Lex Lozides is on a brilliant and accessible tour of church history on his blog.
If you never read any church history, START NOW! However are we going to learn, avoid the mistakes of the past, rejoice in God's great acts since the New Testament era, and stand on the shoulders of spiritual giants of previous years if we don't know anything about them, the issues they faced and the spiritual battles they fought.
Lex's blog would be a good place to start, click here