Ephesiology: A Study of the Ephesian Movement

by Michael T. Cooper

Overview

Discovering God’s Passion for Movements The city of Ephesus was the site of the most significant church-planting movement in the early church, with 40 percent of the New Testament texts relating to it. What made that city the epicenter of the movement? And how can we replicate sustained movements in a world that feels so different? This is not another methodology or attempt to re-contextualize evangelicalism. Rather, it is a journey from the launch of the church in Ephesus as it became a movement grounded in God’s mission and led by those who multiplied generations of disciples. Michael T. Cooper focuses on Paul and John as missiological theologians who successfully connected Jesus’s teaching with the cultural context and narrative of the people in Ephesus. Their ability to relate the God of all creation to a people who sought him in vain resulted in “the Way” transforming the religious, intellectual, economic, and social fabrics of the Ephesian society. Ephesiology offers a comprehensive view of the redemptive movement of the Holy Spirit in this city and compels us to ask the question: how can we effectively connect Christ to our culture? Through this study of a movement, discover how the Holy Spirit still changes lives, cities, and the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645082798
Publisher:	William Carey Publishing
Publication date:	02/28/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	244
Sales rank:	720,522
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Michael T. Cooper currently serves as an executive for a missions agency, training national leaders in evangelism, discipleship, leadership development, and church planting. He is the former president and CEO of an international NGO. In 2010, he founded a Business as Mission initiative that focused on helping alleviate spiritual and economic poverty in the developing world. For a decade he equipped undergraduate and graduate students at Trinity International University with skills to engage culture. He has thirty years of ministry and missions experience, ten years as a pioneer church planter in Romania after the fall of communism.  He holds a MA in Missions from Columbia International University and a PhD in Intercultural Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Throughout his career, Michael has focused on creative ways to engage difficult-to-reach people with the gospel.

Michael T. Cooper currently serves as an executive for a missions agency, training national leaders in evangelism, discipleship, leadership development, and church planting. He is the former president and CEO of an international NGO. In 2010, he founded a Business as Mission initiative that focused on helping alleviate spiritual and economic poverty in the developing world. For a decade he equipped undergraduate and graduate students at Trinity International University with skills to engage culture. He has thirty years of ministry and missions experience, ten years as a pioneer church planter in Romania after the fall of communism. He holds a MA in Missions from Columbia International University and a PhD in Intercultural Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Throughout his career, Michael has focused on creative ways to engage difficult-to-reach people with the gospel.

Table of Contents

Foreword 

Preface 

Chapter 1: Introducing Ephesiology 

Ephesiology: The Study of the Ephesian Movement

The Life Cycle of a Movement

The Challenge in the United States

The Challenge for the Global Church

How to Read This Book

Timeline for the Movement in Ephesus

Chapter 2: Church Planting Movements in the Book of Acts 

Measuring the Growth of Christianity between AD 33 and 67

The Gathering Place of the Early Church

Christian Impact on the Roman Empire

Chapter 3: Launching a Movement I: Missiological Exegesis 

The Gospel of a Movement

Missiological Exegesis

Chapter 4: Launching a Movement II: Missiological Reflection 

Missiological Theologians

A Framework for Missiological Reflection

Chapter 5: Launching a Movement III: Missiological Theology 

The Doctrine of God: Formulating a Missiological Theism

Formulating a Missiological Theology

Steps to Launching a Movement

Chapter 6: Grounding a Movement: Missiological Theology II 

The Foundation of a Movement

The Battle for a Movement

The People of a Movement

Chapter 7: Leading a Movement 

Movement Leaders

Paul and His Band of Movement Leaders

Movement Leadership versus Charismatic Leadership

Movement Structures

The Movement Leaders of Ephesus

Chapter 8: Multiplying a Movement 

Spiritual Multiplication

The Nascent Movement in Asia Minor

Multiplying the Movement in Ephesus

Timothy’s Multiplication of Disciples

Chapter 9: Sustaining a Movement 

The Missiology of Revelation

Jesus’ Letter to the Ephesians

The Good Ministry in Ephesus

Sustaining Our First Love

Chapter 10: The Anatomy of a Movement 

Charactistics of the Disciples in the Ephesian Movement

Framework of the Ephesian Movement

Features of an Indigenous Movement

Afterword 

Appendix A: Movement Action Plan 

General Information

Vision

Action Steps

Accountability Plan

Appendix B: Movement Maturity Matrix 

References

Ancient Sources

About the Author

Scripture Index

Topical Index