Welcome to Water from a Deep Well, a 12-part series on the history of Christian spirituality,

where we will learn about church history, but not so much through the story of key events and dates

and famous figures, but more through the lens of Christian spirituality. We'll look at our

spiritual ancestors in the arena and second century Rome,

and out in the deserts of North Africa and third century Egypt,

and the cities of Asia Minor in the 4th century,

and on the edge of the map in Ireland and the 6th.

And we'll look at how faith lived in their bones,

how they put flesh and blood on the way of Jesus.

Their spirituality, what they thought was important or not,

what they emphasized, how they read scripture,

what truths and doctrines and practices

and models of community they passed on to the next generation.

We'll look at 12 eras of Christian spirituality, starting with witness the spirituality of the early Christian martyrs, all the way up to resilience, the spirituality of our time.

And from each era, we'll consider what can we learn from and draw on for our apprenticeship

to Jesus today in the modern West and beyond. I'm John Mark Comer from practicing the way,

and I'm your host for the next 12 conversations with Dr. Gerald Sitzer. Dr. Sitzer is a friend and a mentor and a longtime professor of

church history at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, where in retirement he remains a professor

emeritus. He's a widely respected academic, a pastor to pastors, including myself, and a prolific

author, best known for his book, A Grace

Disguised, which tells the story of the tragic loss of his wife and daughter and mother

and a car crash early in his life. He spent 20 years following that as a single dad and a professor

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