The Catholic Church begins to recognize the need for reform.
The internal reforms and changes that the Catholic Church makes during this
post-Reformation era help produce a rejuvenated, invigorated Catholic Church.
1540
The Catholic Church founds the Jesuit order (or Society of
Jesus, S.J. for short). This order of monks is a part of the Catholic Church’s
response to the Reformation by allowing them to be more independent than other
groups. Driven by a devotion to God and to learning, they establish missions
and universities around the world. The same ideals continue to characterize the
order today. If you meet a person with “S.J.” after his name, you can bet he’s
both a priest and a scholar.
1609
John Smyth founds the Baptist Church in England.
1670
Philip Jacob Spener, a Lutheran pastor, founds the Pietist
movement, which stresses the importance of the Christian faith starting with a
new birth in Christ. Pietism impacts many Protestant Christians during this
era, including such people as John Wesley.
1703-1791
John Wesley (born in 1703 – see Chapter 18) founds the
Methodist Church in 1744. He travels for decades around England on horseback,
preaching the gospel outdoors to the poor and underprivileged who would feel
uncomfortable in a formal church setting. He maintains an active ministry,
which includes opposition to slavery, until his death in 1791.
1734
The Great Awakening (a Christian revival in which many
people are convicted of their sin and commit themselves to Jesus Christ) starts
in the American colonies in 1734, triggered by the preaching of Jonathan
Edwards, a New England pastor. Over the next 30 years, the Great Awakening
moves southward throughout the colonies, having a significant influence on the
spiritual life of the colonists and bringing many to Christianity. Some estimates
say that around 80 percent of all colonists developed a common biblical Christian
faith as a result of the Great Awakening.
1789
The leaders of the French Revolution rebel against Church
authority. This rebellion against the Church emerges as a sign of modern
secularism.
1793
Often considered the father of modern Protestant missions,
William Carey, an evangelistic preacher, travels to India. He eventually
translates the Bible into numerous Indian languages.
1820-30s
The Second Great Awakening in the United States begins as
Charles Finney preaches throughout western New York. His mixture of preaching
and showmanship lights a spark that starts to spread across the nation. The revival
moves southward into the Appalachians and comes up with a new revival style –
the camp meeting, in which a preacher holds a revival for several days and
provides shelter for people far from home who attend. These old-fashioned
revivals often involve entire towns and counties. As it continues to spread
westward, Baptist and Methodist churches grow exponentially as a result of the
revival. Churches continue having these meetings to the present day, calling
their evangelistic meetings revivals, and some still calling them camp meetings.
However, they’re usually restricted to a few days within just one local church.
1901
The Protestant Pentecostal movement begins in Topeka, Kansas
in 1901 when Pastor Charles Fox Parham leads a woman into an ecstatic experience,
which he calls “the baptism of the Holy Spirit,” and she starts to speak in
tongues. The Pentecostals emerge as the first modern-day group of Christians to
promote speaking in tongues. See Chapter 12 for more on this topic.
1962-1965
Pope John XXIII and his successor Paul VI assemble a council
known as Vatican II that helps the Catholic Church reach out to a modern
population without changing their core beliefs. The 16 documents that emerge
from Vatican II both restate traditional Catholic teaching and offer extensive
teaching on contemporary social issues.
1978
Pope John Paul II is elected pope.
1950-present
Billy Graham founds the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association and begins his ministry of preaching in evangelistic
crusades. Graham is believed to have preached the Good News of Jesus Christ to
more people throughout his ministry than anyone else in the history of the
world has.
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