Ephesiology[n.ih·fē·zē·äləʒē]: The Study of a Movement is the story of the church at Ephesus, the most documented of all the churches appearing in the New Testament. Beginning with Paul’s approximate three-year tenure in the city from 53 to 56 AD, we see a movement launched that reaches all of Asia Minor (Acts 19:10). Indeed, the work…

It all begin in Acts 16. Paul and his missionary band were prohibited from entering Asia and were redirected to Macedonia only to meet a woman from the very place they could not enter. It is not for another three years or so that he finally arrives on the West coast of Asia Minor with…

The dating of Ephesians, even the audience of the letter with the name of the city, is in question. Most agree that its intention was for all the churches in Asia. Whatever the case, the letter is Paul’s expression of missiological theology written to inspire the churches to continue their responsibility in the plan of…

Paul’s letter to Timothy, the eventual leader of the movement, provides timely instructions on how to keep the movement growing. Timothy was reminded that Jesus came to save sinners and he was to continue his work as an evangelist in the faithful proclamation of the gospel. To ensure the ongoing movement, Paul reminds Timothy to…

Undoubtedly the most personal letter Paul had written, 2 Timothy prepared his faithful son for the inevitable: suffering and death. Suffering was as much from persecution as it was from the anguish of seeing people fall away from the Lord. In spite of this, Timothy was challenged to remain strong and vigilant in his calling…

Between Paul’s decapitation around 67AD and Timothy’s imprisonment, the church continued its ministry, albeit not without struggles. Nearly thirty years later, Jesus intervenes with the church, as much to encourage them for the work they were doing, but also to admonish them for forgetting their first love. They were doing good things, but they were…