Alton Gansky - 60 People Who Shaped the Church. Learning from Sinners, Saints, Rogues, and Heroes

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Peter (c. 1 BC64 AD)

Cowardly disciple who became a bold preacher. The first churchs first pastor. Brought heart to the faith.

2. Paul (567)

Apostle to the world, author of over half of the New Testament. The churchs first theologian. Brought intellect to the faith.

3. Josephus (37100)

Secularist who provided a historical backdrop to Christ and the church.

4. Polycarp (69155)

Bishop who embraced martyrdom for the right to reject the gods of Rome.

5. Justin Martyr (100165)

Philosopher turned apologist who refused to make an offering to the gods to secure his freedom.

6. Clement of Alexandria (150215) 47

Theologian who defended the faith against the Gnostics, the original New Age movement.

7. Origen (185254)

Brilliant scholar who lived in the wealth of faith and knowledge while depriving himself of shoes and food.

8. Diocletian (244311)

Emperor who persecuted the church and in doing so helped spread the gospel.

9. Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 264c. 340)

Church historian whose groundbreaking work is still quoted today.

10. Constantine (285337)

First Christian emperoror maybe not. Either way, he made Christianity acceptable.

11. Athanasius (295373)

Intellectual bishop who served the church even though exiled five times.

12. Ambrose of Milan (337397)

Renaissance man ten centuries before the Renaissance. Biblical scholar, musician, teacher, and defender of orthodoxy.

13. Jerome (342420)

Bible translator whose translation was used for a millennium.

Orator and archbishop of Constantinople. A preacher who elevated the preaching arts.

15. Augustine of Hippo (354430)

Pagan turned Christian who became a theologian for the ages.

16. Pope Leo I (c. 400461)

First to declare the supremacy of the pope in all church matters.

17. The Venerable Bede (c. 673735)

Linguist, translator, and important church historian.

18. Anselm (10331109)

Bishop who didnt want to be, and who argued for the existence of God and refused a kings request.

19. Francis of Assisi (11831226)

Friar and gentle founder of the Franciscans. Believed the best sermon was the Christian life. Set up the first manger scene.

20. Thomas Aquinas (12251274)

Odd-looking man whom fellow students called the dumb ox. The dumb ox went on to be called the doctor of angels. Brilliant thinker.

21. John Wycliffe (c. 13201384)

Theologian, translator, and reformer who gave the world the first Bible in English.

22. Nicolaus Copernicus (14731543)

Quiet, unassuming Polish astronomer who showed that the earth need not be the center of the solar system to be the center of Gods love.

23. Martin Luther (14831546)

Former monk, Reformer, and writer who started a movement that split from the Catholic Church. Unintentional founder of the Lutheran church.

24. Ulrich Zwingli (14841531)

Radical Reformer whose love for the Bible (in an age when priests were often unfamiliar with Scripture) led him to break with Catholic tradition. It was a break he was willing to die for.

25. King Henry VIII (14911547)

Ruler who separated church from state and started the Anglican church.

26. Ignatius of Loyola (14921556)

Founder of the Jesuits who blended intellectual and theological principles.

27. William Tyndale (c. 14941536)

Priest who spoke seven languages and was excommunicated and executed for making an English translation of the Bible.

28. Menno Simons (14961561)

Former Catholic priest who became a leader among the Anabaptists. His dedication led to the establishment of the Mennonite order.

29. John Calvin (15091564)

Influential theologian and founder of Calvinism. His theological works are the basis for denominations like the Presbyterians.

30. John Foxe (15161587)

Author of Foxes Book of Martyrs , a centuries-old reminder that faith grew from the deaths of courageous men and women.

31. Jacob Arminius (15601609)

Theologian and the other half of the Calvin/Arminius debate. His doctrine is held by many Protestant churches.

Man of science and advocate of the scientific method; lawyer and statesman. In all these things, a man of faith.

33. Galileo Galilei (15641642)

Astronomer and imperfect man of faith. Often misunderstood by history.

34. Brother Lawrence (16111691)

Simple monk whose brief writings continue to promote an inward path to Gods love.

35. Blaise Pascal (16231662)

Mathematician of deep faith who formulated Pascals Wager. An apologist for the faith from the ranks of science.

36. John Bunyan (16281688)

Lay preacher who wrote Pilgrims Progress while in jail for not conforming to the Church of England. The book remains an inspiration to Christians worldwide.

37. Isaac Watts (16741748)

Writer of some of the most enduring hymns, and also a genius in other areas including languages such as Latin, Greek, French, and Hebrew.

38. George Frideric Handel (16851759)

Failure who was bankrupt, ill, depressed, and surrounded by people who called him that German nincompoop. In less than a month he composed 260 pages of fully orchestrated music called the Messiah.

39. Jonathan Edwards (17031758)

Preacher whom history has painted as a judgmental sermonizer for his message, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

40. John Wesley (17031791)

Anglican minister intent on saving others who found his own salvation after a mission trip. He laid the foundation of Methodism.

41. Charles Wesley (17071788)

Often called the forgotten Wesley, he wrote some of the best-known hymns in history.

42. George Whitefield (17141770)

Orator in an age of orators whose sermons were so powerful that worshipers on two continents went out of their way to hear him.

43. John Newton (17251807)

Slave trader who became a living example of the power of repentance.

44. William Wilberforce (17591833)

Dogged enemy of slavery who found his strength for the fight in his faith, and saw the plight of others and made it his public duty to change a nations thinking.

45. William Carey (17611834)

Persistent missionary and self-admitted plodder who spent over forty years in India with only a small number of converts.

46. Charles Finney (17921875)