Deep End School Course Outline

‘Understanding Postmodern Culture’

The first three weeks of full time lectures are devoted to the development of an in-depth understanding of New Age Postmodern culture. This part of the school is unquestionably the most distinctive aspect of the Deep End School because one of our primary objectives is to train disciples of Christ to become students of contemporary Western culture. This sets the context for the development of an understanding of the nature of ministry in the Western world which becomes the focus of the remaining weeks of the Deep End School.

Postmodernism is a widespread emerging cultural phenomenon that represents one of the greatest challenges to the Western church in the 21^st Century. Postmodernism is expressed both as an academic philosophy and as a grassroots expression of popular culture. Most of our attention is devoted to understanding Postmodernism on the grassroots level. The essence of the Postmodern mindset is the idea that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Western believers who have a heart for missions urgently need to be equipped and trained to identify and respond effectively to those who have embraced the Postmodern mindset. Our experience has shown us that most Christians are not equipped to minister to culture as it really is in the Western world.

‘Understanding New Age Culture’

New Age spirituality is the spirituality of choice in the Postmodern world. It is a highly pervasive worldview that has permeated the whole of Western society. In order to be equipped for the ministry of 21^st Century evangelism it is imperative that we recognise and understand the New Age worldview and be trained to minister to those who have been influenced by the New Age mindset. Recent polls indicate that there are upwards of 200 million people throughout the entire Western world who have been seduced by New Age spirituality to one degree or another. During this two week series we screen the ‘What the Bleep Do We Know?’ movie in order to reveal the level of sophistication of the New Age agenda in the 21st Century. The architects of this documentary utilise the science of quantum physics to argue that it substantiates New Age spirituality. As part of this course we seek to develop a response to this new agenda.

New Age and Holistic Medicine’

We also devote four lectures in this series to understanding the principles of the Holistic Healing movement because it is one of the biggest on-ramps to New Age spirituality in the Western World. Vast numbers of biblically illiterate Christians have been seduced into New Age practices and beliefs through Holistic Healing because they have become increasingly frustrated with traditional Western medicine. This teaching module explores the plethora of healing modalities, examining the spiritual and philosophical roots of many of the most popular holistic practices.

‘Kingdom Ministry in a Postmodern World’

The vision that we present in this week of introductory lectures is also, to some degree, distinctive to the Deep End School. In this series we introduce what we call the ‘seven pillars of the kingdom ministry of Jesus’ as outlined in Luke 4:18,19. The kingdom ministry of Christ sets the compass for the development of all Christian ministry to those both within and outside the church. The goal of every aspect of kingdom ministry is to bring people into a direct personal encounter with the truth, the power and the love of Christ. The restoration of the ministry of the kingdom is critical in reaching a generation that responds more to personal experience than religious rhetoric.

It is our conviction that the church in the Western world is still only in the early days of the restoration of all things. (Acts 3:21) God’s agenda in these last days is to establish the entire church in the fullness of all seven aspects of Kingdom ministry because these aspects of the ministry of Jesus constitute what Paul calls the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13) We need to see all seven pillars of Kingdom ministry restored to the church.

Paul outlines this glorious vision in the book of Ephesians. “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13) When the church grows up to maturity and begins to manifest the fullness of the ministry of Jesus we will see people powerfully transformed in every aspect of their being. We will see the church flowing in the fullness of grace, in the prophetic, in a strong deliverance anointing, in awesome physical healing, in healing the brokenhearted and in caring for the poor. This is the vision that we are invited to invest our lives into! This week of lectures sets the agenda for the rest of the school as each introductory topic is developed in greater depth in subsequent teaching modules.

‘The Teaching Ministry’

Jesus engaged in both preaching and teaching the Word of God. Preaching usually describes the proclamation of the Gospel, whilst teaching involves explaining and unpacking the implications of the truth that is proclaimed. Teaching the Word is an essential aspect of the overall ministry of proclaiming the Word of God. There is a glaring need for a new generation of anointed teachers who can explain the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and who can impart a comprehensive understanding of the revelatory purposes of God. God is calling many people in this hour to the ministry of teaching the Word of God. (Hebrews 5:12) There is an urgent need for those with the call to teach to be equipped in the skills of communicating the Word, in preparing a Bible study, in ministering in the right spirit and in knowing how to ‘feed the flock.’ This teaching module focuses upon the most important issues that surround the teaching ministry.

‘Experiencing God: a Theology of Encounter’

The purpose of this teaching module is to re-establish the centrality of the experiential dimension of the Christian life. Modernism seduced the church into a purely rational expression of Christianity. Even those who didn’t fully succumb to the anti-supernaturalism of the Modernist era were still highly suspicious of the supernatural realm. God is seeking to restore the church to its supernatural roots. Postmodernism is a ‘show me’ generation: therefore the church in the Postmodern era must regain its experiential emphasis. All Christians need to be fully reconciled to the reality that Jesus came to bring us into a life changing experience of the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven. If you have come out of a traditional evangelical Christian background put your seat belts on for some serious mind renewing as we explore the biblical call to experience the supernatural realm of the Spirit of God.

‘Prophetic Ministry’

This teaching module introduces the role of prophecy in the New Testament church and in evangelism. Particularly in the last few decades God has been restoring prophetic ministry to its rightful place in the life of the church and He is releasing tremendous insight into the value of the prophetic in every dimension of our experience as followers of Christ. This series lays a solid foundation for the development of the gift of prophecy in the life of the believer. We explore the range of prophetic experiences and the ways in which God can speak to His people. We conclude this module with some practical workshops that take the students through a series of prophetic exercises and we also spend time ministering an increased spiritual impartation through the laying on of hands.

  ‘Healing the Sick’

A number of churches have experienced a significant revolution in the last few years in their understanding of the healing ministry of Christ. The Kingdom ministry of Jesus (as outlined in the four gospels) is actually a description of what Jesus is now seeking to reproduce in His body, the church. ‘On earth as it is in heaven’ is the divinely revealed standard for the healing ministry of the church. One of the ways that Jesus is measuring the success of the ministry of the church is by whether or not the sick are being healing.

This series explores in detail many of the issues surrounding the subject of supernatural healing.We will explore in depth the command and the challenge of Jesus to His disciples to go and “heal the sick” and we will examine the biblically revealed factors that either facilitate or hinder a greater release of the healing power of God. The subject of healing always opens a ‘can of worms’ and it raises numerous questions in the hearts of God’s people. This series seeks to address these questions with biblical integrity.

‘New Age Apologetics’

In the space of a single generation the Western world has undergone a profound change. With the emergence of the New Age Postmodern worldview the contemporary church is significantly ill equipped to communicate with the emerging generation. We are challenged with the need to lay hold of the power of God to reach a culture that is hungry for spiritual experience but we are also challenged to give a strong defence of the Gospel in the face of a generation in search of real answers. This teaching module focuses upon two concepts that are excellent apologetic tools in the midst of a culture that is increasingly attracted to the New Age concept of God as an ‘impersonal energy.’

The first tool is called ‘The Fingerprint of God.’ This is the intelligent design argument from nature; something which many New Agers are already familiar with and are drawn to because of their affinity with nature. It is a marvellous tool for convincing New Agers that God is a personal being. The second is called “The Signature of God” which powerfully supports the existence of God as a personal being from the overwhelming reality of predictive prophecy in the Bible. New Agers are strongly attracted to the concept of prophecy. These two philosophical arguments are the most effective apologetic approaches to convincing New Age seekers that God exists and that He is a personal, loving Creator. Apologetics can only take us so far in Postmodern culture but when it is presented in the context of a significant evangelistic power encounter it provides compelling reasons to turn to God.

‘Overcoming Legalism and Religion’

This series of lectures will take the students into deeper realms of freedom from legalism and performance based approval. It will examine and contrast the differences between the administration of law under the Old Covenant and the administration of grace under the New Covenant. The goal of this series is to deliver us from every trace of legalism that so insidiously creeps into the Christian faith, so that we can enter into the fullness of the New Covenant of God’s empowering presence. “The law came through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ!” (John 1:17) This set of lectures is designed to open our eyes to the glory of God’s grace revealed in the New Covenant.

The theology of New Testament grace is the foundation for all other aspects of the Kingdom ministry of Jesus. Preaching the gospel of the grace of God is Kingdom ministry 101. Jesus said that we shall know the truth and the truth will set us free! Every other aspect of the ministry of Jesus is built upon the foundation of grace because all aspects of the Kingdom ministry of Christ are an unfolding expression of God’s grace. When all of the seven pillars of Kingdom ministry are operative within the life of the local church we can anticipate powerful personal transformation.

‘Spiritual Warfare’

Postmodern culture embodies the ‘spirit of lawlessness.’ (2 Thessalonians 2) We cannot ignore the spiritual dimensions of contemporary Western culture. This series focuses on what some theologians call ‘cosmic level’ or ‘strategic level spiritual warfare.’ Paul taught that Christians are engaged in a wrestling match with principalities and powers.In order to wage effective spiritual warfare, Christians must be biblically informed and aware of the weapons of their warfare and of the rules of engagement. As we seek to engage with the dominant mindsets of our culture we need to be equipped and skilled to engage and overcome the powers of darkness. New Age spirituality powerfully embodies the religious spirit and the Jezebel spirit. When the veil is removed we see it for what it is: it is the embodiment of the spirit of Anti-Christ and witchcraft, thinly disguised for maximum cosmetic appeal to spiritual seekers. New Age spirituality, with its emphasis upon ‘the Light’ is, from a biblical perspective, ‘false light.’ Jesus Christ is called the ‘true light’ and we are warned that Satan masquerades as a ‘messenger of light.’ Jesus warned that “if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?” (Matthew 6:23) This series is a crash course on spiritual discernment for these Postmodern times.

‘Christ and the Heart’

This series of lectures is a detailed study of the Kingdom ministry of Jesus to the human heart. Part of this series examines the historical integration of psychotherapy and Christian counselling and the implications of ‘integrationism’ upon the Kingdom ministry model introduced by Jesus. This foundational series argues for the restoration of a purely biblical model of ministry to the heart and the adoption of purely biblical language in the arena of counselling and inner healing. But most of all it examines the centrality of Christ in the transformation of the human heart. This course is another distinctive of the Deep End School which equips students with a comprehensive biblical paradigm for heart-focused ministry. But more than that, it lays down a strong revelatory foundation for the release of the ministry of Christ into our own hearts.

‘Ministry to the Brokenhearted’

This series of lectures is an extension of the theme of ministry to the heart. It is designed to develop a comprehensive biblical theology of inner healing, highlighting the urgent need to restore this aspect of the Kingdom ministry of Jesus.This ministry, along with the ministry of deliverance, is the most neglected of all dimensions of the ministry of the Kingdom. When inner healing is coupled with deliverance people come into real spiritual freedom just as they did when Jesus ministered upon the earth. Satan has opposed these ministries with great passion in order to lock believers into a place of defeat and ineffectiveness in their service to Christ. This series seeks to identify the major strongholds of the emotions and outline a practical model of ministering the Father’s love into these areas of wounding and emotional brokenness.

‘Ministry to the Demonised’

This series of lectures explores the ministry of deliverance and the pulling down of demonic strongholds. We examine the issue of the biblical relationship between Christians and the demonic realm as well as developing a practical model of ministering deliverance to those who are in demonic bondage. Some of the other issues we examine are ‘generational strongholds,’ ‘breaking spiritual curses,’ the relationship between inner healing and deliverance and between strongholds of sin and the demonic realm. These lectures have emerged out of our own journey into the Kingdom ministry of inner healing and deliverance and they are the result of years of experience in this area of ministry. Previous students have found these lectures to be a real ‘eye-opener!’

‘The Ministry of Worship and Intercession’

Throughout the last few decades the Lord has been restoring true spiritual intercession to the church. This is a significant ministry that significantly fuels the fulfilment of the Great Commission. The church is called to be a house of prayer where worshippers are on watch night and day in the house of the Lord. Ministry to the Lord in worship and intercession is our highest call. Everything that we do as servants of the Lord flows out of our intimate friendship with the Heavenly Bridegroom.

‘Worship and the Creative Arts’

The Creative Arts are a significant key to unlocking the heart of the Postmodern generation. Music, theatre, art, dance, and poetry are all vehicles that can potentially express the creativity of God. These are skills that can penetrate culture in a way that words cannot. When the arts are harnessed by the Spirit of God they can be a powerful prophetic tool that reveals different aspects of God’s own creative nature. This module explores the different dimensions of creativity and the power of prophetic worship. The lectures are followed up with practical workshops in unlocking and releasing prophetic creativity.

‘Prophetic Dream Interpretation’

One of the ways that God communicates with people is through dreams. Christians and New Agers alike are fascinated with dreams and they believe that they are receiving inspired revelation from the realm of the Spirit. This series of lectures will examine the whole dimension of dreams and dream interpretation as an evangelistic on-ramp to reach New Agers with the gospel of Christ. To the best of our knowledge the Deep End School is the only ministry training school in Australia that offers comprehensive training in dream interpretation as an evangelistic tool to reach into the New Age community. We combine this training with a practical outreach into a New Age festival as part of the equipping process.

‘Understanding Cults, Drugs and the Occult’

One of the defining characteristics of the Postmodern era is the resurgence of interest in all things spiritual. Unfortunately the proliferation of strange and dangerous cults has been part of this spiritual renaissance. This teaching module will explore the whole realm of cults; what constitutes a cult and how to discern the distinguishing characteristics of a cult. We also explore the nature of spiritual abuse that occurs within cults but also within churches that have unwittingly adopted cultic practices and techniques. As part of this study we will develop a biblical model for ministering freedom to survivors of spiritual abuse whether it be from controlling spiritual leaders or from subtle legalism.

We will also study the resurgence of pagan cults and nature religions and explore the whole realm of witchcraft, occultism, Satanic cults, neo-paganism and goddess worship with the goal of broadening our understanding of these practices in order to equip believers to minister more effectively to people who have been ensnared by these dark spiritual practices. Part of this series contains road-tested wisdom in ministering to survivors of Satanic Ritual Abuse. In addition to all this we devote two lectures to develop an understanding of the use of psychotropic drugs and what the Bible reveals about their relationship to the occult.

‘Ministry to the Sexually Broken’

Sexual brokenness has reached epidemic proportions in the Western world. Unlawful sexual activity has a profoundly detrimental effect upon the soul. Whilst people try to shrug off the effects of sexual brokenness they nevertheless carry these wounds into all of their subsequent relationships. Followers of Christ urgently need to understand the biblical keys to sexual healing and restoration in order to minister sexual wholeness to a society languishing under an avalanche of sexual confusion. This invaluable series will equip you to understand same sex attraction, gender confusion, and homosexuality and lesbianism from a thoroughly biblical perspective. It will also lay a foundation to equip you to know how to gently but powerfully release the Kingdom ministry of Jesus into the lives of those who are experiencing the debilitating effects of sexual brokenness.

‘Ministry to the Poor’

The Kingdom ministry of Jesus is expressed through sign, word and deed.Jesus and the Apostles emphasised all three aspects of the ministry of the Kingdom.This series seeks to outline a balanced view of Kingdom ministry that embraces the biblical imperative to ‘remember the poor.’ This is the ‘deed’ dimension of Kingdom ministry. These lectures will assist students in developing an understanding of the theological significance of ministry to the poor and social justice issues as well as receiving a richer impartation of God’s compassionate heart for the poor

‘Leadership in the Postmodern World’

We conclude the Deep End School with a series of lectures that explores the issues surrounding the call to leadership in the New Testament church. It draws out the distinction between the broad-based call to Christian ministry and the specific call to exercise leadership and governmental roles in the church. Everyone in the church is called to ministry, not just those in leadership positions. But some are called specifically to provide leadership for the church.  This series is designed to equip those with the call to leadership with an introductory understanding of the nature of biblical leadership. In addition we present the biblical leadership mandate in the context of the emergence of radical Postmodern culture and the need for a model of leadership that can mobilize the church to reach this generation.

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