Ten Christian Leaders You Should Know About

In This Chapter

Examining the lives of Christian saints

Looking at the founders of the major Protestant denominations

Admiring radical Christians

Trying to formulate a Top Ten list of Christians is a bit of an oxymoron. The truth is that probably the most Christlike and obedient of Christians are the ones whom you never hear about. They’re too busy serving Christ and others in positions of humility around the world and throughout history that only their Father in heaven and a few people around them understand their true impact.

Nonetheless, many Christians over the past two thousand years have played important roles in the Church, in society, or both. In this section, you explore ten of these folks who are worth getting to know something about.

St. Augustine of Hippo

Augustine (354-430) remains one of the most significant early Christian thinkers and Church leaders who continues to have an influence to this day. Before Augustine became a Christian, he was an intellectual who sensed a battle inside of him between his body and spirit, but he initially dismissed the Bible and Christianity. He toyed with other beliefs but always found them insufficient in dealing with his struggle over what he knew was right and the desires he had to do wrong. Living in Milan, he heard much about the great sermons of Bishop Ambrose, so he started attending services to hear his preaching. Through Ambrose’s sermons, Augustine came to believe that Christianity isn’t simply a religion for the uneducated, but it’s a faith that applies intelligent thought and has legitimate claims of truth.

Augustine constantly struggled with sexual temptation and was unable to find anything that helped conquer his lack of self-control. One day, when walking through his garden and mentally searching for answers, he claimed to have heard a voice from out of nowhere saying, “Take it and read.” A copy of a New Testament was nearby, and Augustine started reading Romans 13:13-14, a passage that deals exactly with his struggles against lust. Through this mystical experience, Augustine became convinced of the truth of Christianity and became a believer. His book Confessions (Oxford Press, 1998) focuses on his personal struggles in coming to the Christian faith.

Augustine became involved in the Church and eventually became the Bishop of Hippo in North Africa. Perhaps his greatest literary work was The City of God (Penguin, 1984), a book that took him years to write. This philosophical work focused on the nature of the relationships between the Christian and the government. Augustine’s work has had a major influence on Christian political thought since that time. Even today you hear about the Just War Theory (see Chapter 14), which has its roots in Augustine’s thought.

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is known as a Christian who truly lived out Christ’s call to “die to self.” His call was to transform the world by portraying Christlike humility.

St. Francis was born Giovanni Bernardone. He grew up in a wealthy Italian noble home and was destined for the knighthood. But after a brief stint as a knight, he decided that the knight’s life was not for him. In stark contrast, St. Francis of Assisi felt that if he was going to live like Christ did, then he had to live a life of poverty, living out the principles that Jesus gave in the Beatitudes (see Chapter 19) and the charge to the rich young ruler in which Jesus said, “Sell all you have, give to the poor, and then come and follow me.” As a result, he left home with little more than the clothes off his back and began living a life of poverty in service to the Lord.

St. Francis eventually went to the pope and requested approval to form a brotherhood (fellowship of brothers in Christ). The pope approved, and Francis and his group of followers became known as Friars Minor (“lesser brothers”). Today, this same order is known as the Franciscans, who remain a vibrant part of the Catholic Church to this day.