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News
Join our 2017 Hong Kong-Philippines Mission You can join a life-changing adventure to two nations — Hong Kong and Philippines — in December 2017 as John Crowder leads a mission team full of wild wanderers! Visit the poorest of the poor as we reach the margins of society in the garbage dumps; share the Father’s heart with orphaned children; spread the intoxicating love of Jesus on the streets; and experience the raw, miracle working power of the gospel as we release the grace message and flow in the anointing in two countries. This is our ONLY mission trip currently open to applicants in 2017. Space is limited. Application and deposit are due by August 1, 2017. See story on page 14 and visit www.thenewmystics.com/go
SOT to Build New Orphanage in Philippines
Sons of Thunder is diving into a big new project in 2017 as we break ground on a brand new children’s home for orphans in the nation of the Philippines. The ministry built it’s first children’s home in India in 2007, and began supporting a second home in India in 2012. Working closely with the Philippines government, we will be receiving new children into the home who are in dire need of assistance due to abandonment or death of parents. At the end of 2017, SOT will bring a mission team to Philippines to visit the new home. For more information, see the full story on page 13. You can also find out about joining our 2017 Philippines mission on page 14 or visit www.thenewmystics.com/go Also, if you feel led to donate toward the construction project, you can support us directly at www.paypal.me/johncrowder
Trans-Siberian Internship Road School
Do You Have the New iPhone/Android App? Over the past year we have updated our older, outdated New Mystics iPhone app, and we have also launched a brand new Android version. The app is now available as a free download. Get all our Jesus Trip video archives in one spot, find current events and read a digital version of The Ecstatic magazine on your mobile device. Simply look for “New Mystics” at the iPhone app store to get the Apple version, or search for us on Google Play to get the Android version.
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For only the second time in five years, John Crowder is hosting a roadschool internship for a handful of folks who would like an intensive plunge into itinerant ministry, mission and a nonstop barrage of the gospel message. This August 2017, John will bring a few interns on a three-week trek to four countries: Budapest, Hungary; Yerevan, Armenia; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and two stops in Russia: St. Petersburg and the Ural Mountains. This internship will also include a two-day trek on the Trans-Siberian railroad. Our internships are about an extended dive into the atmosphere, anointing and message of grace — not just for those who feel a call to ministry, but those looking for life-changing impartation. There are only a few spots left. Dates are Aug. 9-24. Cost is $4,500. Find all the details at: www.thenewmystics.com/RU
News
Cana New Wine Seminary Kicking Off Again
Crowder & Tim Wright Party Across Canada
John Crowder and worship leader Tim Wright are blasting across the great white north for the Cosmic Canadian Tour in May 2017. Come for a big drink of glory as we explore the inter-dimensional wonder that “God was in Christ reconciling the cosmos to Himself!” Coming to four cities, the two-day event includes the following cities: Toronto, Ontario May 20-21 Montreal, Québec May 22-23 Edmonton, Alberta May 24-25 Abbotsford, British Columbia May 26-27 Space is limited. Early bird registration is now available online at: www.thenewmystics.com/can
Mission will Reach Church Leaders in Cuba
Following our initial mission trip to Cuba in 2016, we have had a heart to return to the island nation. Thanks to some fresh new contacts who have reached out to us in recent months, John Crowder will be bringing a smaller, hand-picked mission team to the regions of Havana and Cienfuegos to minister to an apostolic network of leaders that is hungry to dive into the grace message of the finished work of the cross and eager to experience the supernatural. With these opportunities and new political developments afoot, we are excited about future doors of opportunity continuing to open for the gospel in Cuba. While this trip is not open to applicants, you can support our mission by visiting: www.paypal.me/johncrowder
If you have ever considered studying theology, but don’t want to filter through all the lifeless, religious dogma — consider becoming an online student of Cana New Wine Seminary this fall and study at your own pace. Register by Oct. 11 for the early bird discount and participate in the world’s first drunken seminary. Our vision is to release the word of grace in an atmosphere of joy unspeakable! Teachers include John & Lily Crowder, Dr. C. Baxter Kruger, Matt Spinks, Francois Du Toit, Dr. Eric Wilding, Rod Williams and more. The full course runs two years, with one session per week for an easy pace. Both first and second year courses begin Nov. 1. For more info, see story on page 16 and visit: www.cana.co
Fall Tour: Redding, Houston, Tampa, Billings
John Crowder and worship leader Tim Wright are bringing a fresh new experiential event to four cities across America in October 2017. The Paradise Now tour will explore the mystical depths of our ever-present union with God. Heaven is yours in Christ with no distance or delay! Coming to four cities, the the two-day event includes stops in: Tampa, Florida Oct. 21-22 Houston, Texas Oct. 23-24 Billings, Montana Oct. 25-26 Redding, California Oct. 27-28 Space is limited. Early bird registration is now available online at: www.thenewmystics.com/tour
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News
Free Reformation Anniversary Live Webcast
On October 31, 1517, the priest Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany sparking a revolution against the religious system of his day. To celebrate the monumental rediscovery of the message of grace in the church, John Crowder will prophetically mark the 500-year anniversary of the Reformation with a free online extended webcast event. Mark your calendar to join us on Sunday, October 29, 2017. Worldwide broadcast times are listed online where you can catch the live event. Bookmark the page now: www.thenewmystics.com/reform “The Reformation was a time when men went blind, staggering drunk because they had discovered, in the dusty basement of late medievalism, a whole cellar full of fifteen-hundred-year-old, two-hundred proof Grace–bottle after bottle of pure distilate of Scripture, one sip of which would convince anyone that God saves us single-handedly.” - Robert Capon
The Jesus Trip Videos Near 2.5 Million Views After several years of producing our free, weekly Jesus Trip videos, we are nearing 2.5 million views on Youtube! Whether folks are getting offended, spying out our liberty or happily drinking grace straight, nevertheless the scandal of the finished work of the cross continues to spread, just as the good Lord said it would. Thanks to our friends, partners and regular viewers who help us share and repost the Jesus Trip each week as part of our grassroots “propaganda team,” we receive countless testimonies of people getting liberated by the gospel message. Are you subscribed to receive the Jesus Trip each week? Simply visit our homepage: www.thenewmystics.com and enter your email at the top of the page to subscribe. Make sure to add us to your approved senders list so we don’t end up in your spam box!
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New Joypod MP3 Player Has More Teaching
Our brand new upgraded version of the MP3 Joypod player has now arrived: a device that offers 50 percent more full-length Crowder teachings than the previous model. With over 45 hours of teaching, the Joypod includes every single teaching from our digital download store, including two full-length audiobooks read by John himself (“Mystical Union” and “Money. Sex. Beer. God.”). The new device does not need batteries and teachings can be transferred to your computer or other mobile devices. At $125, your purchase helps our missions and also represents a $65 discount over purchasing all the teachings individually online. Check out all the features and order now at: www.johncrowder.net
Big Team Bringing Gospel to India in Spring A Sons of Thunder team is headed to India in March for a miracle evangelism campaign and citywide pastor’s event aimed at equipping leaders in the gospel of grace. The team will also host outreaches to the poor in the garbage dumps and visit our Sons of Thunder children’s home for orphans in Mumbai. The mission team is now full at about 30 people, and we cannot take more folks with us. However, it is not too late to join our next upcoming trip that is open to applicants to Philippines and Hong Kong next December 2017. See the story on page 14 for details, or visit www.thenewmystics.com/go to find out more. Also a big thanks to our partners who help us with our India missions! You can still help us financially with our regular India mission support at: www.paypal.me/johncrowder
From the Publisher ... The bulk of our current installment of The Ecstatic is dedicated to a lengthy, extended article I have compiled taking a deeper look at the intricacies of God’s humanity in Christ. Take your time with some of the theological concepts, as there is an intoxicating payoff for your daily life. Foremost, we explore the connection between the divine and human will. How on earth did we ever conceive that doing “God’s will” in our careers, service or family is a dry, dull, depressing chore? I draw a convergence between Christ’s incarnation, ecstasy and the tangible pleasure of God to be found in the exercise of our willing and doing in daily active living. There is a rich theme of Christology and ecstasy also spilling over in our featured guest article from Brett Endress. Brett is a former intern recently ordained through Sons of Thunder. His piece is a short, concentrated dose of glorious goodness sure to edify you. Also in this issue The big news for us here at Sons of Thunder is our endeavor to build yet another children’s home for orphans this calendar year – this time in the Philippines. Catch the full article, as well as our most recent mission trip report from there. Also see how you can join the next big adventure to Philippines, where we plan to return in December 2017 along with a stop in Hong Kong. On top of that, learn how you can join our Cana New Wine Seminary as an online student. And find scores of special events planned around the globe – be sure to catch our itinerary page. We will be traveling with musician Tim Wright for two full-length tours of the USA, as well as a Cosmic Canadian Tour. Additionally, readers will notice we have several other schools and conferences coming to select areas. We appreciate your help in spreading the word about these! Be sure to also check out our new resource materials including my latest book project, Money. Sex. Beer. God., together with the updated, improved model of our Joypod MP3 player which is loaded with tons of fresh, fulllength teachings. Stay Subscribed to The Ecstatic Some select US addresses receive a print copy of the magazine, but we now host a digital version online for readers around the globe. Be sure you visit our homepage at www.TheNewMystics.Com/Ecstatic and enter your email address to join our free newslist – this will ensure you receive each issue to your inbox twice a year, together with our regular free Jesus Trip teaching videos. You can also view the magazine on our new iPhone and Android “New Mystics” apps.
Contents 2 News: The Latest from Sons of Thunder 7 Christological Ecstasy 12 Find the Party: Sons of Thunder Itinerary 13 SOT Builds New Orphanage in Phillipines 14 Mission to Asia Explodes with Glory 16 Cana Online Seminary 18 Emptied for our Divinity by Brett Endress 19 Meditations of the Mystics
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Join Sons of Thunder on Social Networking
Follow our Public Profile page at: www.Facebook.com/RevJohnCrowder Visit the page and click “Like” in order to stay up to date with posts, exciting events, testimonies and more. In addition, we are also on Twitter – you can follow John’s happenings at www.Twitter.com/TheNewMystics And if you have an iPhone, you will want to download “The New Mystics” Application for free. Besides helping you keep tabs on the ministry, the iPhone app enables you to watch each week’s Jesus Trip video from the convenience of your mobile device.
We value your support to keep the magazine and ministry running. Your generous contributions make the publication available to all and enable us to spread Good News to the ends of the globe What we’re all about We at Sons of Thunder produce The Ecstatic as a way to bring a cohesive voice to the growing interest in authentic, mystical Christianity – but a mysticism rooted in the grace message of Christ’s cross – not in human attempt at spiritual disciplines or mental ascent. In a practical sense, The Ecstatic serves as an information gateway to the ministry of John & Lily Crowder. But moreover, it is a first fruit in publishing toward bridging several important themes that are converging at the moment: finished work theology, the miraculous, divine satisfaction and daily human existence in the divine life. All of these concepts are intrinsically woven together. A new, reformed Christ-centered mysticism is on the rise. It is bridging many streams. Relevant is its cultural approach. Radical is its charismatic fervor. Reformative is its theology of grace. These are guiding values of this publication and our own lives. It is a theological journal whose frequency is joy unspeakable. Fully Satisfied … John Crowder Founder, Sons of Thunder Publications
the ecstatic is published bi-annually Copyright © 2017 Sons of Thunder Ministries & Publications, All rights reserved. Email: info@thenewmystics.org Phone: 1-877-343-3245 Address: P.O. Box 40, Marylhurst, OR 97036
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Christological Ecstasy The Synergetic Bliss of Co-Laboring Christology is a rather delicious topic which rests as the core of all Christian dogma; it is concerned foremost with the being of Jesus Christ, who He is in His person as the God Man. But rarely is attention given to the experiential pleasure, bliss or ecstasy embodied in the union of His humanity and divinity. Even less focus is given to the proper connection between Jesus’ being in Christology to the unspeakable joy of our own human activity in doing the will of God. In fact, the concept that “co-laboring” in the kingdom should invoke this same divine pleasure that exists in the very being of the Son of God is virtually unheard of in the morose halls of religion. The talk is all about sacrifice, obligatory duty and self-repudiation … but not pleasure. What I aim to show in this extensive article is that Christ is pure pleasure in His very being. The Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary defines glory (Hebrew: kabhod; Greek: doxa) as “the bliss of heaven,” and truly Jesus Christ is the “brightness of the Father’s glory” (Heb. 1:3; John 1:14; 2:11). That Christ is ecstasy in His very incarnate being has massive ramifications to the divine operation of grace in our earthly human endeavors. There is a vital connection between the bliss of Christ’s person and the practical labor of our daily lives. For His union with God is our union with God … and so is our participation in God who “works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure” (Phi. 2:13). Creedal Foundations For starters we must back things up quite a few centuries and recognize the tremendous value of the early creeds of the church, such as the Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed, Chalcedon and so on. These early councils helped us to sort out the most basic, fundamental understanding of Christology (who is Jesus?) as well as formatting our understanding of the Trinity. Let’s face it. So many churches are still so confused about who Jesus is (many view Him as less than the Father – not authentically God; or as some superman – not authentically human, etc.). In His hypostatic union, He is both fully God and fully man, two natures in one person. This is Christianity 101. In the same way, the Holy Trinity is three persons in one essence. The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Spirit. The Spirit is not the Son or Father.
They are three distinct persons, yet one, undivided God. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Spirit is God. This is timeless stuff. You may think, “Well that’s just the basics. This has been around for almost 2000 years.” Yes, but much of the church is still totally wrapped up in the same heresies the early fathers were fighting when they fashioned the creeds. And unless you are a Lutheran or something, you probably do not even know the creeds. Nevertheless, they are highly relevant to us today. Of course some folks may think creeds of faith are divisive or irrelevant. Perhaps too formal, stuffy or stifling. “We don’t need creeds or theology. We just need Jesus.”
“That Christ is ecstasy in His very incarnate being has massive ramifications to the divine operation of grace in our earthly human endeavors.” Okay, well what you have just said is a creed. A creed is simply a statement of belief. It is a proclamation of what you hold to be true. And if that is your creed (“We don’t need theology. We just need Jesus”), well the creed you just stated is a woefully insufficient one. Because it fails to state anything about who Christ is or what He has done on our behalf. Similarly, a person may say, “We don’t need theology. We just need to live it.” Okay, well that is also a creed. And one that denies the chief article of Christianity which is justification by grace through faith alone - not by good deeds (“just living it”). So the point of good theology is that it actually liberates us, so we are not falling back into the darkness of religion, dead works, and a false humanistic focus on our own efforts. It re-centers us back onto who Jesus is and what He has single-handedly accomplished. These early theological frameworks, offered
by John Crowder at the dawn of the church age, also represent the last time we could all agree on something! There are a number of early church creeds. Of course they may not be completely infallible in every aspect, which is why the Protestant reformers said if a creed does not jive with scripture, it is okay to question it. But the whole point of the creeds was to clarify what scripture was telling us (not adding to scripture). Bringing clarity to our beliefs was the very purpose of early church councils – which were gatherings of bishops, presbyters and leaders who were battling destructive heresies that pulled away from the glory of Christ and His work. The creeds serve as solid foundational references. As for the oldest, most basic of our statements of faith – the Apostle’s Creed – one would be pretty darn deluded to disagree with that one. As time progressed and the church councils moved further along, much more detail was added to the church’s creeds. The fathers were not trying to pile on more and more theological minutia to what we should dogmatically believe (in fact, they were trying to say as little as possible). They attempted to keep their assertions simple, leaving open the freedom of our infinite exploration of the mystery God. In fact, they were merely writing off certain ways of talking about God that were untrue and destroying the Christian faith. For instance, heretical ideas usually emerged that would either diminish Jesus’ divinity on the one hand, or his humanity on the other. Often they found themselves having to clarify earlier creeds. So by default, the later creeds did get into a lot more theological detail as a byproduct. And this is where it is possible to start splitting some hairs in metaphysical areas about God that we just do not understand. The Two Wills of Christ After Nicea, the next big church council was Chalcedon. Here they clarified that Jesus has two natures in one person. But even after this, controversy arose among two schools of thought. Some leaders wanted to focus on the unity of Jesus, as one person. And other leaders wanted to emphasize the duality of His two distinct natures: God and man. Both sides of this equation are radically true. Jesus is fully God. He Continued on page 8
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< Continued from page 7 is fully man. But the glorious mystery is that the two Christ’s will to do the Father’s will, then what is the have become one in Him. difference? One will. Though perhaps distinct, their perfect union is the resounding narrative. Again, Christianity 101. Schizo Jesus? But the devil is in the details. And the question be- To be honest, I was already so rooted in the gospel gan to arise whether Jesus has two “energies” or one message by the time I dug into Constantinople III, it “energy” (whatever an energy may be). Furthermore, just did not make sense for Jesus to have two sepathe question arose as to whether Jesus had only one rate wills. Forget for a moment the idea of Jesus and will, or did He have both a divine and human will. A lot the Father potentially having two dispositions … In of this was semantics and quibbling between church Constantinople III the church patriarchs are telling us leaders who spoke different languages and lived Jesus has two wills going on within Himself! A human a thousand miles apart. Like an ancient theological will and a divine God will. To me, this seemed remiFacebook battle. But this heated discussion would niscent of the schizo Jesus taught by many evangelilead up to a massive, final church council – the last cals who emphasize Christ’s different desire from the ecumenical gathering whose decisions would be ad- Father in Gethsemane – to avoid the cup of sufferopted by both the Eastern and Western church. ing. The emphasis rests on Christ wanting a separate thing – as if there was an overarching other desire Again, the question – does Jesus have one energy or of the Father different from Jesus’ own volition. Now, two energies? Constantinople III seemed (in my mind) to push it And the similar question– does Jesus have one will even deeper in saying Jesus has two separate wills or two wills? within Himself. How many Christians already believe that God, by nature, will always contradict what they By the sixth century, as early theologians met to re- want to do? How many Christians are already taught solve these issues (which had already begun splitting that within themselves are warring two natures in opthe splinters of doctrinal discord emerging between position – one for God and the other for self? East and West), this final binding ecumenical council took place in Constantinople – it was the Third Coun- “We may choose to act against God. cil of Constantinople. Here at Constantinople III, the But this choice is actually contrary to church fathers made a proclamation which, quite honestly, was a bit difficult for me to stomach when I first our nature … it is contrary to our Godstumbled upon it in my studies of church history. given natural will.”
mus explained the difference between something called the gnomic will and the natural will.
They declared that monoenergism (the idea that Jesus just has one “energy”) is a heresy. He has two energies – both human and divine. And they declared that monothelitism (meaning Jesus just has “one” will) is also a heresy. Jesus has two wills – both human and divine.
Now why did this trouble me? For starters, I understand many Christians view scripture as presenting two different wills going on between Jesus and the Father. As Christ steps into the full depth of becoming and bearing our sin in the Garden of Gethsemane – as He fully begins to empathetically bear our corruption in His own body – it is such a weight and burden that He begins to sweat drops of blood. And here is where we get his dramatic statement in Luke 22:42:
The reason Constantinople III did not initially sit right with me is because I had already realized we do not have to wrestle with a schizophrenic dual nature within ourselves. My old crooked will and nature died with Christ (Rom. 6, Gal. 2:20, Col. 3:3, Col. 2:20, 2 Cor. 5:14). I don’t have to live a constant battle fighting against my rebellious, stubborn, old, hard-hearted, Adamic nature. That was never who I authentically was. I have a new divine nature. I legitimately want to do what is right. I desire to do what is holy. As a new creation, my will, my choice, my preference is to do things God’s way. I am not going back to that old schizophrenic, indwelling sin, non-gospel message.
The natural will is defined by Maximus as normal, healthy, everyday human nature. Our desire to do what humans want to do. Go the grocery store. Buy a dog. Eat popcorn at the movies. Help an old lady across the street.
But here is the kicker … the Orthodox understanding of our natural will is radically different from the modern American evangelical idea that human will is totally depraved. To say, “You’re only human,” for a lot of Christians that means you are sinful and evil! The Western church has embraced a strong notion of Augustinian, hyper-Calvinist total depravity. Every thought, inclination and action is considered tainted and corrupted by sin. It is thought that we are literally capable of no good.
On the contrary, the Orthodox say our natural will is actually made by God with factory settings to be oriented and prone to do His will and to walk in the Spirit. We are made in His image and restored to His image in Christ. That is the real, true self.
So to say Jesus had a natural human will is not unorthodox. In fact, there is no contradiction to His divine will. It is natural. Normal. Like Adam in the garden before the fall: your natural wants, desires and motivations are organically geared to be in synergy with God. Human nature is not constructed by God for opposition. But then there’s this other type of will … called the gnomic will (rooted in the Greek word gnosis or “knowledge”). This could also be called the deliberative will, by which as humans we deliberate and rationalize things in such a way that we choose death, sin or evil. We may choose to act against God. But this choice is actually contrary to our nature … it is contrary to our God-given natural will.
Realize that the gnomic will is not actually a thing in itself. It is more of a twist or perversion of the natural will. This deliberative choice to rebel against God is indicative of a corruption of something good, rather than an actual entity itself. Just as the word “lie” is a thing inasmuch as the term “lie” is a noun listed in Webster’s Dictionary – we all know that a lie is still a falsehood, a nothing … it is a delusion – a smoke and mirrors nonentity.
Despite my hesitation to embrace the conclusions of Constantinople III, as I started digging deeper, I realized that all of my fears were unfounded. Here I had missed the point of the early fathers entirely. In fact, this whole issue of Jesus having two wills was one of “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from Me; yet the most intoxicating revelations on the planet not My will, but Yours be done.” In the same way, for Maximus, gnome properly refers Gnomic and Natural Will not so much to a will that we possessed. But rather an But I never saw this as two separate wills between Behind Constantinople III was one of the most pow- inclination of will. It was the propensity for a man to Jesus and the Father. Why? Because Jesus is clear- erful, highly revered theologians in the Orthodox do evil with his natural will. Rather than actually “posly willing and choosing to do the Father’s will. If it is Church. His name was Maximus the Confessor. Maxi- sessing” an evil will, the force and good willingness
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of man is hijacked by an evil judo move to operate in in a very real sense, you could call this gnomic will the an evil way. sinful nature couldn’t you? For that is exactly what we are talking about. And is the sinful nature really a thing Original Innocence in itself? Absolutely not. It is a delusion. It is a lie exAgain, our natural will, which is instilled within us in istence. It just pulls the judo move on your God given the very DNA of our creation, is hardwired to do what human will and directs it to a wrong, wobbly way. is good – without the need for deliberation and ques- tioning God’s inspiration. Our God-given desires are Did Jesus Have a Sinful Nature? innately programmed with all that makes us human: So in attesting there are two wills within Christ, was both physically as well as spiritually. Contrary to those Maximus saying Jesus had a sinful nature or a gnowho think that man inherently wills evil – no, the natu- mic will? ral will innately wants what is good. Well this is something he developed more clearly At our core, we desire and choose what is lovely by over time in his theology. But of course Jesus did not nature. The natural will directs us to nourish our bod- have a sinful nature or sinful propensities. God never ies with food, to raise our children properly, to be faith- changes. And Jesus is not inclined toward evil right ful to spouse and friends. It directs us to the help and now, nor has He ever been. He did not deliberate evil. love our neighbor. It is within the very essence of man. He did not entertain the idea of it. So Christ Himself, being both God and man and shar- ing whatever it is to be fully human, therefore had a The straight answer is absolutely no … Jesus did not natural will. We see this because Christ willed to eat, have a gnomic will. But there was in a sense the very to drink, to sleep and to work in Joseph’s carpentry real possibility for failure: for He opened himself to evshop. He performed any other number of activities ery frailty we have, every temptation, stepping into our which are natural to mankind. Jesus Christ reveals dilapidated human condition. Jesus did not come as a what it is like to be really human again. superman, but entered our brokenness. Jesus had a But humans under the fall also had another thing: a “...each of us can now live in the flow schizophrenia … because we had this twist, this per- of unity between our human and the diversion, this inclination or propensity of the natural will vine nature, without a sense of conflict, to do what is bad. And that perversion is the gnomic will. But again, we cannot truly talk about man having battle or inner division.” a gnomic will in the same way that man possesses a natural will – for it is not a thing to be possessed. It is natural human will. But in the same way that our natumore of a bent, in which the natural will is subverted ral human desires are fractured and confused, limited and acts out in bad ways. in knowledge and strength, so Jesus stepped into our twisted condition … and any warped propensity we We have a natural will to eat, but the gnomic will per- have to incline against our Ceator, He somehow mysverts it to make us food addicts. A natural will to party, tically beat that natural will back into submission on but the gnomic will makes us alcoholics. A natural will our behalf. to succeed and prosper, but the gnomic will turns this into greed and avarice. A natural will to have sex, but His repentance was our repentance. His faith was our the gnomic will sends us to the strip club instead of faith. His baptism was the baptism of the entire world. putting a ring on it. In His circumcision on the eighth day, the entire world was circumcised. “Why circumcise the Gentiles?” Gnome, for Maximus, refers to the proclivity that asked Paul. All of them are already Jews now thanks emerges in humanity through sin, which leads toward to Jesus. that sorrowful truth of scripture, that “there is not one righteous man left, no not even one” (Rom. 3:10). Yes, Jesus did not have a gnomic twist or perversion, but of course we all inherited sin in Adam. But that is not He beat His natural human will into alignment. And our authentic nature. therefore vicariously secured the redemption of the human race. “As sin becomes ever more part of the context of hu- man existence, it becomes a habit, an inclination, that Constantinople III Revisited drives man ever towards the wrong, debased, trans- I know this can all get a bit tricky and academic for gressing living-out of its God-created will,” writes Rus- some; but let me slow it down, back it up and begin to sian Orthodox archimandrite Matthew Steenberg. This make things a bit more practicable for your own life, inclination drives the manifestation of our natural will dear reader. to go wonky and habitate and gravitate toward evil. So
Jesus has a natural, God-given human will that is prone to do what God wants us to do. And in this, He typifies our own true identity. We are holy with factory settings to be holy. And plus, since Jesus is fully divine, He also has a divine will. But my early suspicions about Constantinople III were totally wrong. The church fathers were not making Jesus a schizo by giving Him two separate wills, both God and human. They never said these two wills were separate! Herein lies the most glorious conclusion: the fathers tell us that the human and divine wills in Jesus are completely united. Here is the doctrine the council affirmed: We … proclaim in Him, according to the teaching of the holy fathers, two natural volitions or wills and two natural actions, without division, without change, without separation, without confusion. The two natural wills (human and divine) are not – by no means – opposed to each other as the impious heretics assert; but His human will is compliant, it does not resist or oppose but rather submits to His divine and almighty will. Because of the Christological cohesion of the divine and human will in the person of Christ – there are massive ramifications to me, due to his vicarious repentance, obedience and being on my behalf! It means that my own human will has now been reformed and aligned within the very will of God in Jesus. I don’t have to desire porn anymore. Or methadone. Or burning kittens. Or being racist. Or stealing from the cash register. Deified in Christ Similarly, each of us can now live in the flow of unity between our human and the divine nature, without a sense of conflict, battle or inner division. God is within my choice of a stroll to the park. Within my visit to the barber or the grocery store. The foolish presumption that the human and divine natures are necessarily opposed to one another has been overturned in Jesus. I don’t have to second guess every choice I make, wondering if it is in conflict with God’s will. I am naturally prone to do His will.
Jesus has two wills totally reconciled and compliant in unity. So now my will is now totally reconciled and compliant to God. The struggle is over. The battle is over. I may not have it all outwardly figured out. I may still at times be confused about my wants and desires, but His desire is the deepest echo in my being that longs for release.
The divine and human in Christ must not be conceptualized in terms of parts, for one and the same is wholly both. And similarly, so have we thus been woven into Continued on page 10
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the divine nature, while still possessing a true humanity. The integrity of Jesus’ humanity is not threatened by this union, but rather the one nature deifies and the other is deified. There is no aspect of Jesus that does not fully exist within the divine union. And in this union, He deifies our humanity.
Jesus has two wills, but there is no act or will in opposition to God in Christ. His human nature is and wills in “perfect harmony in concurrence” with His divine will. This frees my true nature which is geared to flow in the bliss and glory of the divine. My very appetite for pleasure is the infinite itch driving my will to be eternally satisfied in Him.
His Vicarious Repentance Benedict continues: “The drama of the Mount of Olives lies in the fact that Jesus draws man’s natural will away from opposition and back toward synergy, and in doing so He restores man’s true greatness. In Jesus’s natural human will the sum total of human nature’s resistance to God is present within Jesus Himself.” In bending His human will toward God, He was vicariously bending all of our human will toward God. As the last Adam, He represents the curbing back and realigning of our human will toward the Father. That is what Christ was doing in the garden. He never opposed the Father’s will … we did. He was vicariously assuming our brokenness in order to reshape us.
Not My Will But Yours “The obstinacy (stubbornness) of us all, the whole of Let us now return to our secondary dilemma of Jesus’ our opposition to God is present, and in His struggle, will versus that of the Father. Now that I see there is no schizophrenic division in Christ – that His hu- “Jesus has two wills, but there is no man and divine will are in sync with one another – I can now return to the problem of Gethsemane (where act or will in opposition to God in again it appears like two different desires are taking Christ. His human nature is and wills place). in “perfect harmony in concurrence”
with His divine will. This frees my true nature which is geared to flow in the bliss and glory of the divine.”
Jesus elevates our recalcitrant (unrepentant) nature to become its real self,” adds Benedict. Latent within Jesus’ struggle, you were in Him in the Garden. He restored you back to who you are. “The prayer ‘not My will, but Yours’ is truly the Son’s prayer to the Father, through which the natural human will is completely subsumed (enveloped) into the ‘I’ of the Son. Indeed the Son’s whole being is expressed in the ‘not I but You’ – in the total self-abandonment of the ‘I’ to the ‘You’ of God the Father. This same ‘I’ has subsumed and transformed humanity’s resistance, so that we are all now present within the Son’s obedience; we are all drawn into sonship.”
The very fact that Jesus complies with the Father’s will, this tells me that these two are also in sync. If two wills are ultimately desiring the same thing, is that really a division? Of course not! “Not my will but yours be done” speaks not of division but unity in the heart of the Trinity. The true emancipation of the will – your freedom from sin – is realized when we see that His will was always our deepest, if not hidden desire.
In a remarkable quote from Pope Benedict XVI, he summarizes how our true, God-given nature is restored - together with the entire human race - as we were vicariously present in Christ in Gethsemane.
“Human will, by virtue of creation, tends toward synergy,” says Benedict. Synergy in working together: we are prone to work together with God by nature. Original sin is not your original nature. Christ is your original nature. He is your authentic blueprint, not fallen Adam. Benedict says, “but through sin, opposition takes the place of synergy: man whose will attains fulfillment through becoming attuned to Gods will, now has the sense that his freedom is compromised by Gods will.”
And therefore what we do? We rebel against God’s will. We conceive the idea that God’s will is a slavery or a limitation. The whole world thinks of Christianity as some legalistic bondage … so the world opts to do its own thing. But there is no freedom outside of Gods will.
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because we are created for a divine synergy at the deepest levels of our longing. What if He is the one who has kindled our core desires, while the gnomic twist simply offered us cheap, unsatisfying fixes to those infinite longings? Let me clarify: when I speak of the will, after all, I am speaking of our deepest heart’s desire that results in action. The Ecstasy of Co-Labor The Apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 3:9 states, “For we are coworkers (co-laborers) in God’s service. …” The Greek word for co-labor is synergoi or “synergy.” Our kingdom work is summarized in walking in synergy with God, and this is easier than you think. Our primary calling as believers is a passive one. It is abiding. It is trusting. It is loving. And yet, love also does verbs. In the mystics and Eastern fathers, you often see that our co-laboring is chiefly in the passive act of surrender, more than any human endeavor to “help” God. “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem … ” (2 Chron. 20:17). This synergy of doing the will of God is radically foreign to what we call “human willpower” or working something up. The Gospel is about what Christ has done. Nevertheless, we do indeed exercise our will in freedom in working hard, pursuing goals and achieving dreams in this life. You can work hard and still be operating out of an inward bubble of rest, peace, security and tension-free, anxiety-free grace. You can exercise your will and choice without striving.
We talk quite extensively about resting in the finished work of Christ. And often folks can get confused about it all. You can work really, really hard if it flows from an inward wellspring of desire, and still not be toiling under a curse of strife. A lot of people think it would be In saying that Christ vicariously repented on our be- pure utopia to just retire and never work anymore. But half and bent our wills back to the Father, am I sug- did you know God created us to actually enjoy work? gesting this is all just theoretical or positional … with no real bearing on your natural life? By no means! Even Adam had a job in Eden. His job was to tend the garden of pleasure. Quite the job description! It was Every one of us still acts and wills of our own volition not until after the fall that Adam’s work and his play every day of our lives. We choose to drink coffee, go were divorced. Now we work in order to buy play time, to work, play with our kids. But just as Benedict says, and we play in order to avoid work. But we are actuhuman will, by virtue of creation, “tends toward syn- ally created to thrive and ecstatically enjoy what God ergy” with God. This element of synergy – of working has called us to do. If you are trying to figure out what together with God, vitally aligning with His will in real God has called you to do, ask yourself: if you could do action on a daily basis … this has been a point of anything in the world, what would you do even if you radical misconception. We have considered the will didn’t get paid for it? Perhaps your true calling is conof God to be against our human will – quite often pic- nected to that theme. turing our deepest desires to be in direct conflict or contradiction to God. But in reality, there is a heavy I personally work far more than 40 hours per week, duty ecstasy that comes along with doing His will … yet I do not feel I’ve done an honest day’s work in my
life since starting the ministry! I love what I do. Work we are talking about ecstatically stepping outside ourmotivated by passion is not diseased by toil, rote ob- selves (out of our “own will”) as we co-labor with the ligation, burnout, depression or a false sense of god- desire of another. less responsibility. What this 5th century mystic is saying is that, in doing There is ecstasy in the doing. the will of a higher creature (namely God) somehow we are actually coming outside of ourselves. And in Our ecstasy in God is not separate from action but this is a symmetry of ecstasies, in which God Himself intrinsically connected to willful action. We don’t work is also experiencing ecstasy. By creating, sustaining for the wine of His love! Your efforts are not neces- and saving us – God is coming outside Himself in sary for this intoxication. But true love does manifest a sense, also participating in a mutual ecstasy. This in action. Doing good works are not some separate coming outside yourself, ecstasy, is the very intoxicatthing from our bliss - at least not when they are done ing nature of love in action for which we were created properly as fruits of faith, rather than trying to earn ac- (“… created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which ceptance or approval. Working is not to “pull out of the God prepared in advance for us to do” [Eph. 2:10]). wine room,” as if inward intimacy with God’s presence stands in stark contrast to my outward labors. There In rightly defining extasis as being a “departure from is a joy in our vocation. our own being,” know that there is a mutual bliss and satisfaction in giving oneself over to the other. Jesus Synergetic Ecstasy did this Himself in some sense as He kenotically empIt helps to know that His will for my life may completely tied himself, setting aside the fullness of His glory cohere to something I assumed was completely secu- and taking upon Himself our humanity. His greatest lar. Jesus was in the secular workforce until age 30. ecstasy was to step out of Himself as it were, lay To always reject what we inherently want to do – be it down His life and take a bride. According to Alexander business, skateboarding, comic book collecting – we Golitzin, “As God comes out of Himself, exestekos, in may think the only holy life is one of fasting, starvation a ‘departure from His own being’ in his processions to and being a full time missionary to Botswana. But in create, sustain and save the world, so we are called all our earthly endeavors, the joy is found in abandon- to ecstasies, a departure from ourselves, as the act of ing self-centerdness. our return to Him.” Let us not forget, that the very nature of ecstasy is to In this symmetry of ecstasies, we find ourselves come outside of ourselves. The fifth century mystical rooted in the divine, ecstatic, other-givingness of God theologian Pseudo-Dionysus and other early writers pouring Himself into humanity and humanity emptying talk about a synergetic ecstasy - a symmetry of ec- Himself back into God - the continual rapture occurstasies (the biblical Greek word for trance, “ekstasis,” ring ontologically within Christ’s own being. means standing outside yourself). Now generally, we just think of trances and ecstasies in terms of person- In Jesus, God is rapturously given over to man, and al devotion, raptured outside ourselves when we are man is rapturously given over to God. Jesus Christ is lost in God’s presence in worship. a living ecstasy. Divine Consummation I do not want to get overly mature with the subject matter or sound too crass, but the best analogy we have for this symmetry of ecstasies is perhaps lovemaking. And just to be clear, that it is the scriptural analogy, not my own metaphor. The husband and the bride, this is Christ and the church (Eph. 5:32).
But Dionysius explains that in the hierarchy of celestial beings, when a lower being (man) is receptive to a higher being (God), this allows for a synergy to result in a mutual ecstasy. There are two keywords here: synergy and ecstasy. Synergy. Remember that word people used in business seminars back in the ‘90s? It was usually some dork talking into his Bluetooth earpiece. “Yes we’ll touch base. Hit the ground running. It’s the new normal, a game changer. Going forward, I’ll have my people call your people for some teambuilding. If we face time you can give me a ballpark. We’ll fast track it, take ownership and avoid a non-starter ... We need synergy!”
Shall we take the entirety of Song of Solomon for our illustration? The ecstasy of romantic love, and overtly the act of physical sex, is about the most indicative allusion we have to represent two distinct individuals coming outside of themselves into the other. Each is so focused on the other lover that both soul and flesh are knit together whilst some transcendent, ecstatic experience unfolds. Even in that physical act of literal interpenetration, two separate human wills are drawn Remember, our entire discussion here is on will, together as one in unified desire in that moment. choice, desire, doing and action. And in synergizing or flowing together with the will or desire of another, Forgive the terminology, but there is literally an or-
gasmic frequency to our calling to do the will of God. Obviously I am not talking about some carnal, coital imagery of literally making love to God. It’s a limited metaphor. But if the analogy must be pushed, doing the will of God is more akin to an orgasm than breaking your back in the belly of a slave ship. Perichoresis is the term for the other-giving, interpenetrating love of the Trinity. Robert Capon said the whole creation came out of the mystical love bed of the Trinity at the beginning of time. And rest assured, as we live and move in God’s presence, there is divine fruitfulness and creation/creativity that takes place as we, as mother church, as a womb, give birth to an expression of Christ in our own lives. Out of this perichoretic, interpenetrating dance of surrender to the will of God, creative energy begins to bear fruit, much fruit and fruit that will remain. In Genesis, we read that God put Adam in a deep sleep (the word is ecstasy), and Eve came out! Talk about literally coming out of yourself in ecstasy. God has lost Himself in you. And somehow you spilled out of His bliss. And now we are drawn to lose ourselves in following Him. And the irony, is that our natural will has always been geared to crave this blissful submission to the otherly will of God. The pure utopian pleasure of doing God’s will, of stepping outside of yourself and being plunged into doing His sweet desire, whether as an astronaut or a humble dishwasher like Brother Lawrence, is the very thing you were born for. There is indescribable pleasure of thinking outside of ourselves. Of losing sight of ourselves altogether. Just as God has lost sight of Himself, as Catherine of Sienna says, throwing Himself blindly like a man fast drunk with love into the opprobrium of the cross. It is in losing our lives that we find them. That is the way of this upside down kingdom. Yet what we must relentlessly understand is that God is experiencing that very same other-focused rapture by delighting in us ... this ecstatic pleasure is a two-way street. If you had any idea how ravenous God is over you, how drunk on love! May the wine go straight to my Lover (Song 7:9). This wine of love is a wine of losing oneself in the other. Marvel that somehow Christ mystically stepped out of the will of His own divine timing at the wedding supper of Cana in order to serve at the will of His mortal mother and exchange our dirtiest water into the finest wine. The gospel is a mutual drinking – a symmetry of ecstasies between God and man. He is intoxicated on serving you. And the empowering synergetic joy of responding to His divine will in our lives – far from a dry, religious duty – is an exhilarating epiphany.
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Itinerary Find the Party Near You!
Schools, conferences & mission trips with John Crowder
2017 Omaha Gospel Funhouse
February 25-26
Omaha, Nebraska
Atlanta Gospel Funhouse
February 27-28
Snellville, Georgia
New York Gospel Funhouse
March 1-2
New York City, NY
Ohio Gospel Funhouse
March 3-4
Cleveland, Ohio
John Crowder Naked
April 21-23
Newport News, Virginia
California Women’s Retreat
April 28-30
Beni Johnson, Lily Crowder, Melissa Wood
Redlands Supernatural Grace
May 5-6
Redlands, California
Toronto, Ontario
May 20-21
Cosmic Canada Tour
Montreal, Québec
May 22-23
Cosmic Canada Tour
Edmonton, Alberta
May 24-25
Cosmic Canada Tour
Abbotsford, British Columbia
May 26-27
Cosmic Canada Tour
Pittsburgh Mystical School
June 23-25
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Trans-Siberian Mission
August 9-23
Russia, Hungary, Armenia & Mongolia
Supernatural Joy Unspeakable
September 22-24
Köln, Germany
Germany Mystical School
Sept. 29-Oct. 1
Live Monthly Web Conference: Interact With John Crowder Our interactive monthly Web seminar, Inner Sanctum, connects supernatural gospel grace drinkers all around the world on a regular basis. The live teaching and exclusive online chat features have enabled us to bring fresh revelation to viewers right to their homes, churches and house groups. Each month, we answer your burning questions and unpackage the glorious gospel in a fresh, intoxicating atmosphere of impartation and glory! If you’re diving into grace revelation and want to plug in deeper with lifechanging messages, we invite you or your group to join as a member of our online community at www.TheNewMystics.TV
FRESH LIVE MATERIAL EACH MONTH DIRECT ACCESS TO JOHN CROWDER PRIVATE RESOURCES FOR MEMBERS ONLY Upcoming Broadcast Schedule: March 12 April 17*(Monday after Easter Sunday) May 7 June 4 July 9 August 6 September 10
www.TheNewMystics.TV
All seminars are held on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific
Hanau, Germany
Massachusetts Mystical School
October 13-15
Pepperell, Massachusetts
Florida Paradise Now
October 21-22
Tampa, Florida
Texas Paradise Now
October 23-24
Houston, Texas
Montana Paradise Now
October 25-26
Billings, Montana
California Paradise Now
October 27-28
Redding, California
Reformation 500 Webcast
October 29
Watch Free at: TheNewMystics.com/Reform
Hong Kong-Philippines Mission
December 1-9
Trip Open for Applications
Schedule subject to change. Sign up for events early at:
www.thenewmystics.com 12 | the ecstatic : spring-summer 2017
Online Community ... Intoxicating Fun! Our ministry events are full of joy and impartation, but let’s face it ... you can’t make it to every conference in the world! Inner Sanctum is a way to plug you into a steady diet of gospel revelation right in your own home. Everywhere we travel, people are always asking us, “How can we stay connected with the Message?” The Inner Sanctum is a great tool as you grow in grace. Our Most Comprehensive Teaching Resource! Since we’ve launched Inner Sanctum at TheNewMystics.TV, we have posted more than 60 hours of archived teachings – and as a member, you receive instant access to watch all of this footage, anytime! Your monthly membership contribution ($19.95) also helps support our ministry endeavors all around the world! Gather your family and friends to enjoy each month’s event together! Each month, you can take part in our live, interactive seminars where John Crowder spends several hours engaging one-on-one with viewers right from his home study. Ask us your questions live for our real-time Q&A ... or just kick back and have a laugh as other members log in and join the fun. These are NOT recorded church meetings! Instead, John engages live-in-person with viewers, answering your questions and getting you activated in the gospel message. Join us as we savor the bliss of mystical Christianity and the supernatural realities of the new creation. Finally, a fun way to feast on the finished work no matter where you live!
SOT Building New Orphanage in Philippines
Sons of Thunder will be taking on its third orphanage project, as we build a new home near Manila to rescue abandoned children. Construction begins this year outside the Wawa garbage dump, like the home pictured here housing children rescued by our friends and administrative partners at LifeChild Asia. Here at Sons of Thunder, a long-standing part of our mission statement and vision has been to release the heart of the Father through the tangible care and support of orphaned children. Since 2007, we have directly rescued abandoned children in developing nations, bringing food, education and most of all, a loving home for these vulnerable forgotten on the margins of society. We are excited to announce a fresh new endeavor in the nations to save the lives of even more little ones! To date, we have had the amazing opportunity to rescue dozens of young lives in India in the two children’s homes we have operated there. It has been amazing to watch some of our kids, who were so small when we began, to grow up over the years and even venture off to college! We have been gripped to the core with not only saving lives, but watching them succeed and thrive. But now, we are responding to a different mission field, as we feel the Lord expanding our passion and faith to construct yet another home for orphans – this time in the Philippines. For several years, we have valued the work of our friends at LifeChild Asia who have endeavored to construct several kids’ homes outside the Wawa garbage dumps on the island of Luzon, in which more than a thousand families live in abject poverty. Togeth-
er with their administrative partnership, Sons of Thunder will be constructing a brand new home – with plans to break ground by spring 2017. We have already begun fundraising for the facility, which will be solely raised by us and will require tens of thousands in capital building funds, together with a fresh monthly commitment to feed, educate, clothe and provide regular oversight and staff for the children. Currently we send thousands in support each month for our two children’s homes in India, so we appreciate all the continued and renewed support from you – our friends and partners – to join together with us in this fresh opportunity to be fathers to the fatherless and bread to the hungry. This new commitment is a major step up for us financially, and we trust that as the Lord moves on your hearts to join with us, the blessings and favor associated with moving in His heart for the poor will manifest on your lives! Our first home constructed in Mumbai in 2007 is our largest, housing upward of 30 children. The second home in Rajahmundry, India held about 20 children, and we are now excited to reach out to more. Sons of Thunder adopted the Rajahmundry house, constructed by our friends at Revivaltown Ministries, when they were no longer able to
provide regular support. Our Revivaltown friends have continued to monitor the wellbeing of the children we support in Rajahmundry, and most have now been transitioned to actual homes, opening doors for us to focus more ministry resources on the Philippines. Please consider contributing to our work with orphans in India and the Philippines by continuing as part of the Sons of Thunder team as a monthly financial partner. You can jump onboard easily online at: www.thenewmystics.com/partners You can also find out more about our existing children’s homes or make a one-time donation for capital building costs at our missions page: www.thenewmystics.com/missions Finally, for those who would like to join us in the Philippines as we make our inaugural visit to the children’s home in December 2017, you can join our two-nation mission team which will also make a stop in Hong Kong, visiting garbage dumps, releasing healing and equipping many in the supernatural gospel of grace. Find out more at www.thenewmystics.com/go and see our article on page 14.
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Asia Mission Reaches Lepers, Garbage Dumps Return with us to Philippines, Hong Kong in 2017
Last November, Sons of Thunder took an international team of about 20 people to Indonesia and Philippines for a wild, transformative mission marked by a heavy weight of God’s tangible glory and a clear proclamation of the gospel of grace.
three-day event marked by a weighty, intoxicating glory and impartation as John preached an unfiltered, unmixed gospel of the finished work of the cross, marked by the supernatural. The team also visited with orphans in Manila.
Our trek to Indonesia, the largest Muslim country on earth, included visiting a massive garbage dump, where we ministered to the poorest of the poor. Countless people living in destitute poverty literally comb through the burning trash heaps to survive each day. On the outskirts of Jakarta, we ventured to such a place, bringing truckloads of food and provision to the hungry, bombing children with candy and preaching the gospel to some of the most receptive, open people on the planet! The joy and openness was tangible as Muslims and Christians alike warmly received the gospel.
While in the region, our hearts were stirred to not only return to the Philippines for another miracle gospel event in 2017 – but also to plant a new home for orphaned children in the country. This year we plan to break ground on the project (see article on page 13 ).
Next, we ventured to the Jakarta leper colony, where we have been building relationships over the years. For the first time, we had unprecedented access to a leper hospital – hugging, kissing and praying for the freshest, newly infected cases as well as those most advanced with the disease. We were the first Western visitors allowed access to this hospital since Princess Diana in the 1980s. In addition to prayer, love, healing prayer and simply releasing dignity and honor to the desperate and forgotten, we also brought more food as well. After our time in Indonesia, we trekked over to the Philippines releasing the message of grace in a
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YOU CAN JOIN US IN THE NATIONS! John Crowder and team will return to the Philippines and also to Hong Kong for a two-nation mission trip next December 2017, where you can join us to be part of the action! If you have a heart for missions, we encourage you to lean into the faith of Christ – taking the first simple step of faith by sending in your initial application and deposit! On this trip, we will visit the garbage dumps and party with the orphans on our inaugural visit to the new Sons of Thunder Children’s Home we are building near Manila. In addition, we will have a massive miracle campaign in Isabela, Philippines. And in Hong Kong, we will equip believers with a two-day supernatural grace event, with an evening of effortless, non-awkward prophetic outreach on the streets!
Registration is now open for the trip. The sign up deadline cutoff date is August 1, but we may cut the date short if the team fills up before then. Keep in mind you do not need your entire trip payment by that time. Only your initial application and deposit are needed to secure your spot, so take that faith plunge and apply early. You will have more time to raise the remainder of your funds, with final payment due at the end of September. This is a “make your own way trip,” which means we allow you to purchase your own plane ticket to lower costs. Many folks end up finding friends or family who donate air miles, making the trip more affordable. The team will meet up onsite in Hong Kong. Total cost for the trip is $1,950. This includes all of your hotels, two meals per day, ground transportation, your flight from Hong Kong to Manila, flight from Manila to Isabela and also helps contribute toward the outreaches. Email us with any questions at info@thenewmystics.org or visit the trip Web page at www.thenewmystics.com/go If you are unable to join the team, but would like to contribute to the outreaches – you can visit www.thenewmystics. com/missions to send a donation toward the mission. Total Cost: $1,950 Team Applications Due: AUGUST 1, 2017 Final Trip Payment Due: SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 Trip Dates: NOV. 30 – DEC. 9, 2017 Registration: WWW.THENEWMYSTICS.COM/GO
Garbage Dumps Miracle Campaign Orphan Outreach
Join us December 2017 for a lifechanging trip to the mission field!
Sons of Thunder recently brought another team to Indonesia and Philippines, feeding the poor who live in the garbage dumps, visiting leper colonies and releasing the glorious good news of the gospel of grace. We are returning to Philippines, along with the nation of Hong Kong next December on a trip where you can join us!
the ecstatic : spring-summer 2017 | 15
Theology + Ecstasy = Cana Seminary Study at Your Own Pace This Fall This fall 2017, we are moving forward with another year of the world’s first drunken seminary! Cana New Wine Seminary is geared for folks who want to study from home at their own pace … specifically for those looking for tangible, supernatural substance and transformation in their theology – not just irrelevant concepts. Have you have ever desired to plunge into theological study, but you lack patience to sift through dead, dry doctrine and lifeless intellectualism … or perhaps you just can’t find the extra time to study? These were the very motivating factors for starting Cana. Our goal was to gather a heavy hitting roster of non-religious, grace-based instructors who have
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a profound grasp of the finished work of the cross. The goal of the course is not to memorize a bunch of rote, irrelevant doctrinal information. We want a living theology school that is experiential, mystical and on fire with the presence of God. Theology should not be boring. The pure, unmixed message of grace intoxicates us with divine love and produces real, radical change and fruitfulness in our daily lives. Furthermore, our decision to move Cana to a twoyear, online format has opened an opportunity for everyone to participate through the Web no matter one’s career or existing life circumstances. With an easy course load of only one session per week,
students can take the class at their own pace (you have two weeks to watch each lesson), and connect on a live Q & A with John Crowder each semester. The online version also allows us to offer Cana at a fraction of the cost versus physically attending the campus in Portland. For early bird registrants, Cana starts at $275 for the first semester. The vision for Cana is literally a drunken theological institute! A renewal based course that appreciates the presence of God, Cana hosts a mystical/ecstatic atmosphere together with a rich roster of doctorate level theologians and engaging speakers. Together with John and Lily Crowder, speakers include Dr. C. Baxter Kruger, Mirror Bible translator Francois Du
Toit, Matt Spinks, Dr. Eric Wilding, Rod Williams and more.
Register Now for Fall 2017
Early bird registration is now open at a discounted rate until October 11, 2016 at www.Cana.co Rate before October 11: $275 First Semester Only $650 Entire Year Course
away from Cana would be a nifty, slightly more lucid theological paradigm than my previous one. Instead, students were slathered with the living deposit of an all-encompassing model for Spirit saturated, NewCovenant-grounded, grace-based, incarnational existence in oneness with God: an ecstatic, oily-faced, stuffed-to-the-gills, satisfying smorgasbord of the bread and wine of our union with Christ. Feasting on
I felt as though waterfalls of joy kept pouring through my brain and heart, as years of religious lies were cast away into the outer darkness! So much love and joy and peace and glory; I am ruined forever. - Daniel Stephens The Cana school and community experience was life-giving! My trust and experience of the gospel was validated and strengthened. … the immersion into the teachings and readings dismantled old mindsets and gloriously replaced them. So happy I went for it. - Shannon Craddock
After October 11, cost for the yearlong course increases to $700. Classes begin November 1 with holiday breaks included. Cana is a two-year course, but students can inquire about a double class load if they want to finish quicker. You can get a one-year certificate or become a full graduate of the entire two-year course. Find out more at www.Cana.co or write us at cana@ thenewmystics.com
My experience at Cana has forever changed my outlook on Christianity and just how beautiful it is. The truth I walked away with has freed me to be myself, think outside of the boxes I didn’t realize I was in and to love more fully than I ever knew I could. Cana may offend you at times. It is unconventional and full of so much grace and good news that it’s hard to digest … but if you give God a chance to expand your horizons I believe He will do just that. - Ashley Ownby
Check Out More Cana Alumni Testimonies! At first I considered studying at Cana New Wine Seminary because I wanted to grow more in the supernatural ways of Holy Spirit and explore the theological underpinnings behind such a lifestyle. Upon enrolling with my wife, we soon realized that what was being offered up was so much more. Cana is not a dry bones academic lecture and reading series, neither is it another oversimplified charismatic voodoo “how to” course designed to give you some new tricks for your ministry toolbox. It is rather an invitation to put on gospel glasses and peer into a whole new resurrected universe that is far better, sweeter, drunker, brighter and technicolor “realer” than the one you thought you were living in. The gospel describes this vision to you and fills you with the longing that it might actually be true. Then it declares to you that the vision is reality, and you are already living in it thanks to the finished work of Christ … it delivers you from all your self-effort and striving and teaches you to blissfully rest in the faithfulness and fullness of Christ in you. Before enrolling, I thought perhaps the take
investment. - Mike Kitajima
this central New Testament reality does result in supernatural living, but even more, it aligns our awareness to binge drink of the entire harmonic palette of joy, love, life, wholeness, healing, contentment, delight and intoxicating glory that is continually poured into our new nature from the very heart of the very good, very happy Trinity. Participating in Cana New Wine Seminary has been the single best growth experience to happen to my faith, emotional health, marriage and ministry in 20-plus years of walking with Jesus. If you are at all interested I advise you to sell the shirt off your back if necessary to make the
When I went to Cana my expectation was to go deeper in the revelation of the finished work of the cross and our Father’s heart toward us. I was surprised how much more I received. I ended up concluding that He is always better than we think, and it’s so good. A lot of old paradigms of God were removed in my mind as I learned and experienced his divine embrace towards me and the whole world. I even lost weight! I recommend Cana to anyone who wants to know the heart of the Father and experience his love in all its fullness. You will not be disappointed! It’s a great school, with great teachers and the price is really cheap for all you get! - Ruben Castillo Time of your life. Thought I literally died on the road on the way to Cana and woke up in heaven. - TJ Lathrom
www.cana.co
the ecstatic : spring-summer 2017 | 17
Emptied for our Divinity by Brett Endress
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, though from the beginning He had the nature of God, He did not reckon equality with God something to be forcibly retained, but emptied and impoverished Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and became a human being (Phi. 2:5-7).
The Son is submissive to the Father only insofar as this is the expression of love the Son has for the Father and the Father for the Son, and in no way reflects an inferiority. His incarnation was proleptically given imagery in the burning bush of Moses. As with the burning bush we find that Christ’s humanity as reflected in the bush was not consumed with the fire of His divinity. Torrance says this, “In the hypostatic union, God remains God, and man remains man, and yet in Christ, God who remains God is forever joined to man, becomes man and remains man. In this union God has become man without ceasing to be God, and man is taken up into the very being of God without ceasing to be man.”
In Jesus’ incarnation He expresses His very heart, intention and being through His kenosis or self-emptying. His kenosis is at the heart of His saving act and ontological being. It is not something He simply does to condescend and save man; He is the humble God from all eternity come to save humanity at the cost of His own impoverishment. As Torrance points out, “the Greek does not say that Christ emptied anything out of Himself, as if out of a container. Rather, He emptied There is no textual basis to argue how the Son of God Himself of His glory, His heavenly morphe or form, somehow poured divinity out of Himself. How the Son taking an inglorious, earthly form.” of God became human while remaining wholly God is a matter about which the New Testament remains Isaiah proleptically confirms this reality when he says, silent. It is a mystery. And as such we should consider “He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like it a miracle of Holy Spirit. a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that In Christ’s act of kenosis we find the purpose of God we should desire Him.” To be certain, God donning actualized in redemption. Christ not only condescendearthly form is not alien to Him - not to be set aside ed to become a man (a very real, authentic, historical at the ascension. For we see in the ascension, both human), but also came into solidarity with humankind the full expression of humanity and deity co-existent to become their humiliation. He became their Substiin one Person. His humiliation and obedience were tute, their Representative. Mackintosh says, “God in not simply acts of being a human; they are the very Christ, we believe, came down to the plane of sufferexpression of His deity. Darren Summer summarizes ing men that He might lift them up. Descending into Karl Barth in saying, “For God, subordination entails poverty, shame and weakness, the Lord was stripped no inferiority, no deprivation or lack, but is a way of of all credit, despoiled of every right, humbled to the being that possesses its own dignity. This is why the very depths of social and historical ignominy, that in way of humility, the way of the Son of God into the far this self-abasement of God there might be found the country, is at the same time His glory. ... This is the redemption of man.” real mystery of the deity of Christ - not that there is in Him a suspension of deity, but that it is as Jesus of In His very act of self-emptying, He entered (as there Nazareth that God is what He is as God.” was no other way) into the very depths of humanity in order to exalt us with Him in His exaltation and ascenWe also find in patristic writings their understanding sion. Christ puts Himself in our place so that we could of submission. Denys the Areopagite would say that be put in His place. In His poverty, we are rich. In His within the divine hierarchy of lower beings with high- humiliation, we are exalted. In His becoming sin, we er beings (Jesus being made a little lower than the are made righteous. Athanasius would say, “For the angels), there is a “mutual ecstasy” that is reached Son of God became man so that we might become when the lower has receptivity with the higher (God God.” Many church fathers would call this the magthe Father). It is within this receptivity that both be- nificent exchange, where God takes all that is His and ings are caught up into ecstasy of communion with exchanges it for all that is ours in our fallen humanity. one another. He then sanctifies us and presents us to God, blameless. We have now become the righteousness of God Christ having chosen, not coerced, to empty Himself in Christ. displays the unity and oneness of Father and Son.
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We clearly see that Jesus had in mind before the foundation of the world a communion, a fellowship with humanity that would only be achieved by His incarnation. He would bring all that was Him to man and one Himself with them in order to achieve this end. He would not only be crucified, buried, resurrected, ascended and seated at the right hand of the Father for them (as most of the church adheres to doctrinally), but He would accomplish something as them. He would be the Representative Man who lived the perfect, obedient life of unbroken fellowship with the Father through Holy Spirit. The Last Adam, the progenitor of a new race of human, would usher in a “new and living way” in divine reversal of everything the first Adam ushered in through sin, the mind of separation. The finished work as them achieves something far more intimate and personal. It does not, in any way, diminish what Christ has accomplished for us. It is only in what He has accomplished for us that we can experience the bliss of what He had done as us. This magnificent exchange as us brings about something only Holy Spirit could reveal to the heart, for it is to be more adored than understood. Mystically drunk than logically rationalized. Our divinization, only to be understood in Christ, was accomplished through His ultimate kenosis. Two dichotomies reaching the far ends of the universe have been merged in His incarnation. His entire life was an emptying, a condescending of Himself, to give us His fullness. He donned a beggar’s garment and claimed a beggar’s existence. He stripped Himself of the effulgence of His glory in order that man could see Him face-to-face with their weakened eyes. And then, in and through His incarnation, lifted them up into His eternal glory. His act as the Son of Man reaches its fullest conclusion in what Athanasius says, “He descended to effect man’s promotion; therefore He did not receive in reward the name of the Son and God, but rather He Himself has made us sons of the Father, and deified men by becoming Himself man.” Citations: Thomas F. Torrance, “Incarnation” Darren Sumner, “Obedience and Subordination in Karl Barth’s Trinitarian Theology” Hugh Mackintosh, “The Doctrine of the Person of Jesus Christ” Aaron Riches, “Ecce Homo” Athanasius, “On the Incarnation”
Meditations of the Mystics
In this showing (my vision) of the crucifixion suddenly I saw the red blood trickling down from under the garland, hot and freshly and most plenteously, just as it was at the time of His Passion when the garland of thorns was pressed onto His blessed head. Just so, I conceived truly and powerfully that it was He Himself (both God and man, the same who suffered thus for me) who showed it to me without any go-between. And in the same showing suddenly the Trinity almost filled my heart with joy (and I understood it shall be like that in heaven without end for all that shall come there.) For the Trinity is God, God is the Trinity; the Trinity is our Maker, the Trinity is our Keeper, the Trinity is our everlasting lover, the Trinity is our endless Joy and Bliss, by our Lord Jesus Christ. (and this was shown in the first revelation and in all of them, for whenever Jesus appears, the blessed Trinity is understood, as I see it.) - Julian of Norwich
The Father spoke one Word, which was his Son, and this Word he speaks always in eternal silence, and in silence must it be heard by the soul. – John of the Cross
reason and beyond simple faith. For contemplation is a kind of spiritual vision to which both reason and faith aspire, by their very nature, because without it they must always remain incomplete. Yet contemplation is not vision, because it sees ‘without seeing’ and knows ‘without knowing’. It is more profound depth of faith, knowledge too deep to be grasped in images, in words or even in clear concepts. It can be suggested by works, by symbols, but in the very moment of trying to indicate what it knows the contemplative mind takes back what it has said and * * * denies what is has affirmed. For in contemplation we Contemplation is about waking up. Simply defined, to be contemplative is to experience an event fully, in know by ‘unknowing’. Or, better, we know beyond all all its aspects. Biblically this is expressed as knowing knowing or ‘unknowing’. - Thomas Merton “face to face.” What is implied in that phrase … is that we are in contemplation when we stand before * * * reality and experience it without the limits and distorToo late have 1 loved you. O Beauty so ancient and tions that are created by narcissism, pragmatism, so new, too late have I loved you! Behold, you were and excessive restlessness. within me, while I was outside, it was there that 1 - Ronald Rolheiser sought you, and, a deformed creature, rushed headlong upon these things of beauty which you have * * * made. You were with me, but 1 was not with you. Contemplation is the highest expression of our They kept me far from you, those fair things which, if intellectual and spiritual life. It is that life itself, fully * * * they were not in you, would not exist at all. You have awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things. is spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the called to me, and have cried out, and have shattered Every single creature is full of God and a book about sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life, for my deafness. You have blazed forth with light, and God. Every creature is a word of God. If I spent have shone upon me, and you have put my blindawareness and for being. It is a vivid realization of enough time with the tiniest creature – even a cater- the fact that life and being in us proceed from an in- ness to flight! ... I have tasted you, and I hunger and pillar – I would never have to prepare a sermon. So visible, transcendent and infinitely abundant source. thirst after you. You have touched me. and I have full of God is every creature. Contemplation is, above all, awareness of the reality burned for your peace. - Meister Eckhart of that source. It knows that source, obscurely, inex- - Augustine plicably, but with a certitude that goes both beyond
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NEW & CLASSIC BOOKS FROM JOHN & LILY CROWDER
Money. Sex. Beer. God. In this Biblical companion to the happy life, learn how religious mindsets of gnostic dualism slipped in over 2,000 years of church history and blinded us to the God-given joys and pleasures of this world. We have often separated our spirituality from earthiness. But did Jesus really condemn all enjoyment of this world? Ditch religion for the joy of incarnation as John Crowder covers topics your pastor is afraid to talk about.
Books
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Chosen for Paradise The topic of election has confused theologians for centuries. Does God harden hearts and choose some to fry forever in Hell? Explore the tough passages of Romans 9-11 and gain new light on the debated doctrine. God is not choosing one human over another. Jesus Christ is the chosen, elect man on behalf of all humanity. And you are fully included in Him. John’s shortest book aims to cheer up theology’s biggest problem ever!
Cosmos Reborn Need a religious detox? Have a dose of happy theology on the new creation! A grace-centered look at regeneration, the new creation and the new birth. See the massive, cosmic scope of the finished work of the cross as John makes a scandalous case that the Father of Jesus Christ is in a good mood. Get a gospel view of wrath, hell and dispel the myth of a dark, schizophrenic god of religion. One of our deepest books!
Grace for the Contemplative Parent Based on the classic Practice of the Presence of God, Lily gears this book for real-time parents whose lives are full of dirty diapers and soccer practice. Don’t have luxurious hours of quiet time like a 17th century monk? You are not missing out. Be awakened to the very real presence of Christ in your everyday, seemingly “mundane” state of affairs. Full of practical, down-to-earth examples and wisdom from a mother of four.
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*NEW*
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Seven Spirits Burning
Mystical Union
The New Mystics
The Ecstasy of Loving God
John’s long-awaited Seven Spirits Burning is an extensive, Biblical plunge into the nature and operation of the sevenfold Spirit of God. This book unpackages a deep theological and Christocentric understanding of the seven Spirits. John has taught for years on the seven Spirits, but not until now has he released this detailed compilation of his study and experience. This book could possibly be the magnum opus of anything written to date on the Spirit’s sevenfold nature.
When you think of the cross, do you think of fun? Get ready for the gospel as you’ve never heard it. With clear revelatory truths on the New Creation and the scandalous joys of the cross, Mystical Union promises to be one of John’s most revolutionary, lifechanging works. The happy gospel of grace is about uninterrupted union with the Divine. This book lays out our most core beliefs. It promises to wreck your theology and cheer you up with undeniable Biblical truths on the free gift of perfection.
God has destined you to live in the joyful radiance of Himself, just as Adam was called to live in the realm of Eden. Ecstasy, or “extasis,” is the Greek term for trance, and is linked with a pleasurable, God-given state of out-of body experience recorded throughout the New Testament and the church age. In this book, John takes us on a journey from Old and New Testament ecstatic prophets to the future ecstatics who will usher in a massive wave of harvest Glory to the streets in these last days.
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Two thousand years of miracle workers and seers crammed into one generation. The fiery bowls of heaven are being poured out through an anextreme extremebody body of spiriof spiritual tual forerunners. Are called you called to forerunners. Are you to walk walk among them? Miracle Workamong them? Miracle Workers, ers, Reformers New MysReformers and and the the New Mystics tics contains more than70 70 photos, contains more than illustrations, and biographies of men and women whose lives have demonstrated the phenomenal throughout the theages. ages.Let Let their stotheir stories ries inspire inspire youyou. to join their ranks as part of this revival generation. $15.95 + Shipping $15.95 + JohnCrowder.Net Shipping Buy It At:
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Trances, raptures & divine pleasures
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The Priesthood of Christ The Relevance and Perfecting of the Office
Miracle Healing Session Healing Release & Impartation
While priesthood seems an irrelevant topic in today’s culture of Instagram, Netflix and backyard barbecues, all of humanity longs inwardly for the role of a priest - one who will atone for their sense of guilt and offer to God the perfect worship they can never muster up. How was Christ “perfected” as our High Priest?
John often says he has never done a whole teaching solely on healing ... He just teaches on the gospel and does healings. In this session devoted completely to healing miracles and impartation, John brings a finished work perspective and grace focus to the subject of bodily miracles. Get free from striving to “work up” faith for healing!
Killing the Sacred Cow
Communion
A Beginner’s Guide to Why we are so Offensive
Participating in Sacramental Union
John Crowder gives an overview of many major concepts the Lord has downloaded to him over the years. He walks through a journey of various topics: from a focus on the supernatural, the wine of God’s presence, our union with God, the inclusion of humanity in the gospel, freedom from dualisms and much more. A good scandalous snapshot of our experiential and theological journey.
In this teaching John Crowder covers the topic of communion. Is it a mere symbol or a mystical sacrament? How do we view communion from a perspective of the finished work of the cross? John also explores the rich history of eucharistic miracles and ancient communion celebrations that led to modern revivalism.
Christology & Prolepsis
Baptism
The Incarnation as an Eternal Reality
Understanding Water & Spirit Baptism
“Prolepsis” is the foreshadowing, or anticipation of the coming Christ that always existed in a hidden way throughout the course of human history. Jesus did not merely come onto the scene 2,000 years ago. In the beginning was the Word and all things were created through Him. In this teaching, John explores Christ as eternal sum of all things.
In this teaching John covers the role of water baptism from a finished work perspective. Not a superstitious act required to “purchase” salvation, nor a symbol pointing to your own “personal faith,” baptism is a sacrament that points to your death with Christ before you ever even realized it! John also covers “spirit baptism.” Do you get Holy Spirit in a separate act from your conversion?
Ephesians Euphoria Four-part Series on the Cosmic Incarnation
Catch the grace of the gospel and the cosmic scheme of the incarnation in this fourpart series as John Crowder walks through the entire book of Ephesians, dispelling our dualistic notions of separation from God and encouraging a practical life lived out to the glory of God in the beauty of holiness.
Abiding in the Wine Vine Sap Suckling & Fruit Bearing
“Abiding” is a passive work - not an active one. We exist in Christ, and He bears fruit through us. In this teaching, John Crowder expands on the fruit of the Spirit that is produced through our effortless union with Christ. This is a study and meditation on love, joy, patience, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control from Galatians 5.
the ecstatic : spring-summer 2017 | 21
Digital Download Store: www.johncrowder.net A Better Word
Cruciformity
The Bible: Infallible, Irrelevant or Holding a Secret?
The Divine Nature of Self-Giving Love
In this teaching John touches on the topic of the inspiration of scripture, offering a different perspective on the controversial topic. What do we do with tough passages like the flood, genocide and other scriptures that appear to paint God as a moral monster? There is a Word within the Word - an underlying “Yes!” hidden within the “No!”
Christ did not simply die for us as an action. But the crucifixion speaks of His nature as the cruciform God. It is “because” He is God that Christ emptied Himself. God’s nature is other-giving love. As we explore what it means to have the divine nature - to embrace “theosis” or being God-like - the end result is always self-emptying love.
God in the Unbeliever
Losing Your Salvation
Seeing Christ Hidden in Humanity
Eliminating Fear of Divine Abandonment
Modern evangelicalism has conditioned us with an insider-outsider mentality. Jesus supposedly “jumps inside” a person when they make their salvation “decision.” But is this the message of the apostle Paul? If all of humanity is included in the Last Adam, as Paul clearly articulates, how does that play into our understanding of our fellow man and the dynamics of being “in Christ?”
A number of passages in scripture are mishandled in a way to instill the fear of losing our salvation. But salvation was never based on our performance or even our ability to drum up faith on our own. In this teaching, John Crowder tackles some tough passages offering a radical grace perspective.
Woven into the Trinity Grafted Into the Incarnation
Why is a revelation of the Trinity core to our understanding of the nature of God? Unlike the unitarian concept of God that is directly based on our human performance to please him, instead we have been grafted into Jesus’ relationship with the Father in the Spirit. Our relationship with God is fully mediated through the incarnate Son - our salvation rests completely on His faithfulness, His vicarious repentance on our behalf and His baptism into our death. God is family. He is other-giving love.
Contemplating the Mystery
John Crowder’s Joy Clinic Three-Part Extended Teaching Set
Do you suffer from Religion, Burnout, Boredom, Depression, Unbelief or Legalism? Looking for a quick, easy remedy that seems too good to be true? This is just what the doctor ordered! In this three-part series John lays out a multi-dimensional gospel feast. Covering new creation realities and the joy of the glorious gospel, he addresses the identity of the believer and dispels the theological myth of an angry, schizophrenic God.
Renewing the Mind
The Divine Dance of Theology and Contemplation
Gospel Joy Explosions to the Brain
Contemplation is the practice of His presence. Christ is the object of our contemplation. Our intersection between the seen and the unseen, the finite and the infinite. Contemplation - as a mode of enjoyment - is never an end in itself. It does not exist if it is detatched from the Person who is contemplated or enjoyed. And theology is not to become mere intellectualism. When Christ is given His place, the scriptures find their place.
The renewal of the mind is a happy journey of having our thought life infused with the joy of our salvation and saturated with the revelation of our true identity in Christ. Tired of stupid thinking that produces strife and tension? As we stay plugged into the word of truth, we “know the truth” and the truth sets us free.
Hearing God for Dummies
Manifested Sons of God
New Covenant Prophetic Insights
Effortlessly Shine in the Supernatural Life
Most charismatics think they know everything about the prophetic. But much of the prophetic movement has been derailed in old covenant style future-telling. A new covenant people are emerging who can point backward to the cross, releasing faith for what’s already been given to us. Get practical tips on hearing God!
All of creation awaits the “revealing” of your sonship. You were created for the supernatural life. Manifesting our divine identity is as effortless as realizing who we really are – adopted heirs entrusted with authority in heaven and earth. John explores our miraculous inheritance in Romans 8 from a finished work perspective.
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Raising Family in Grace
The Election Series
The Gospel at Home with John & Lily
Seeing Romans 9-11 Through a New Lens
John and Lily Crowder explore the topic of marriage and family life in the grace and glory of God. The gospel radically liberates parents from the stress and fear of religious performance, infusing children with identity and life. This extended teaching features Q&A and practical tips on practicing the presence at home.
Romans 9-11 contains some of the most difficult and misunderstood concepts ... In this 5-part series, John Crowder shoots religious cows on every side of the debate - cheering up your perspective of God, hell and predestination. Going beyond the Calvinist-ArminianUniversalist debate John presents a strong hope in Christ - the Vicarious Man, who is both Elector and Elected. This is one of our most stretching teaching sets.
Drunken Theology 101 Extended Teaching on the Cross
Divine Creativity And the Graven Image of the Law
Get new creation foundations for your bliss as John expands on the revelation of the gospel in this two-hour teaching session from Australia. Tap into the mysticism of St. Paul, the glorious drink of divine union and the beautiful gift of perfection. This is a powerful summation of finished works theology that will cheer you up, infuse you with joy and transform your understanding of Christianity.
Ever notice that religious folk are usually not creative? Longing for the Spirit of Creativity the Spirit Himself - to manifest more through your life? Often, what Christian artists deem to be “creative” is really just a dead, copycat repetition of types and shadows. But now, since you are restored to the true image of God in Christ, you can manifest a fresh expression of the divine.
Drink Grace Straight
Mystical Union Audiobook
Revelations of the Glory
The knowledge of the Glory of God is filling the earth in this hour. Ever wonder what the “knowledge of the Glory” actually is? It is the pure revelation of the gospel. Grace has to be drunk straight. Any mixture of law added to your pure drink of grace, and it ceases to be true grace. Drink deep of the gospel revelation in this teaching!
Read by John Crowder
In this audiobook recording, listen as John Crowder reads his classic, Mystical Union. The gospel is a mystical message, based on an instant and effortless union with God achieved at Christ’s cross. There is a delicious feast prepared for the believer. This book threatens to turn your Christianity upside down. Makes a great easy listening audio companion to the hardback book.
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