Presents some of the key figures and their arguments across three major periods of interest in the development of using associations as a model for understanding early Christ groups. A new introduction orients the reader to the important contributions of each essay.

Introducing the Conversation, by Richard S. AscoughPart One: Initiating the Conversation (1866-1927)1 St. Paul and the Pagan Guilds (1927), by Thomas Wilson2 Religious Legislation of the Period (1905), by Ernest Renan3 Bishops and Deacons (1881), by Edwin Hatch4 Christianity and the Collegia (1906), E. G. Hardy5 Edwin Hatch, Churches, and Collegia (1993), by John S. Kloppenborg6 On the Exegetical Interest in Ancient Associations in the 19th and 20th Centures (2006), by Thomas SchmellerPart Two: Reanimating the Conversation (1960-1984)7 Unofficial Associations: Koinonia (1960), by E. A. Judge8 Patrons and Officers in Club and Church (1977), by William L. Countryman9 Christianity as a Burial Society (1984), by Robert L. Wilken10 A Hellenistic Cult Group and the New Testament Churches (1981), by S. C. Barton and G. H. R. Horsley11 The Formation of the Ekklēsia (1983), by Wayne A. MeeksPart Three: Moving the Conversation Forward (1999-2013)12 Paul's House Churches and the Cultic Associations (1999), by James Harrison13 Voluntary Associations and the Formation of Pauline Churches: Overcoming the Objections (2006), by Richard S. Ascough14 Roman Legislation on Associations and Christian Communities (2002), by Markus Öhler15 Christ-Bearers and Fellow-Initiates: Local Cultural Life and Christian Identity in Ignatius' Letters (2003), by Philip A. Harland16 Membership Practices in Pauline Christ Groups (2013), by John S. Kloppenborg