Tearing down the Wall, Prayer and the Untold Story by Bob Provost
After 72 years of communist rule, which had brought persecution and suppression for everyone including Christians, the Soviet Bloc began to loosen its grip on its people. In 1989, a couple of years before the collapse of the Iron Curtain, another wall was torn down—that of religious freedom. That year, Bob Provost, of the Master’s […]
God’s Forever Family, The Jesus People Movement in America by Larry Eskridge
God’s Forever Family tells the story of the rise, development and influence of the Jesus People (or Freaks, as they were called at the time). The actual movement was short lived, being birthed directly after the 1967 “Summer of Love” in Haight-Ashbury. As the hippies flocked to San Francisco to smoke weed, take LSD, engage […]
The American Puritan by Dustin Benge & Nate Pickowicz
For anyone who enjoys reading American church history, or has an interest in the Puritans, The American Puritans is a treat. Dustin Benge and Nate Pickowicz have showcased the lives of nine Puritans who were greatly influential in the early settling of America including John Cotton, Thomas Hooker, John Eliot and Cotton Mather. These individuals […]
Hot Protestants, a History of Puritanism in England and America by Michael P. Winship
Michael Winship is a professor of history at the University of Georgia and a prolific author of historical volumes. In Hot Protestants, a term used by their contemporaries for Protestants who would later be called puritans (p. 1), Winship traces the history of puritanism from its roots in the 1540s to its collapse, on both […]
The Hidden History of the Historic Fundamentalists, 1933-1948, Reconsidering the Historic Fundamentalists’ Response to the Upheavals, Hardships, and Horrors of the 1930s and 1940s by Jim Owen
Jim Owen, former Associate Professor of History at The Master’s College, believes that historic fundamentalists, especially dispensationalists, have been unfairly portrayed by historians (including many evangelicals). These historians see “historic fundamentalists…as theologically ‘challenged’, politically indifferent, socially uncaring, and economically only one small step above a Social Darwinian Neanderthal” (p. xv). Owen writes this massive tome […]
Blessed, A History of the American Prosperity Gospel by Kate Bowler
The prosperity gospel has emerged from the roots of the 19th century New Thought movement, coupled with elements of 20th century Pentecostalism and the American “can-do” spirit, to become the dominant force in 21st century Christianity, especially in America but increasingly exported globally (chapter one). Professor Kate Bowler spent years researching for this book, visiting […]
God’s Forever Family, The Jesus People Movement in America by Larry Eskridge
God’s Forever Family tells the story of the rise, development and influence of the Jesus People (or Freaks, as they were called at the time). The actual movement was short lived, being birthed directly after the 1967 “Summer of Love” in Haight-Ashbury. As the hippies flocked to San Francisco to smoke weed, take LSD, engage […]
Rescuing the Gospel, The Story and Significance of the Reformation by Erwin W. Lutzer
Erwin Lutzer, former pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, has written an excellent overview dealing with the principle personalities and events surrounding the Protestant Reformation. The book is written with the layman in mind, with simple language and an abundance of full-color pictures and maps. In a short 200 pages, everything the average person would […]
2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, A 21st Century look at Church History from a Pentecostal/charismatic Perspective by Eddie L. Hyatt
Eddie Hyatt writes a very fine overview of the history of Pentecostal/charismatic beliefs and practices throughout church history. As a historical account this volume is accurate and helpful to anyone desiring to understand the roots and developments as well as the present manifestations of charismatic Christianity. But the reader needs to understand that Hyatt is […]
The Rebirth of Latin American Christianity by Todd Hartch
Christianity is on the rise in Latin America, Africa and Asia, and in decline in Europe and North America (pp. XIII-XIV, 1). But what form of Christianity has emerged in Latin America and what has shaped it during the past 60 years? Answering these questions is the mission of Todd Hartch’s book. Hartch believes that […]