Outline

Rachael Warren
Candace Wiley
English 103
Introduction: Your neighbors have several families living in the house with them. There are four cars in the driveway, and you never see the same people driving the same one twice. There are frequently kids from the house sent out to mow the lawn of the elderly widow down the street, often they stay and talk with her. You’ve seen some of the women bringing food to the sick on the block, and once a man helped you fix your truck. Your other neighbors are Christians. They wave at you every morning when they get the paper, and you can set your clock by their punctuality to church on Sundays. If the church started out as the first set of neighbors, what caused them to evolve into the second neighbors? Throughout its history, the Christian church has changed in response to pressures of the times and current issues and may have compromised its influence.
1. Description of the early church
a. Theology according to the Bible (New Testament)
b. The place of the early church in society using archeological evidence
c. Outside testaments to the presence of the church such as laws written to control their activities
2. Different Periods of Change within the Christian Church
a. The power role of the Church during the Medieval period
b. Issues within the church that spawned the Reformation
i. Through the eyes of those present at the time- John Wesley, John Calvin, etc
ii. A modern-day analysis of the reformation and the consequences to the church
c. Morality drive period in the United States marked by heavy influence of the church in national laws and awareness campaigns
d. The modern presence of the church
i. What programs/charities the church supports
ii. The public face of the church
iii. Statistics of church enrollment and involvement within the country
3. Comparison of the Early Church to the Modern Christian Church
a. The theology of the church
b. The interaction of the church with the government
c. The structure of the church
4. Conclusion: The modern Christian church has evolved to keep track with the world it serves. Some of those changes have crippled its ministry, while others have allowed the church to grow.