Over the past two years, Luke H. Davis has been publishing a series of books on church history, written for young people. First came Redemption: The Church in Ancient Times. It was followed by Reign: The Church in the Middle Ages; Reform: The Church at the Birth of Protestantism; and Renewal: The Church That Expands Outward.
The final volume, covering the period from 1890 to 2023, is Resolve: The Church That Endures Onward. It’s written in the same easily readable and accessible style as its predecessors. Davis explains history by telling stories, imagined (or re-imagined) conversations and events in the lives of key figures in the church over the modern period. While many might lament the state of in the 20th and 21st centuries, Davis has a very different story to tell.
This history includes chapters with familiar names – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Corrie ten Boom, Billy Graham, C.S. Lewis, Francis and Edith Schaeffer, and J.I. Packer. And it includes chapters with names well-known in their time but lesser known today, like Sammy Morris, B.B. Warfield, J.C. Ryle, Francis Grimke, Elisabeth Eliot, Eta Linnemann, and Benjamin Kwashi. Davis selects a key event in the lives of this Christians, dramatizing them to tell his stories. It’s a very effective way to introduce the subject (and people) to younger readers.
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| Luke H. Davis |
He also includes chapters entitled "Fact Files" that highlight other well-known figures, like the great preachers and orators, persecuted Christians, and popular apologists.
Aimed as it is at younger readers, from beginning to end it also reminded me of the people and writers who have played a major or minor role in my own Christian faith, including, Billy Graham, C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, and J.I. Packer.
Resolve is a fitting conclusion to the church history series and a solid read as a standalone volume. Davis has poured some major effort into assembling these volumes, and we – young and old alike – are the beneficiaries.
Davis teaches at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis and chairs the Bible Department there. He’s also taught at schools in Louisiana, Florida, and Virginia. He describes himself as “Presbyterian body, Lutheran heart, Anglican blood, Orthodox spirit,” all of which have served him well in writing the Cameron Ballack mysteries. He has published three Ballack mysteries, Litany of Secrets (2013), The Broken Cross (2015), and A Shattered Peace (2017), and the first book of a new series, Joel: The Merivalkan Chronicles Book 1 (2017). He blogs at For Grace and Kingdom.
Related:
Redemption: The Church in Ancient Times by Luke H. Davis.
Reign: The Church in the Middle Ages by Luke H. Davis.
Reform: The Church at the Birth of Protestantism by Luke H. Davis.
Renewal: The Church That Expands Outward by Luke H. Davis.
Reading a Novel that Stars Your Hometown.
My review of Litany of Secrets.
My review of The Broken Cross.
My review of A Shattered Peace.
My review of Tough Issues, True Hope by Luke Davis.
Some Wednesday Readings
‘My kid’s name resonated in that body’: Steve Nikoui’s interview after State of the Union outburst – Matthew Foldi at The Spectator.
Booknotes: Campaigns of a Non-Combatant by George Townsend – Civil War Books and Authors.
People Hate Daylight Savings. Science Tells Us Why – Teresa Carr at Real Clear Science.
The Bull Pen at Bentonville – Bert Dunkerly at Emerging Civil War.
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