Module 5: Early Church Organization
Hi everyone, and welcome to the fifth module of the History of Christianity 1 Course. In this section, we'll be looking at a few remaining features and experiences of the early church.
This module will help you to understand the organization and leadership of the the early church, and how it developed. And you will examine the worship, evangelism, and discipleship activities of the early church, including the typical pattern of an early church worship gathering. And you will be exposed to the variety of ways that the early church impacted its own world, and how the results of the early church are still experienced today, in order to learn some principles that can be applied in your own life.
The student will have opportunity to evaluate the longer-term effects of these movements, approaches, and practices, and the lessons that can be learned from the early church. This module will also aid the student to work through how the lessons learned are applicable in their own life and ministry.
Introductory Scenario
Imagine that you are going to start a new church from scratch. Because this is a new church, you will design how the church leadership is organized, as well as all the practices and activities of the worship gathering. How would you go about designing all of these things? How would you decide what to include? What resources would you draw from to make these decisions? Please consider these questions and be watching for material that will help you answer them as you work through this module.
Module Objectives and Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, the student will:
- Describe the organization and worship liturgy of the early churches, and the implications of these for ideal modern church organization and liturgy.
- Articulate the nature and value of the practice of catechism and the use of creeds, and how these ideas can be implemented in current situations.
- Evaluate the patterns and practices of public worship in early churches, and how these insights can help the evaluation of current worship practices.
- Articulate the typical lifestyle and evangelism strategies of the early church and apply those insights to their own life and ministry.
- Demonstrate how the early church changed their world, and using the insights gained, strategize how the current church can follow that example.
- Place the major people and issues from this period in a general chronology.
Instruction Guides
In this section, you'll find links to important instructional documents for this module. Click the following links to open each document. There is a set of instructions for individual study and a document for group study.
Textbook Content
In this section, you'll find a study guide for the textbook reading for module 5. And then you'll find the link to a practice quiz covering this textbook reading.
This section also contains a review quiz to test your understanding of the textbook material for this module. By clicking the banner below, you will be given a series of questions, in random order. The quiz will be different each time, so feel free to take it more than once.
Click the button next to the best answer for each question, or drag each term to its best definition. Then press the Submit
button at the bottom to see if your answers are correct.
Lecture Content
In this section, you will find the video lectures for the Early Church Organization & Worship module. Click the banner to open access to the video. There are also links with the video if you prefer to watch on the Rumble or YouTube interface or download just the audio to listen offline.
Reviews
In this section, you will find the review slides from the course lectures for module 8. This is a convenient way to view and review the summaries for each lecture. Click the banner to open the slide show.
Click the prev.
and next
buttons (bottom right of the slide) to move through the slides. You can also click on any thumbnail to go directly to that slide.
Discussion/Reflection Questions
This section contains questions for further thought and discussion from Module 5. It is recommended that you take time to think through these issues in order to thoroughly grasp the significance and explore the application of the material you are learning. These questions can also be used as essay questions in a classroom setting exam. Below, you will find links to the Response and Application Reflection Instructions for Individuals, and the Response and Application Discussion Instructions for Groups. And you will find a link to the detailed question document for this module. Or Click the banner below to view the questions in a simplified format.
The following questions are for your thoughtful consideration and discussion:
- What did you learn about organization and leadership? How does it apply?
- What did you learn about catechism? What difference does it make?
- What did you learn about worship? How can you apply it?
- How did the church influence the culture? What can you learn and apply from this?
- What else did you learn? How does it apply?
(Optional) Timeline - Part 5
This section contains instructions for an optional Timeline activity to be constructed over all sixteen modules. Below is a link to the detailed instructions for this activity.
Step Five of the Timeline should include the following information:
- Any significant changes from the church leadership of the New Testament church, to the later, more structured, early church organization.
- Any significant changes of the church's liturgy from the Jewish/New Testament worship to the later, mostly Gentile, explicitly Christian, standardized worship liturgy.
- The changes and impacts the church had on the surrounding culture.
Annotate any significant approaches, ideas and principles from the early church, which were influential on their own worship, and which impacted their society, and which are applicable to the current church and Christian life.
(Optional) Principles Chart - Part 5
This section contains instructions for an optional Principles Chart activity to be constructed over all sixteen modules. Below is a link to the detailed instructions for this activity.
Step Five of the Principles Chart will add any important principles noted from the organization and worship of the early church, as well as the impact their lifestyle and evangelism had on the wider society.
It is suggested that the student begin this activity before watching the Guiding Principles
portion of the lecture. Then the student may supplement their work after learning additional insights from the Guiding Principles.
(Optional) Term Project - Research
The student will continue locating relevant resources and researching about their chosen topic for their term project. The student should read the research of reputable historians (hopefully at least some writing from a faithful Christian world view). But, as much as possible, the student should also read primary sources, to learn firsthand the views and experiences of the people involved in those things. The course textbook the course bibliography, the course lectures, and the primary resource reading lists are good places to start for finding quality resources.
Below is a link to detailed instructions for the entire project.
Primary Source Reading
This section contains instructions and resources for the Primary Source Reading activity. The student should read a minimum of 10-20 pages from a primary resource or resources discussed in this module's lecture and write or discuss a brief response to their reading. Below is a link to detailed instructions for the Primary Source Reading, which contain a list of recommended resources, by module. And click the banner below to access a list of recommended resources with links to where they may be found.
The following is a list of the recommended primary sources for this module. This list contains links to the resources in print and/or online format. These links may change, so feel free to search for other sources for these same titles. In addition, please do not feel you are limited only to this list. Feel free to choose from any primary source from the period and topic covered in this module:
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The Didache - (in The Apostolic Fathers),Print ISBN : 978-9354172885, 978-0801031083, 978-0140444759, or 978-1683590644
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First Apology,Print ISBN: 978-0985604530, 978-0809104727, 978-1597526036, 978-0985604530, 978-0813215525, or 978-1602064690Online: Early Christian Writings, or ccel.org
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The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching,Print ISBN: 978-0881411744Online: Early Christian Writings, or ccel.org
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Against Heresies,Print ISBN: 978-0985604530, 978-0809105991, 978-0809106264, or 978-1608996247
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On Baptism,Print ISBN: 978-1498295796Online: Early Christian Writings, tertullian.org, NewAdvent, or ccel.org
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On Prayer,Print ISBN: 978-1498262897Online: Early Christian Writings, NewAdvent, or ccel.org
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The Apostolic Tradition,Print ISBN: 978-0881415209, or 978-1107429086Online: St. Johns, or gutenberg.org
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The Old Roman Creed,Online: godwords.org, or focus-on-god.org
Review Quiz
This section is a link to a review quiz to test your understanding of the objective material for Module 5. By clicking the banner, you will be taken to a series of questions, in random order. Answer each question and then push the Submit
button to check your answers. Every question must be answered before you can submit the quiz. At the end, you will be shown your score for the entire quiz. The quiz will be different each time, so feel free to take it more than once. Click the banner to begin the quiz.
Here is a review quiz for the material covered in this module's lectures. Click the button next to the best answer for each question, or drag each term to its best definition. Then press the button at the bottom to see if your answers are correct.
Module Completed!
Congratulations, you have reached the end of the fifth module. I hope that you have found it rewarding and have noticed personal growth.
I encourage you to continue on the next module as soon as is convenient. The button below will take you to Module 6.
