A Blog About Stories

I have always loved stories, both listening to them and telling them.  I majored in history in college because I liked stories.  Now I am pursuing a Ph.D. in church history and historical theology, and I am daily challenged, inspired, and edified by the stories of Christians of the past.  So I am starting a new blog.  A blog about stories.  About the big story of God’s work to redeem lost sinners all over the world, and about the little stories of those He has redeemed.  Before I started this blog, I asked myself what you may be asking: Why another blog?  Why about history?  Hardly anybody really likes history anyway, right?  

Why I have started Redeeming History:  

1. I am fascinated by the stories of what God has done, how people have walked with Him, understood Him, and told others about Him.  I am convinced these stories from the past can be useful and inspiring today.  I hope you will be encouraged and built up as you read about God’s work in history and the stories of His church.
2. I want to post material that will be helpful to others.  The best way I can do this right now is to write about what I spend most of my time studying, the history of Christianity.  I hope to post several times a week.  This exercise will help me think through what I am reading and learning, and will hopefully be of use to some of you as well. 
3. For the past couple of years I have wanted a blog like this to read.  I’m sure there are a lot out there, but I have not found them.  So I figure I’ll give it a shot. 

What Redeeming History will be:

1. A focused blog.  This is not a blog about anything that crosses my mind.  For that, see our family blog, Reactions and Worship.  “Redeeming History” is about the heroes, thoughts, and stories of Christian history.
2. A blog filled with quotes and stories from church history.  I read a lot every day, and this is a great way for me to pass along some of the better stuff I come across.  This will sometimes take the form of quotes from guys like Jonathan Edwards, Martin Luther, St. Augustine, and Carl F. H. Henry.  These men thought more than we do and often times differently (and better) than we do.  Sometimes I’ll just tell a great story of how God worked in an amazing way, or a sad story of how Christ’s church didn’t measure up to its calling. I think we can learn from both kind of stories.
3. A resource blog.  I will regularly point readers to great church history sites and blogs on the Internet.  See the right margin for some of the helpful links I already have up.  I will also review and recommend books and articles. 
4. A blog for everybody.  This is not just a place for people getting Ph.D.’s in church history.  I will mainly focus on stories and quotes that can help Christians grow closer to Christ and think in a more biblical way about church and life.  I am a historian in training, so at times I will post and point to some more scholarly stuff.  But good historical work does not mean boring or disconnected from real life.  I hope everything on this site will build up Christ’s church in some way. 
5. A place for discussion.  I look forward to questions and dialogue through the comments section.  If you want to know more about a story or a quote, or would like to know where to read more, or disagree with my take on something, then please comment.