CLC Learning Series

This final session brings the whole story into view.Across centuries, we’ve seen the Church rise, fracture, gain power, lose credibility, reform, and expand.Now we arrive at the modern world— where faith is no longer assumed, power is no longer guaranteed, and the Church must rediscover what it truly is.Mission spreads globally. Christians engage injustice and inequality. And the question becomes:What does it actually mean to follow Jesus—in the world as it is today?And underneath it all, one thing remains:The Church is at its best not when it holds power— but when it lives in love.

The Enlightenment sharply challenged Christianity, calling into question its belief in God, revelation, miracles and human need for divine salvation. Naturalistic evolutionary theory sharply challenged biblical doctrines of creation and the uniqueness of humanity. A major Christian response to these challenges was privatization of belief, anti-intellectualism, division of life into “sacred” and “secular”, and the promotion of conversion through personal evangelism and revivals.

We trace how the Bible’s storyline shapes church history and why the mission stays steady even as God’s strategy changes through Jesus and the global church. We then follow the shockwaves of Constantine as Rome, councils, theology, and Christian life reshape one another for the next 400 years. • The Bible framed through mission method managers meltdown miracle mutation • Constantine’s endorsement and the end of persecution • Rome’s growing influence through councils doctrine and public worship • Basilicas parishes and dioceses imported from Roman civic life • Christendom and the long tension between church and government • East versus West differences in authority community and worship • The icon controversy and the debate over representing Jesus • Papal leadership claims Peter’s role and the filioque dispute • Sacramental system in the West versus liturgical presence in the East • Augustine’s life story and why his theology still matters • Donatist and Pelagian controversies on purity grace and human will • City of God just war theory and Christian ethics in public life • Monasticism desert fathers Benedict’s rule and the birth of schools and mission • Mysticism and mendicant movements as alternative paths of renewal • A closing preview of Muhammad Islam and the road toward the crusades 

In the midst of severe persecution, Christianity seemed vulnerable and exposed.Then everything changed.Through Constantine’s rise to power, Christianity moved from being a persecuted movement to a tolerated — and then increasingly favored — religion within the Roman Empire. This brought relief, visibility, and new opportunity. But it also brought new complications.As the Church gained peace and public standing, it also had to wrestle more deeply with crucial theological questions: Was Jesus truly God? And if so, was he also fully human?These debates were not abstract arguments detached from faith and mission. They were the Church’s attempt to speak truthfully about the identity of Jesus and the mystery of the Triune God.This session explores both the gift and the tension of this period: the blessing of peace, the risk of power, and the Church’s effort to speak clearly about who Jesus is.This too is part of our family story.

The story of the Church did not end with the New Testament.After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the gospel began spreading through the Mediterranean world as ordinary believers carried the message of Christ into new cultures and societies.The world into which Christianity was born had been uniquely prepared — through empires, roads, trade routes, and shared languages — allowing the message of Jesus to travel quickly across vast regions.At the same time, early Christians lived under misunderstanding, suspicion, and persecution.Yet through courage, integrity, and distinctive ways of living, the Church continued to grow.This session opens the first pages of the Church’s story beyond the New Testament.This is not a distant story. It is our family story.