Ephesiology: A Study of the Ephesian Movement

by Michael T. Cooper

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 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.

242 pages, Paperback

Published February 29, 2020

About the author

Dr. Michael T. Cooper is the author of First Christian Voices: Practices of the Apostolic Fathers (Samuel Morris, 2023), Ephesiology: The Study of the Ephesian Movement (William Carey Publishers, 2020), Unwrapping the First Christmas (Ephesiology Press, 2019), Contemporary Druidry: A Historical and Ethnographic Study (Sacred Tribes Press, 2010) and co-editor of Social Injustice (The Timothy Center Press, 2011) and The Peaceable Christian (The Timothy Center Press, 2011) and Perspectives on Post-Christendom Spiritualities (Moorling Press, 2010).

Michael has contributed numerous academic articles in the Journal of the Evangelical Missiological Society, Nova Religio, Pomegranate, Journal of Nature, Religion and Culture, Sacred Tribes Journal, Common Ground Journal, Missiology, Evangelical Missions Quarterly and he has presented academic papers at the University of Utah, London School of Economics, University of Bordeaux, University of Craiova and other universities and seminaries around the world.

Dr. Cooper holds a PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, a MA from Columbia International University, and a BED from Texas A&M University.

Reviews

[Patrick Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Cooper is very passionate about the concept of "movements." I heard him speak about it at a recent conference. But, for me (and perhaps only for me), this volume could be summed up by borrowing a phrase from it ... "It is not that these discussions no longer have merit, but their value remains academic for most, devotional for a few, and inaccessible for many." Perhaps the contents of this volume would be better absorbed through the give-and-take of a seminar session.
The initial chapters are filled with data and statistics that caused me to wonder where he was going. The latter chapters on "launching a movement" were clearer. Again, Cooper is passionate and devoted to what he has constructed, but for me it was a bit confusing.