognize his superiority over the bishops of the East. Bishop of Constantinople refused. The two bishops excommunicated one another. Thus the once unified Church split – Roman Catholic Church in western Europe; Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe and Middle East.

1517 A.D. – Protestant Reformation begins. Origins – John Huss and John Wycliffe attacked unscriptural teachings and excesses of the Roman Catholic Church. Specifically, that one had to go through a representative of the Church to attain salvation. Their teachings weakened the foundations of the monolithic Roman Catholic Church. 1517, Martin Luther took a hammer figuratively and literally and shattered the monolith. He nailed his criticisms (95 Theses) to the church door of Wittenberg. Luther’s intent was not to start a new denomination but to reform the Roman Catholic Church from within. However, a combination of outside political factors and unwillingness of the Roman Catholic Church to reform led to the creation of a new church – Lutheran church.

Luther’s actions opened a Pandora’s box of religious movements.

1525 – Anabaptist movements – Originated in Germany. Name means “twice baptize.” They rejected infant baptism. One must be mature enough to make a confession of faith in order to be baptized. Refuse to take oaths and participate in civil government. Pacifists. Tend to practice communal living. Anabaptist groups include Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, Amish, and Quakers (Society of Friends.)

1534 – Anglican Church – King Henry VIII of England wanted a divorce from his first wife Catherine because after 24 years of marriage she had yet to bear him a son. He had his eye on a beautiful young woman named Anne Boelyn who could provide him with the son he desired. The pope refused largely because Catherine’s brother and most powerful ruler in Europe, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, told the pope not to or else. Henry VIII decided to take England out of the Roman Catholic Church and create his own church and made himself head of the new church called the Church of England or Anglican Church. He promptly received his divorce and married Anne Boelyn. Other motivation – Henry VIII desperate need of cash. Roman Catholic monasteries owned most of the land in England. After creating the Church of England, guess who became the new owner of theses lands? Henry VIII. The rituals and worship style of the Anglican Church remained similar to the Catholic Church. Anglican Church was the predominant church in the United States during the colonial period. After the United States gained its independence from England, the Anglican church in the U.S. became the Episcopal Church.

1536 – John Calvin emerges as a force in the Reformation movement ongoing in Europe. His writings on topics including salvation, the Trinity, faith and works, church-state relations, etc., molded the doctrines of future religious movements and denominations. Presbyterian Church originated out of the Calvinist movement.

1607 – Puritans/Pilgrims. Religious movements within the Anglican Church that sought to “purify” the Anglican Church of its Catholic elements. Essentially, they believed the Anglican Church was too Catholic. They wanted it be more Protestant. Puritans sought to reform the Anglican Church from within. Pilgrims favored separation from the Anglican Church. Puritans/pilgrims were greatly influenced by Calvin’s teachings. Both groups experienced persecution by the Anglican church. They came to the New World to be able to practice their beliefs freely. Descendants of the puritans/pilgrims formed the Congregational Church primarily found in New England.

1607 – The Baptist Church originated as a Separatist Movement within the Anglican Church. Like the pilgrims, Baptists believed the Anglican Church could not be reformed of its Catholic elements. They separated from the Anglican Church. Practiced baptism by immersion following a confession of faith. Baptist movement came to the U.S. in the 1630’s. 1845 – Northern and Southern Baptists split over slavery. Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Baptist denomination and largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.

1738 – Methodist Church originated as reform movement within the Anglican Church under the leadership of John Wesley. The movement focused on Bible study and a methodical approach to scriptures and Christian living. The term "Methodism" was a term of ridicule given to Wesley and his followers. They met in small groups in people’s homes to study the Bible, confess their sins to one another, and to build each other up. They also frequently visited the sick and the poor, as well as prisoners. Methodists emphasized personal holiness. They taught that God does a work separate from salvation that enables a person to live a life of holiness. Wesley, like Luther, was not interested in creating a separate church - only to reform from within. The Methodist Church was organized shortly after Wesley’s death. Methodist Church split over slavery in 1845. They reunited during the mid-20th century. Today, it is known as the United Methodist Church.

The 19th and early 20th century saw the emergence of numerous holiness religious movements similar to Methodism most notably the Church of the Nazarene. These holiness movements emphasized purity in one’s lifestyle. Examples – modest clothing, avoid secular entertainment, steer clear of alcohol.

1901 – Pentecostal/Charismatic churches. Originated as a Holiness movement at a college in Topeka, Kansas. The founder of the college believed that speaking in tongues was evidence that one was filled with the Holy Spirit. One of his students took that teaching to Los Angeles, CA and began what became known as the Azusa Street Revival. Pentecostal/Charismatic movements emphasize a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from the word Pentecost, the time when Holy Spirit descended upon the followers of Jesus Christ, as described in Acts chapter 2. Pentecostals tend to see their movement as reflecting the same kind of spiritual power, worship styles and teachings that were found in the early church. For this reason, some Pentecostals also use the term Apostolic or full gospel to describe their movement. What makes Pentecostalism distinct from other mainline Protestant churches is their teaching of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. At the moment a person is saved, the new believer has the presence of the Holy Spirit. While the Spirit dwells in every Christian, Pentecostals believe that Christ desires to fill the believer with the Holy Spirit. For Pentecostals, this filling or the baptism with the Holy Spirit is a definite experience which happens after salvation and provides those who have been filled with power to serve and to witness and allows them to experience spiritual gifts which are described in the Bible. Traditionally, Pentecostals have taught that the "initial evidence" of baptism of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. Pentecostal worship services are noteworthy for their extremely emotional worship style. The Assemblies of God is the largest Pentecostal church in the U.S.

Jesus’ viewpoint on denominationalism (Mark 9:38-40)

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us.”

What was John’s motive for doing what he did? The man who cast out the demons was not one of the disciples; therefore, he was not “qualified” to perform such a miracle.

What was Jesus’ response? Someone who does such a work in my name is not my enemy. Rather than criticize him, encourage him to continue to do the good work.

There is an alphabet soup of denominations in this country - Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, etc., with hundreds of subgroups within each. They bear witness to how divided the Church is. Denominationalism gives the world/unbelievers the impression that Christians are in competition with one another. Consequently, the work of God has been greatly hindered. Denominations should be less concerned about what divides us and more concerned about what unites us – Jesus Christ and fulfilling His Great Commission to us, His followers, whether Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Mennonite, Catholic, Episcopal, etc.