The Unknown History of the Church – Young Leaders
One of the complaints often lodged against each new generation of ministers is its ignorance of church history: for many young ministers, church history begins the day of their credentialing or with their first ministry position.
It was true in my own life. When I was a young minister, though I was a history buff – I loved world, American, and Ohio history (I’m a Buckeye by birth) – I didn’t value church history or the importance of keeping my life and ministry organically attached to the doctrinal and missional heritage of the church. Like many young ministers, I thought I would be a part of an entirely new thing God would do, one somehow not dependent on or attached to the historical doctrine and sustained work of God over the centuries.
Through study and the help of others I have come to love and depend on the history of the church in my study and application of doctrine, ecclesiology, missiology, etc. I’m thankful for the mentors who not only taught my history to me, but who have helped me connect to it, love it, and put it to work in my life and ministry.
With this in mind, allow me to convene a brief course in church history. The subject is one of which you may not be aware: Young World Changers
Consider the Following . . .
In 1794, Richard Allen founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), the first independent black denomination in the United States. He was 34 years of age at the time when he trusted and obeyed God in launching this historic denomination.
In 386 AD when 32 years old, Augustine of Hippo converted to Jesus Christ and soon began writing theological works that immediately affected and defined the church and Western Civilization. Those works continue to do so to this day.
William and Catherine Booth were 36 years of age when, in 1865 in London, they launched the ministry that would eventually be known as The Salvation Army. The Salvation Army quickly became one of the most faithful and effective ministries of the Gospel around the world and remains so today.
In 1731, at 28 years of age, Jonathan Edwards delivered the seminal lecture that gave birth to the nation-defining Great Awakening in the New England region of America. His preaching not only fueled that revival, but helped define the principles that led to the American Revolution and American Independence.
Jim and Elisabeth Elliott were 25 years of age in 1952 when they arrived in Ecuador to take the Gospel to those who had never heard. Four years later, Jim gave his life in that cause. Elisabeth continued on with the work, even leading several of her husband’s killers to salvation in Jesus Christ. Together, they gave us a call to live by: “He is no fool who gives up that which he can never keep to gain that which he can never lose.”
In 1949, Billy Graham was 31 years old when his evangelistic ministry went national in impact. By the time he turned 40 he had preached the Gospel to countless millions around the world.
At 29 years of age, Carl F.H. Henry helped create the National Association of Evangelicals. He wrote his first theological work when he was 33 years old and at 34 he helped begin Fuller Theological Seminary.
In 1402, at 33 years of age, in Prague, Republic of Czech, Jan Hus effectively launched what would later be called the Reformation. While names like Luther and Calvin are better known, it was Hus who gave theological birth to this movement that changed the world. He would die at just 46 years of age for his ministry.
Thomas Jefferson was 33 years of age in 1776 when he was the principal writer of the US Declaration of Independence, a document that directly cites and frequently alludes to Scripture. For this, philosopher G.K. Chesterton deemed the US the only nation ever founded upon a creed – imperfect in application, to be sure, but a religious world view still, one that continues to speak of freedom to the world this day.
Martin Luther King Jr. was 25 years of age in 1954 when he began to lead a national fight for civil rights for all Americans. At 28 years of age he became president of the Southern Leadership Conference. At 35 years of age he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the doors of the Wittenberg Church in 1517. He was 33 years old at the time.
At 33 years of age, Albert Mohler, Jr. was appointed president of Southern Seminary in 1993. Many evangelical leaders credit Mohler as the leader of a movement that pulled the Southern Baptist Convention back from a theologically liberal trajectory, and so, helped the evangelical church at large to remain true to its biblical foundations and focus.
In 1783, William Pitt (the Younger) became Prime Minister of Great Britain at 24 years of age and distinguished himself during a highly turbulent period in Europe that included the French Revolution and its chaotic rebellion against not only tyranny, but Christianity.
Oral Roberts launched his evangelistic ministry in 1947 at 29 years of age, a ministry that many evangelicals cite as second only to that of Billy Graham in its evangelistic effect. He later founded Oral Roberts University.
William J. Seymour was the key leader and pastor to the Azusa Street Revival that began in 1906, a revival that gave birth to the Pentecostal movement of the 20thcentury. He was 36 years old when the meetings began.
Lillian Trasher sailed alone from the US to Egypt in 1910 at just 23 years of age. Upon arriving, she began what would become the largest orphanage work in the world up to that time. Though she is now with the Lord, her work for Christ continues among the orphans of Egypt.
Breaking church and civil law, William Tyndall translated the Bible into English between 1524 and 1525. He was 30 years old when he began his historic work. Twelve years later he would be put to death in Brussels (Vilvoorde), Belgium for the “treasonous” act of giving Anglophones a Bible in their own language.
Benjamin Garfield was elected to serve as principal (president) of Princeton Seminary in 1886. He was 35 years of age when elected. As principal of the seminary, he led an international movement arguing for biblical inerrancy. His work in this regard was critical to the doctrine and life of the evangelical church then and now.
George Whitefield is credited as the primary preacher of The Great Awakening in what were then the American colonies of England. He was 26 years old in 1740 when he began preaching this revival that shook the colonies and helped to found a nation that continues to send missionaries to the four corners of the world today.
At 36 years of age, William Wilberforce, follower of Jesus Christ, set in motion a national revolution against the tyranny of slavery in England. Wilberforce was attacked by many for his even, even ostracized by many in society. But Wilberforce would not be dissuaded or defeated: nineteen years after beginning his fight in 1787, Wilberforce succeeded. Another David had defeated another Goliath.
In 1722, Count Nicolaus Zinzendorf opened his vast estate to refugees from Moravia, allowing them to build the village of Herrnhut. Within five years and through diligent, personal discipleship of those who continued to come, Zinzendorf had formed a community of believers we know as the Moravians whose missionary work changed the world. Zinzendorf was 22 years old when he opened Herrnhut; he was 27 years old when he formally launched the Moravian community and mission.
Jesus of Nazareth launched his public ministry at the age of 30. He died for the sins of the world at 33 years of age.
Let’s Write Some Church History of Our Own
Should a young generation of ministers learn from and connect with church history? Absolutely! God does not have two churches: a “Millennial” church and an “everything-that-came-before-it” church. His church is one: its birth is described in the Bible and we are the continuation of that church. How critical it is then that we know our own story, that we understand biblical doctrine in its twenty-one centuries of study, and that we move in the same mission launched from the Upper Room of Acts 2.
Should older generations of ministers learn from and connect with church history? Again, absolutely! God does not have a “now” church and a “tomorrow” church: His church is one. Its future is described in the Bible and we are all a part of the present movement into that future. The church – past, present, and future – exists in one continuous, centuries-long day of life and mission: that history is being written today in the lives and ministries of men and women around the world – including the lives and ministries of young adults.
This is not a new thought: from Allen to Zinzendorf, Augustine to Mohler, young ministers have been a vital part of the life of the church and have played a critical role in its mission and ministry. And, almost to a person, these world changers have cited the influence in their lives of world changing mentors – neither is this a new thought.
A Thought
What incredible things could happen if we would release younger ministers to lead! And what incredible ministry could place if younger older ministers stood behind younger ministries, supporting and sustaining them, helping steward their lives, calls, and ministries.
One wonders what would happen if the young and the old could be blended together. What would happen if younger and older ministers could walk together – creativity and experience, energy and wisdom – in leading church and marketplace ministries? What would happen if older ministers walked in coaching-mentoring roles with a new generation of leaders?
What could the church become? How effective could ministry be? How would the world be changed? I hope we’ll find out.
It’s time to write some history. And it’s time we do it together.
Here’s to the younger ministers of church history. And here’s to the older ministers who have walked with them
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NOTE: Journey Pastoral Coaching provides pastoral coaching to Millennial ministers.
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