Joshua S. Hopping 
The Mystery, the Way, and the Journey [EPUB ebook] 
Walking into the Darkness of the Unknown

We live in a time of certainty and extremes where questions must be answered and spiritual salvation is centered on a single moment. By drawing on the writings of St. Maximos the Confessor (580-662 CE), this book seeks to introduce the reader to a new, albeit old, way of following Jesus of Nazareth into the darkness of the unknown by embracing the mystery of uncertainty as a way of life in which each person’s journey is different. Interwoven together, the concepts of the Mystery, the Way, and the Journey provide a way forward through the uncertainty of the future by following the path set forth by the ancient church while understanding that we are part of something bigger and older than modern American Christianity.

About the author

Joshua is a passionate follower of the Creator King with a missional heart and a love of people. He considers himself a Christian mystic with an emphasis on living out the inaugurated eschatology of kingdom theology within one’s daily life. By holding in tension the victory and suffering of the cross, Joshua seeks to embrace the missional journey of following Jesus while knowing that he is saved, being saved, and will one day be saved. Furthermore, he holds to a centered-set mindset that focuses on the personal journey of individual people rather than a one-time event established through doctrine, theology, or tradition.Joshua is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Celtic-Cherokee heritage who grew up in the foothills of the Oklahoma Ozarks on the land of the Cherokees and Osage people, as well as in the pine forests of Northeast Texas on the traditional lands of the Caddo Nation, before moving west to the high mountain desert lands of the Shoshone-Bannock people in Idaho. Married for over twenty years, he and his wife, Emily, have had the privilege of sharing the love of God with people across three continents and nine countries. In 2006 they moved to Sweet, Idaho, a small rural village in the traditional lands of the Shoshone and Bannock people, where they helped start and then led the Sweet Vineyard Christian Fellowship (formerly known as the Payette River Vineyard). They turned the leadership of the church over to a new couple in June 2014 and embarked on a fresh adventure with the Creator King. In October 2018, they moved to Kuna, Idaho, with the goal of creating a faith community focused on helping people explore the mystery of the Creator.Joshua is the author of The Here and Not Yet: What Is Kingdom Theology and Why Does It Matter? (Vineyard International, 2017) as well as an avid blogger at Wild Goose Chase.org. Joshua holds a BS in business administration and minor in cross-cultural studies from Le Tourneau University (Longview, Texas) along with an MA in theology and culture through St. Stephen’s University (St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada). He has also been awarded a certificate of ministry through Vineyard Leadership Institute (VLI).