50 episodes listed below
The first-century church, one year at a time.
Don Congdon's Present Perfect covers the first-century church in close detail. By his own count, eight installments covered its first eight years. He reads passages from Acts aloud and sets them against Roman provinces, the politics of Judea and the life of Saul of Tarsus.
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Present Perfect: An Applied Church History Podcast is Don Congdon's project, and he introduces himself as its host and guide. Its main thread is a numbered series, 'Inflection Point: The Church of the First Century', which follows the church of Acts closely enough that eight installments covered its first eight years. Congdon jokes that some may have wondered whether the series would ever get out of that decade. That patience is the point. The ground covered includes Stephen's martyrdom, the partial scattering of the Jerusalem church, Philip carrying the message into Samaria, and Saul heading for Damascus with letters from the high priest. What Congdon adds is context. He asks why Saul would travel well over a hundred miles to Syria when congregations were closer at hand. He explains how Roman provinces were created, merged and redefined. He covers why Tarsus mattered as Cilicia's capital and a major academic center, and why Rome kept its citizenship hard to get. Scripture is read aloud from the New American Standard Bible and tested, not just recited. One discussion checks Saul against the test for apostleship in Acts chapter 1, where Matthias replaced Judas Iscariot. It also notes that Luke's account skips Saul's time in Arabia. Another reads Peter's words to the Jerusalem church in Acts chapter 11 to show how the Spirit's coming on Gentile believers ended a debate. Underneath runs the politics of Judea: a core leadership that valued its favored relationship with Rome, and zealot groups laying plans for violent change. The wrap-up of the first decade is built around questions, including what was happening with Israel and what was happening with the Gentiles. His answer is that Israel stood at its own inflection point: thousands had believed, but the nation as a whole had not turned. The tone is steady and plain, with dry asides and at least one sign-off that stops 'on that tantalizing note'. The outlook is openly Christian, and Congdon presents history as a way to know the Lord better. Two holiday specials step outside the series. 'Christmas 2020 Special (The History of Christmas)' covers the Roman Saturnalia and Yule and the pagan meaning of holly and mistletoe. It grants that not every later tradition is bad but still calls syncretism unbiblical. 'New Year 2022 Special (Studying Church History on Your Own)' is practical advice: use maps and pictures, check several sources, look at early Christianity from a Roman point of view, and enjoy it. A newcomer to the series could start with installment 221, which sums up the first decade before turning toward the second.
Made for: Suits a listener who wants the Book of Acts read slowly alongside its Roman and Judean setting, and who is comfortable with history taught from an openly Christian perspective.
What sets it apart: Its defining trait is pace: eight installments on eight years of the first-century church. Passages from Acts are read aloud and checked against Roman provinces, citizenship and Judean politics, not just retold.
Welcome to Present Perfect. No grammar, but plenty of history This podcast takes an innovative approach to church history. We won't just slog through names and dates. Instead, we'll apply history to answer your questions about the past and to inform your decisions in the present. Curious about the Church, the Bible, and how it all got the way it is today? Subscribe to this podcast and learn more!
Based on 4 episodes we listened to · August 2026
Present Perfect turns Acts into a serialized, source-checked reconstruction of the first century church, grounding Paul's story in Roman geography and politics.
Present Perfect, hosted by Don Congdon, works the early-church corner of the History beat, tracing how the first Christian communities took shape inside the Roman world around them.
You want Acts with maps, Roman provinces, and a gentle bias detector.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A measured close to the very early church's first decade, with the next turn gathering around Israel, Rome, and the Gentiles.
The episode lands at a turning point, closing the very early church's first decade after eight podcasts tracing AD 32 to AD 39. It follows Saul back to Tarsus, the calm after persecution, and the scattered church's movement beyond Jerusalem, while keeping the still-unsettled…
Saul's reversal turns persecution into a story of authority, risk, escape, and fragile peace.
Saul's reversal gives this PlayNext episode its hinge, turning a story of persecution into one about authority, obedience, and the early church's widening reach.
A measured pre-Damascus portrait of Saul, grounded in Tarsus, citizenship, and education.
Saul's road to Damascus opens here through place and purpose: why make the long journey to arrest believers in a city that may have become a gathering point for Jerusalem's scattered congregation?
A clear guided look at persecution, Samaria, and Saul's road toward Damascus in the early church.
The early church is shown taking shape under pressure, with Stephen's death and Saul of Tarsus' persecution scattering part of the Jerusalem church and sending the message beyond its first center.
A practical church history study guide built around context, comparison, and caution toward easy answers.
Don Congdon opens 2022 by setting aside the usual format for a practical question: how to study church history independently without being overwhelmed by nearly 2,000 years of people, conflict, controversy, and interpretation.
Curious questions for history's stranger edges.
Lutheran theology under pressure.
Belief tested against the modern world.
Papal history, ranked with receipts.
Adventist history with nerve and context.
Liberty’s counter-canon, told through lives and ideas.
Don Congdon’s Present Perfect #221 closes the first decade of the church, covering AD 32 to AD 39 and the final events of Acts 9.
Don Congdon uses Acts 9, Galatians 1, and Acts 22 to reconstruct Saul's early decades after Damascus, including Arabia, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Tarsus.
Present Perfect #219 follows Saul from Tarsus of Cilicia, where Acts 22:3 places his birth, to Jerusalem under Gamaliel and the Pharisaic tradition he later calls "more extremely zealous." Don Congdon argues that the names Saul and Paul were both normal in the Roman world, and he uses Acts 13:9 to explain why Luke shifts to "Paul" once Gentile mission work begins.
Acts 8:14-17 is used to argue that Samaritans believed before they received the Holy Spirit.
Don Congdon’s Present Perfect New Year 2022 special, “Studying Church History on Your Own,” lays out how to read church history books, websites, films, and podcasts with discernment.
Present Perfect's 2020 Christmas Special has host Don Congdon argue that many Christmas traditions are "neither biblically based nor historically sound," including the ox and ass, the three named magi and the star over the stable.
This episode examines the early church's first decade, focusing on the apostles' response to persecution and the emergence of a conflict between Hellenistic and traditional Jews.
This episode introduces the importance of chronology and timelines for understanding early church history.
This episode examines the King James Only movement and the historical debate over Bible translation preferences.
This episode explores the history of Bible translation, contrasting the abundance of English translations with the scarcity in other languages, and discusses the missionary movement behind it.