The Ephesiology Podcast

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Andrew and Michael are joined by Dr. Andrew Whitehead to discuss his recent book, American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gosepl and Threatens the Church . Dr. Whitehead discusses his journey as he wrestled with his own faith background and how it intersected with Christian nationalism. In his recent book, he moves beyond the data from h...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Andrew and Michael are joined by Dr. Karen Swallow Prior to discuss her recent book, The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis . Dr. Prior discusses, among other things, how 18th century evangelicalism during the Victorian Age impacts us today. The influences of the time often confuses American evangelica...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Andrew and Michael are joined by David Leigh and Matt Till to continue the dialogue on headship. Among other things, the four call for compassion when engaging on the issue as Christ calls us to unity. This is a conversation that is potentially divisive so our guests help us think about a conciliatory and biblical perspectives as they move toward an unde...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Andrew and Michael introduce a conversation between Matt Till and Dave Leigh about the meaning of headship in the Bible. Matt and Dave skillfully explain how the Greek word for “head” ( kephale ) was used in the first century and they help us understand the often misunderstood passages about authority: Jesus over the church; husbands over wiv...

On this special episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, we listen in to the first Areopagus Symposium with Dr. Michael T. Cooper sharing on the topic of contextualization. Missiologists have frequently recognized the thin line between contextualization and syncretism. This symposium will introduce broad boundaries in the missionary task which account for the tendency to either over- or under-contextua...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Andrew and Michael catch up after the summer break. Among other things, they talk about their summer activities and introduce the new season, whatever number it is. There is a full slate of guests and topics coming up this season. If you have a question or topic that you’d like to hear addressed on the Ephesiology Podcast, just send it to Andrew at andre...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, it’s summer break. Andrew and Michael reflect on the past several episodes, especially those with our special guests. And, they look to the future when they return with the next season. If you have a question or topic that you’d like to hear addressed on the Ephesiology Podcast, just send it to Andrew at andrew@neartownchurch.org . Find the podcast...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, author and co-founder of a ministry focused on trauma healing, Evan Owens, joins Andrew and Michael to discuss mental health in the church. Evan shares how psychology is catching up with what we know about the importance of long-term relationships for personal well-being versus one-hour counseling sessions. One of our growing number of partners, Evan co-...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, author and leadership expert, Lance Ford, joins Michael and Andrew to discuss issues confronting the contemporary understanding of leadership. Among other things, Lance shares about the concept of starfish leadership from the book he co-authored with Rob Wegner and Alan Hirsch, The Starfish and the Spirit: Unleashing the Leadership Potential of Churches...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Michael and Andrew discuss a recent article in Relevant talking about the decline of belief in God. The General Social Survey has been tracking beliefs in the United States for decades. Recent data continues to suggest that increasing numbers of Americans have doubts about God. What will turn this trend around? Andrew suggests the statement “Jesus...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Michael and Andrew sit down with Dr. Scot McKnight for a discussion of his latest book, Revelation for the Rest of Us . Scot tells us that the instinct of the average person in the pew is a modified view of dispensationalism. Confused by the term? Join the podcast to hear more about the relationship between dispensationalism, civil religion, and Christia...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Michael and Andrew discuss a new video game that does battle with Satan. The beta release has received criticism as it gamifies Jesus. Players are invited to be Jesus and battle Satan by filling their Holy Spirit meter and casting down fire from heaven. The game leaves one thinking about the the platforms we use to engage culture. See the Christianity To...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Michael and Andrew are joined for a final episode with Dr. Steve Leston, president and CEO of To Every Tribe , a mission agency focused on preparing teams to church plant in complex areas of the world. On today’s podcast, Steve discusses the shape of missions in the future as we anticipate where trends in missions might lead us. We begin, however,...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Michael and Andrew are joined for a fourth episode with Dr. Steve Leston, president and CEO of To Every Tribe , a mission agency focused on preparing teams to church plant in complex areas of the world. On today’s podcast, Steve discusses the topics of nationalism and technology along with their impact on the shape of missions. If you have a questi...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Michael and Andrew are joined for a third episode with Dr. Steve Leston, president and CEO of To Every Tribe , a mission agency focused on preparing teams to church plant in complex areas of the world. Today, Steve is walking us through a force shaping missions: at risk families and children. He challenges us with the question, “are we prepared to...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Michael and Andrew are joined once again by Dr. Steve Leston, president and CEO of To Every Tribe , a mission agency focused on preparing teams to church plant in complex areas of the world. Today, we focus on the importance of understanding context rather than simply replicating models that might work in one area, but not in another. The forces that Ste...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Michael and Andrew are joined by Dr. Steve Leston, president and CEO of To Every Tribe , a mission agency focused on preparing teams to church plant in complex areas of the world. Our topic today and for the next two podcasts is missions in a post-everything world. Today, Steve walks us through the shifting sands of the last 30 years in missions and look...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Michael and Andrew reveal a new theological education initiative in partnership with the Movement Leaders Collective. The founders, Alan Hirsch and Rich Robinson, join the podcast to talk about the significance of this collaborative initiative for movement thinkers. As we are fond of saying, “To shift the tracks of history requires leaders who are...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, Prof Matt Harbour joins Andrew and Michael to talk about the Jesus ads at the Super Bowl. Prof Harbour and Michael recently co-authored an article on the Christology of He Gets Us that will appear on March 1 in the Journal of the Evangelical Missiological Society. Andrew probes the two for their insights into the manner in which Jesus is communicated by...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, we catch up with Heath Haynes, movement director of the Bridge: HTX . Heath shares about the life of the church after the pandemic and how the Lord used the pandemic to bring clarity to their work in Houston. A part of the clarity has been the implementation of APEST and recognition of people’s gifting to be implicated in Kingdom mission. If you ha...

On this episode of the Ephesiology Podcast, we catch up with Daniel Yang. Daniel is the Director of the Billy Graham Center’s Church Multiplication Institute at Wheaton College. Join Andrew and Michael as they talk with Daniel about the future of church multiplication, the influence of the generations, and the impact of the pandemic on Christianity in America. Daniel offers some strategic in...

Happy New Year! We are back with our first podcast of 2023 and one of our favorite guests: Jeff Christopherson. Join us as Andrew and Michael (if he stays awake after returning from South Asia) talk with Jeff about church planting in Canada and his new book, Once You See: Seven Temptations of the Western Church (100M Publishing, 2022). Jeff shares some perspectives on the state of evangelicalism i...

There’s a famine in the land. It’s not the kind of famine we usually associate with the needs in the majority world. It’s a theological famine depriving church leaders and pastors from theological instruction that can help them mature biblically sound disciples, develop New Testament leaders, and multiple theologically orthodox churches. Find us on your favorite podcast app Just search “Ephe...

On this Ephesiology Podcast, Andrew and Michael talk with Robert Elkin, director of training for Redeemer City to City in New York. Among a variety of topics, Robert shares about the failure of his first church plant and the lessons he learned which helped in the launch of a second church. Also, the 2022 State of Theology results highlight observations about American religious belief and Robert ad...

On this Ephesiology Podcast, Andrew and Michael respond to one listener’s question about the importance for pastors and church leaders to think like a missionary. Perhaps more importantly, they discuss the role of APEST in equipping the entire church with skills and abilities to cross cultures, speak to cultural issues, do the work of an evangelist, as well as care for those in the church and teac...