Great Leaders of the Christian Church

by John D. Woodbridge

Offers profiles of top theologians, evangelists, and leaders in the Christian Church from Saint Peter to Billy Graham

Genres: History, Biography, Christianity, Christian, Reference, Leadership

384 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1988

About the author

John D. Woodbridge (Doctorat de Troisieme Cycle, University of Toulouse, France) is Research Professor of Church History and History of Christian Thought at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, where he has taught since 1970. Woodbridge is the recipient of four Gold Medallion Awards.

Reviews

[Doug Adamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unusual format: a brief overview of the person/group/time by, I am assuming, the editor (John Woodbridge) which is then followed by a more detailed account of the person or group by another writer. Often these other writers are experts on the subject. Frequent timeline help to keep the various individuals in a larger historical context. Each introduction gives a brief timeline of major events in the life of the individual. The style of writing and readability of the articles varies with the given writers. Recommendations for further study are given at the end of the book. Given that the book came out in 1988, it is to be expected that resources published since then are not included on the lists. I debated between giving the book a three or a four.

[Jacob Sabin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief bios on many of the heroes of our Christian faith. Can be dry at times, but still contain a wealth of information, given the space dedicated to them.

[Pamela Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brief but most informative book on all the Greats of the Christian Church. I have read a lot of books from the Moody Press and they are always interesting to read for each time period. The church as always evolved and Christian martyrdom just pushed the spirituality that much quicker into the future generations. This book is just packed with all the well- known but humble people of God who looked to Him when it seemed the world had failed the people. I like that they added a bit on Moody himself as the founder of the Moody Bible Institute. I love C.S. Lewis but I actually love John Bunyan as he reaches into the Psyche of man that reaches beyond a value of saying you believe one thing and do another. I am sure he was reaching to the inner person where all the changing really takes place.

[Dan Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of brief but well written biographical sketches of many of the key leaders in the church's history. Starting with the Apostles and ending with C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer and Bily Graham, the chapters are written by Bible, History and Theology scholars (eg. F.F. Bruce writes on Apostle Paul; D.A. Carson on Peter; J.I. Packer on John Calvin; Harold O.J. Brown on Boniface; Martin Luther by W. Robert Godfrey; Leon Morris on John, etc.). Brief but good.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent overview of "famous" (I do not use the term in the same manner that most understand famous today) believers throughout history. A great reference!

[Petersam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please read this book if you recognize Rick Warren, Brian Houston and Andy Stanley, but have no knowledge of Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon and Francis Schaeffer.