Imaginatively Missional
The rapid expansion of Christianity in China over the past century has been accompanied by the rise of various New Religious Movements (NRMs). These groups, often emerging from Protestant traditions, including the house church movement, pose a challenge to orthodox Christian theology and church planting movements by distorting biblical teachings and diverting potential converts. Thanks …
Continue reading "Addressing a Threat to Church Planting Movements"
On this Ephesiology Podcast, Andrew and Michael delve into the foundational importance of Christology within the context of innovative disruption. Emphasizing a return to understanding who Jesus is and how He defines Himself, they explore the implications of Christological clarity for mission and ecclesiology. Drawing from biblical texts and theological reflection, they discuss how a …
Continue reading "Episode 173: The Christology of our Mission"
Over the past two decades, many monikers have emerged to help describe the task of fulfilling the Great Commission. Samuel Wilson’s informative contribution to the Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions outlines a brief history of trying to understand the groupings of people based on cultural and/or social contexts. In the early modern era of missions, Leslie Brierley’s “Remaining Unevangelized …
Continue reading "Defining Unreached and Unengaged People Groups"
On this Ephesiology Podcast, we're talking about Christmas past, present, and future. What are the things we long for in our Christmas pasts? What do we look forward to this Christmas? And what is our hope for Christmas futures? Join our podcasters for our Christmas special as we reflect on the most miraculous of miracles …
We drove to a remote village in South Asia where we were about to meet a new church leader. He’d recently come to Christ as a result of a church planting movement spreading across the area. Then, as is common with CPM/DMM methodologies, he shared the gospel with those in his oikos – that is, his network …
On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, we interview Dr. Randy Newman about his new book Mere Evangelism: 10 Insights from C.S. Lewis to Help You Share Your Faith. Dr. Newman walks us through Lewis' ideas of engaging our culture with the gospel. We talk about pre-evangelism which paves the way for evangelism. Randy suggests Lewis was a wonderful model of this pattern in his radio program and fiction writing.
As church planting movements (CPMs) have drawn the attention of missionary practitioners around the world, missiologists are looking closely at this phenomenon and asking challenging questions. In recent years, a few of those questions posed by Jackson Wu and a cadre of missiologists from the International Mission Board as well as professors from predominately Southern …
Continue reading "Becoming Conversant with CPMs in the New Testament"
With the release of his new book, Ephesiology: The Study of the Ephesian Movement, Andrew sits down with Michael to learn more about the author, his motivations, and hopes for what the Lord might do with the book. You'll want to hear the interesting backstory to what has been described as a, "theologically strong foundation …
Are buildings, butts in seats, and bucks the measure of success for the church today? What about transformation of lives resulting in cultural impact? Join us as we continue our conversation on the state of the church in America. Keelan Cook joins our podcast to help us think through the shift needed for gospel impact. …
Continue reading "Ep 29: The State of the Church in America – Part 2"
Defining "disciple" and "discipleship" presents interesting issues in contemporary Christianity. Join our podcasters as they look at the New Testament understanding of what it means to be a disciple. Their study of the early Christian movements highlights several key characteristics for what it means to be a follower of Christ. To comment on this episode …
Continue reading "Ep 28: Maturing Disciples in a Movement, Part 1"
The growth of the church will rise and fall on leadership and having the right team will position the church for continued growth. Join us in the riveting episode when our podcasters unpack the roles of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherd-teachers. Leadership in the church in Ephesus adopted forms from the culture that contributed to …
Join us for our next episode where we introduce the first of a multi-part series on leadership. Our podcasters are wrestling with the type of leadership that propelled the church on God's mission of more people following Jesus. In this episode, we begin to look at Paul's leadership. Was he a strategist? A lone ranger? …
What is the state of the church in America? Join our podcasters as they reflect on their participation at a recent Church Planting think tank held at Wheaton College with the Send Institute. In spite of the decline of the church in the US, there is hope for a future movement of multiplying disciples. To …
Continue reading "Ep 25: The State of the Church in America"
We so thoroughly enjoyed our interview with Dave in our last episode that we had to continue talking about issues he is helping us wrestle through. Join us for a continued discussion on strategies, Paul, and church planting movements. To comment on this episode and future episodes, be sure to login. Find Us On: Search …
We are excited to have Dave as our guest on this week's podcast. As a cross-cultural worker in Chad, Dave brings some perspective that will help the Western church think about what it means to sacrifice in the midst of challenging ministry situations. To comment on this episode and future episodes, be sure to login. …
For decades, church planting has been touted as one of the most effective strategies to reach the lost. However, our podcasters are asking, "Is CPM a strategy or a result?" Join us as we search for the biblical command to church plant and re-orient our focus on Jesus as the head of the church. To …
The early Christian movement was uniquely diverse, but not without its problems. Join our podcasters and special guest Pastor Devlin Scott as they unpack Ephesians 2 and its implication for ministry today. To comment on this episode and future episodes, be sure to login. Discussion Forum Find Us On: Search "Ephesiology" on your preferred podcast …
Continue reading "Ep 21: The Movement and Ethnic Diversity, Part 2"
The early Christian movement was uniquely diverse, but not without its problems. Join our podcasters and special guest Pastor Devlin Scott as they unpack Ephesians 2 and its implication for ministry today. To comment on this episode and future episodes, be sure to login. Discussion Forum Find Us On: Search "Ephesiology" on your preferred podcast …
What is God's will? In this episode, our podcasters attempt to tackle one of the most important questions in the Christian life. Join them as they look at Ephesians chapter 1 and discuss this essential question. To comment on this episode and future episodes, be sure to login. Discussion Forum Find Us On: Search "Ephesiology" …
What is the church? This is the third installment of a three part series that explores ecclesiology. Join Matt, Andrew, and Michael in a discussion on how Ephesiology impacts our thinking about the church. Search "Ephesiology" on your preferred podcast app.
What is the church? This is the second installment of a three part series that explores ecclesiology. Join Matt, Andrew, and Michael in a discussion on how Ephesiology impacts our thinking about the church. Search "Ephesiology" on your preferred podcast app.
What is the church? This is the first of a three part series that explores ecclesiology. Join Matt, Andrew, and Michael in a discussion on how Ephesiology impacts our thinking about the church. Search "Ephesiology" on your preferred podcast app.
We are gearing up for more Ephesiology podcasts. Join us beginning later in August as we pick up our discussion on the New Testament movement in Ephesus. Find us on: Search "Ephesiology" on your preferred podcast app.
It is hard to believe that we have recorded 13 episodes. We trust that you have enjoyed our banter as we study the New Testament movement in Ephesus. As we head into the summer, our podcasters are going to take a much needed break. So, this is a great time to catch up on earlier …
Who is God? Join our podcasters as they discuss God's missionary nature and how He relentlessly pursues a relationship with people. This compelling view of God, a view that is theocentric as it understands that God is glorified most when more people worship him, is what our podcasters are calling "missiological theism." To comment on …
How did the early church connect God's story with the story of culture? This weeks podcast unpacks what is meant by missiological theology. The early writers, especially Paul and John, uniquely and brilliantly told the story of God in such a way that it connected with the story of people. This is one of the …
We are just at the beginning of wrestling through a New Testament movement and reflecting on the difference it can make where we live, work, and play. Join us for this special edition of the Ephesiology podcast as Andrew and Matt begin to unpack how Ephesiology is impacting how they think and act in their …
Many are asking the questions about the meaning of discipleship and what a disciple looks like. Instead, our podcasters are asking "What would a theocentric movement look like?" That is, what would it look like if we were completely focused on God? Join our next episode for an insightful discussion. To comment on this episode …
How does a church planting movement begin? Join us as we discuss the first step in launching a movement. Through a study of the Apostle Paul and his missionary effort in Athens, our podcasters will unpack what they call missiological exegesis. This first step toward a movement begins by understanding the people, their belief systems, …
Join us as we engage in a community dialogue about a church planting movement in the New Testament. This is the first of a multi-part series on launching a movement. Our first episode in this series addresses the importance of the theme of God's missionary activity and its impact on understanding Scripture. To comment on …
Join us as we engage in a community dialogue about a church planting movement in the New Testament. This is part three of a series addressing what many are calling the “legacy church.” In this episode, our podcasters drill down on diagnostic questions for the legacy church and unpack the concept of being disciples. To comment …
Continue reading "Ep 7: The Legacy Church and Movement Making, Part 3"
Palm Sunday is also regarded as the “triumphal entry” because the King had arrived in Jerusalem. But was it the way he was received worship, or something masquerading as it? To comment on this episode and future episodes, be sure to login. Discussion Forum Find us on: Search "Ephesiology" on your preferred podcast app.
Critics of CPM say that advocates practice eisegesis; they read into the biblical text something that is not there. Learn about this and more as we discuss the evidence for a church planting movement in the Book of Acts. To comment on this episode and future episodes, be sure to login. Discussion Forum Find us …
Join us as we begin to delve into understanding the idea of "movement." This episode is sure to raise your curiosity about whether or not a movement can actually occur in North America and Western Europe. We see it in the New Testament and we see it around the world. Can it happen in the …
Join us for this interesting discussion on the characteristics of a legacy church and of a church planting movement. What differentiates the two and what needs to happen to see a legacy church take on the identity of a movement? These and other topics are the focus on the second part of our three part …
Continue reading "Ep 3: The Legacy Church and Movement Making, Part 2"
Join us as we engage in a community dialogue about a church planting movement in the New Testament. This is the first episode of a three part series addressing what many are calling the "legacy church." Some use it pejoratively while others use it in recognition of the church's historic significance. This is a topic that …
Continue reading "Ep 2: The Legacy Church and Movement Making, Part 1"
Join us as we engage in a community dialogue about a church planting movement in the New Testament. This episode introduces our podcasters and the topic they will address over the next several weeks. It is sure to challenge how we think about movements in the New Testament. To comment on this episode and future …
Continue reading "Ep 1: Introducing the Ephesiology Podcast"
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