Stephen J. Nichols is the host of the popular podcast of the same title. In this book we look at defining snapshots from church history, from early disciples to saints, architecture, kings, and moments in history. Easy to read, with each chapter written to take a mere 5 minutes to read, each concise chapter shows the event or person's modern day relevance.



This was an enjoyable read, an though many of the stories were familiar to me, I can't say that I thought much about the historic building and their relevance in church history before reading this book. It took me a while to read this book, only because I read about once chapter everyday. It was a very enjoyable read, and I really liked how it talks about guarding the "good deposit" by learning from our past.



The final chapter, which is an interview with R.C. Sproul is a great conclusion, and sums up the book well, in speaking on the importance of church history and the Gospel.



"in every generation, the gospel has to be understood anew; it has to be preached with vigor and urgency, because as quickly as we receive it and understand it, like the ancient Galatians, we are fast to move away from it and try to interject some additive that we give to secure our own justification. It is always faith plus something rather than faith alone."



Overall, a very good book that can be read in chapters at a time, or just in 5 minutes a day. I liked how it focuses on how God has preserved the Good News through many generations and empires, using unassuming people and places to show His divine plan for our salvation.





I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Church history is not seemingly a common topic of everyday Christian’s reading. If you haven’t been interested in church history before, take a look at this book: 5 Minutes in Church History. You can check out the sublime convincing opening chapter here: https://www.ligonier.org/store/5-minutes-in-church-history-paperback/. There are many great elements in reading this book. Firstly, for those that have taken a unit in church history and those that haven’t, this is not a systematic breakdown of the two thousand years of Christian history stopping in with both expected and unexpected people which means that there isn’t a barrier to entry and the well-known topics are not always covered in the normal way. Secondly, the adaption of this book from a podcast means that the book is written like a conversation with some exhortation added. Unfortunately, there are a few terms sprinkled through out the book which did require definition. The other minor problem with the book is that most of the content falls into Catholic or Protestant history rather than equally covering Orthodox. On the whole, this tourist tour of Christian history whets the appetite for its readers and is a delight to read.
I have been provided with a free eBook for evaluation from NetGalley but all thoughts are my own.

Once again we bring up the subject of Church History. Why is this issue important? It is important for the church to study its history to see where it has been and where it is heading in the future. There have been many books on the subjects as well as podcasts. One of those is 5 Minutes in Church History hosted by Stephen Nichols.

If you have not noticed by now, that is also the same title of Nichols' new book, which is published by Reformation Trust. Each chapter in this book is episodes from the podcast's early years which has been divided into four sections, which address moments from The Early Church, The Middle Ages, The Reformation, and The Modern Age.

The beginning of the book reminds about the work of the Holy Spirit in the church. The Holy Spirit is not unique in our day and time. He is also not an individual gift but a corporate gift to the body of Christ. The Spirit has used men and women throughout Church History to carry on the mission of the church.

As I mentioned the chapters in the book are episodes in the early days of the podcast so they are short and should not take very long to read. If you are fan of this podcast, this book is for you. If you love studying Church History, this is indeed a book for you.

First sentence of the preface: This book offers a series of postcards from church history. There are postcards of people, places, events, artifacts, dates, and ideas. I offer these postcards in the hopes that you will enjoy visiting the past--and that you will go back there often.

In 2013, 5 Minutes in Church History premiered as a podcast hosted by Stephen Nichols. The premise mission of both book and pocast is simple: to encourage believers to become more familiar--to "visit the past" often.

The first chapter (but not the first podcast) is titled "Is Spurgeon Right?" This chapter serves as a great WHY to the book. Why do believers need to be connected to the past? What benefits can believers hope to gain by exploring the past and becoming familiar with church history?

Nichols takes inspiration from Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon wrote on why it was important for preachers to use commentaries instead of relying (or relying solely) on themselves and their interpretation of a text. Spurgeon wrote, "It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others." Nichols writes, "Spurgeon reminds us that the Holy Spirit is not an individual gift. The Holy Spirit is a corporate gift to the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit has taught others, and the Spirit uses others to teach us. Spurgeon's argument reaches the conclusion that preachers should use commentaries. Don't be arrogant, and don't think you have a corner on the market of the Holy Spirit, because you don't."
Nichols then supposes what would Spurgeon say to the modern church, "Here's my paraphrase of Spurgeon's argument: 'I find it odd that the church of the 21st century thinks so highly of what the Holy Spirit has taught it today that it thinks so little of what the Holy Spirit taught the church in the first century, the second, the third, the fourth, and son and and so on.' The Holy Spirit is not unique to our age. The Holy Spirit has been at work in the church for the past twenty centuries. We could put the matter this way--it is rather prideful to think that we have nothing to learn from the past...We need a little humility. Enough humility to say we may not have all the answers in the present. Enough humility to say we need the past, and enough humility to visit it from time to time."

The book is arranged chronologically and divided into sections: "The Early Church," "The Middle Ages," "The Reformation," and "The Modern Age." There are forty chapters in all.

I would definitely recommend this one. Dare I say I would even recommend it as a devotional?! I think it would make a great devotional for readers who don't want the typical short, fluffy, light, insubstantial, inspirational, sticky-sweet devotional typically marketed for Christians. It has substance. It is informational and insightful. I think it would even be great for family devotions. That being said, you don't have to approach it as a devotional.

I really enjoyed this one...and not just because it was short. I've always loved history. I haven't always loved church history. But I think that was in part because it can be presented in a way that is overwhelming and much too much. I like the balance between focusing on people, on ideas, on places, on events, on dates, etc.

This book is perfect for someone with an interest in church history that doesn’t want to get overwhelmed! It provides bites of history from the early church to present and concludes with an interview with the late R.C. Sproul. I wouldn’t say it covers all of the typical church history characters and I learned a lot of new things from both the usual people mentioned in church history books and new people. I really appreciated the amount of information on each person. I have read some books on the subject in which I have gotten a little bogged down with information. I will re-read this for certain and maybe even use it when my children study church history for our homeschool.

I’ve been a fan of the podcast 5 Minutes in Church History with Stephen Nichols for a while. In 5 minute segments, Nichols informs his listeners of some topic or character from church history. This book of the same name is based on some of these podcast episodes and, true to its name, each chapter takes roughly 5 minutes to read.

Church history is a fascinating topic, 2000 years of God’s faithfulness, 2000 years of God working in and through the lives and hearts of his church. Sometimes it can seem sort of boring, not because the topic is boring but because sometimes it is presented in a very dry, boring fashion. This is not always a bad thing, but for the person who likes things, short, sweet, to-the-point, yet still informative and meaningful, I would recommend this 150 page introduction by Stephen Nichols. He keeps his readers attention by keeping the chapters short, but packs enough information into them that the reader walks away having learned something.

The book is split into four parts. Beginning with the early church, Nichols provides an overview of John’s disciples Ignatius and Polycarp, the catacombs, the council of Nicea in 325, and other topics. He moves onto the middle ages introducing us to topics like the five ways of Thomas Aquinas and the year 1516, providing an excellent segway to the next portion on the protestant reformation. Readers will likely be somewhat familiar with Luther and maybe his wife, but there were some very fascinating chapters in this, some of which I was unfamiliar. Most touching I think, was the bravery spoken of by the four men who wrote and signed the Guanabara Confession of Faith which was immediately followed by their martyrdom. Finally, Nichols brings us to the modern age with names like Jonathan Edwards, J. Gresham Machen, B. B. Warfield, Francis Grimke, and Eric Liddell.

“5 Minutes in Church History” is a solid book, great for the beginner or busy person to begin their study of church history.

The information in this book was somewhat interesting, but the selection of historical events seemed rather random. These essays were originally podcasts, and the material is rather thin and aimed at those wanting a "quick listen." This book might be good for middle or high school religious studies or for adults new to the faith.

This isn't a bad summery of Church history. It would be helpful for someone who doesn't know about Church history. My interest was piqued in a couple of areas that I am not aware of. I would have like more.
I received this book free from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review.

This is a great short run through the history of Christianity. The author covers a bunch of less known events and keeps your interest captivated throughout this short book.

If you love biographies, especially short, to-the-point memoirs, then this is the book for you. Although I have never listened to his podcast, apparently this book is based on a popular broadcast by the author. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about some of our church founders, well-known and otherwise. Each of the 40 chapters feature a different snippet about the history of the church that the author refers to as "postcards" and each chapter can be read in about 5-minutes, as the title infers. The only thing that was off-putting about this book was the writing style, which was adapted from the spoken word of the radio broadcast. The author has an annoying habit of beginning some chapters with "This is the story of ______" and then ending the same chapter with "And that is the story of ______". The reader is smart enough to know that all of these are stories, and we know when the story begins and ends. It reminded me of high school, when you try to get 500 words into that book report and begin stating the obvious. Overall, that is a very minor detail and it would not keep me from recommending the book, which was excellent.