David, I am also working through early church history, although in a somewhat different context (see my blog for some entries). For what regards books, I am currently relying on 2 main textbooks, namely Chadwick's "The Early Church" (Penguin), and Hall's "Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church" (SPCK Church History), with its excellent companion "A New Eusebius - Documents illustrating the history of the Church to AD 337". Also, I just finished reading Pagels' "The Gnostic Gospels" (Vintage), which is truly interesting for what regards gnosticism (of course) but not only that -- I hope to blog about it in the coming days.

Good luck,
Davide
Davide Salomoni | Homepage | 08.18.04 - 12:15 pm | #

Too difficult, eh? Teaching quantum mechanics in between breaks?

Ed
Ed Yong | 08.18.04 - 1:34 pm | #

For Early Church History, I'd try Henry Chadwick's The Early Church, the first in the Penguin History of the Church series.
Sean Gallagher | 08.19.04 - 10:41 am | #

I think that various works by Peter Brown are also very good.
Sean Gallagher | 08.19.04 - 10:42 am | #

For a layperson's series on the history of doctrine, I recommend Justo Gonzalez's accessible "History of Christian Thought" (three volumes).

For straight-up event history, his 2-volume "The Story of Christianity" is also solid and detailed, yet accessible. I had it as an undergrad textbook(s). It's a bit much to expect a Sunday school class to read more than selections, however.
Darren | Homepage | 08.19.04 - 3:12 pm | #

If you're interested in looking at various heretical movements, Jaroslav Pelikan is hard to beat on the historical of doctrinal development
Sean Gallagher | 08.19.04 - 5:24 pm | #

Harold O. J. Brown's Heresies is a very good account: very readable, affordable, balanced, and is an excellent entry into the doctrinal issues. Brown's style, I think, makes rather difficult issues understandable. It is not, of course, a replacement for a history text which would describe the spread of the Church etc.
Tim G | Homepage | 08.21.04 - 4:41 pm | #