BONUS: Roundtable Discussion with Dr. Stephen Presley

Watermark Equipping Podcast

Description: In this episode, host Oren Martin is joined by guests Blake Holmes and Dr. Stephen Presley to discuss why church history matters, what we can learn from it, how to engage our culture with the gospel, and how to think and act Christianly when it comes to politics.

Part I: Introduction (00:00-04:23)

1. Center for Religion, Culture, & Democracy
2. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
3. Dr. Stephen Presley, Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World like the Early Church

Part II: What is the value of church history and why should it matter for Christians today? (04:23-08:24)

1. Athanasius, On the Incarnation (Introduction by C.S. Lewis)
2. St. Augustine, On the Catechising of the Uninstructed

Part III: Is politics the downstream from culture and how should our discipleship to Jesus inform our culture and our politics? (08:24-13:06)

1. 10 Things You Should Know about Catechesis
2. James Davidson Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World

Part IV: As believers, how are we to live as Christian citizens? (08:24-16:17)

1. “We should avoid the dangers of both the warrior mentality that can lead to anger and the passivity that can generate separatism and seclusion. This is no mushy middle, but a stalwart high ground on which one will not lose footing or tumble off in either direction. Walking this tightrope requires the pursuit of virtuous living that demonstrates Christians to be the best citizens.” Dr. Stephen Presley, Cultural Sanctification (page 70).
2. “I choose not to fall on either side, but have a posture of confidence, of hope, of fortitude, of living faithfully in this situation and that is what I found in the early church doing.” Dr. Stephen Presley.

Part V: How do we see similarities and dissimilarities between the early church and the church today? How can we as Christians today glean wisdom from the past? (16:17-22:06)

1. Ferdinand Mount, Full Circle: How the Classical World Came Back to Us
2. Who was Justin Martyr?
3. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho
4. Tom Holland, Dominion
5. Peter Greer & Chris Horst, Mission Drift: The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches
6. Andrew Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith

Scripture Mentioned: 1 Thessalonians 4:13

Part VI: What does it mean to be a faithful citizen and to honor those in authority, even when it’s hard? (22:06-30:15)

1. Who was Tertullian?
2. Who was Polycarp?
3. Blandina: A Sister in Christ and a Spiritual Mother
4. Who was Eusebius of Caesarea?
5. “Christians are not distinguished from the rest of humanity, by country, language, or custom. For no where do they live in cities of their own, nor do they speak some unusual dialect, nor do they practice an eccentric lifestyle. They demonstrate the remarkable and admittedly unusual character of their own citizenship, that is, they live in their own countries as aliens, they participate in everything as citizens, yet endure everything as foreigners. They live on earth, but their citizenship is on Heaven.” – The Epistle to Diognetus

Scripture Mentioned: Romans 13:1, 1 Peter 2:13-17, 1 Peter 3:14-17.

Part VII: Who are some things from church history that we can learn from today? (30:15-40:54)

1. Tertullian, The Apology