When I was doing research and writing about the practice of BDSM (Bondage, Dominance, Sadomasochism), someone emailed me to warn about spiritual attack while dealing with such dark matters. Yep, I get that, but I walk wisely.
At the request of a good colleague, I’m going to write a series of articles about spiritual warfare as it relates to pastoring and counseling the sexually broken. It is a topic which is becoming ever more relevant for North American Christians. Of necessity, churches overseas have long ago learned the skills and strategies of such warfare. And certainly in the Early Church, it was almost routine. You couldn’t be baptized without going through intense catechism and deliverance sessions.1
Often, the further away from God’s design for sexual expression one wanders, the greater the possibility of some level of demonization. So, yes, working with those entangled in BDSM brings with it a good bit of resistance from dark powers. I’ve found this to be true with other areas of ministry to the sexually broken as well.
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This introduction to the subject of warfare is simply about preparing ourselves for opposition from the enemy—something that every Christian worker should know even if not involved in ministry among the Tsunami debris. All ministry advancing the Kingdom of Christ brings with it opposition from unseen forces.
For three years, I served a small local church in Terre Haute, IN. A sizable town of 60,000, it was once the hideout for hoosier gangster John Dillinger as well as a hotbed for prostitution. Hence, it earned the label “Sin City”. Pastors warned me it was a graveyard for ministers, not because of cantankerous churches, but because of the spiritual oppression which hovered over the city.
Ministry there served as a training ground for spiritual warfare. Many different “slings and arrows” were used against us, but two incidents stand out to me, both conspicuous by their timing.
On a Sunday in January, we were going to launch a new small group ministry which seemed essential for their next stage in ministry. Around 4:00 am that morning, our 18 month old began to have night terrors. Lauri cradled her in her arms as we both sought to comfort the little one. After about 90 minutes, little Ruth finally pointed toward the ceiling, shouting, “Bad birds! Bad birds!”
Ah! She could see the unseen battlefield. There were evil spirits taunting and oppressing her. So I read Psalm 34 out loud and then firmly commanded those spirits to be gone in Jesus’ name. Almost immediately, Ruth quieted down and fell back to sleep.
Yeah, that got our attention.
On another occasion, we were beginning a new Wednesday night children’s ministry as an outreach to the community. Invitations had been sent and new kids had signed up. With our two little cars, Lauri and I were the bus ministry. Finishing supper and rounding up our girls, Lauri suddenly bent over in pain. She had no idea why the pain was there, but the timing of the sickness seemed suspicious. So I anointed her with oil and prayed something like the following:
Lord God Almighty, we don’t know if this sickness is from the Evil One or not. But if this an attack from the enemy, we command it in Jesus’ name to stop! Be gone in Jesus’ name!
She was able to straighten up and hobble to the car. We took off, picked up kids, and when she arrived at the church she was fine. That night of new ministry took off with good fruit.
In both of these situations, we were blindsided. What could have been interpreted as bad dreams for a toddler or cramps from the hurriedly eaten meal, were actually attacks to hinder our ministry.
Discernment is always needed when trying to connect dots between the seen and unseen. Not every sickness is an affliction from the enemy to thwart the work of God. But it can be. If there are sicknesses, accidents, or conflicts, at the same time as Kingdom advancement, those strange coinciding events may well be more than coincidence. Lacking clear guidance, it is wise to simply pray, “If this is a work of the enemy, I command you to stop it.”
Terre Haute proved to be more of a training ground than a graveyard for me. However, it eventually seemed a victory for the enemy. Shortly after we left, that promising little church closed.
In our next place of ministry, I learned the importance of having a team of people intercede for you. I’ll share more about that in the next post, but I currently have a team of 15 people who have agreed to pray for me regularly. When I anticipate a brush up with darkness, I let them know. And regardless of what is happening, I email them about three times a month.
If your own ministry to the broken keeps hitting a wall, pray for a team of intercessors who can join the unseen battlefield with you.
To the present day, the baptismal vows of most church traditions include evidence of the ancient practice of deliverance from darkness. As a retired United Methodist, I led many people over the years through the baptism and membership vows with these words: “Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?”
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Bev used to see things, but mostly good things. So, we were fortunate in that regard. But one time, she told her babysitter that she was seeing "red angels". When I got home, Katie was cowering in the bathroom. Bev was calmly watching TV. I said, "Did you really see red angels?" Bev said, "Nah." I said, "Well, why did you say that then?" She said, "'Cause it's funny to scare Katie." Little turd!
I took a unit of Pastoral Clinical Education ( similar to training to be a chaplain) in a state psychiatric hospital. Many of the patients had chronic mental illnesses that did not respond to medication or therapy. The other students and I would often discuss the relationship between mental illness and the demonic. We planned a Service of the Word for Healing that would include anointing with oil. Several dozen patients showed up for the service. Right as we were about to begin, a fist fight started between two patients over a donut. In seconds, nearly everyone was fighting. It was chaos! The nurses and orderlies restored calm, and the service went off without a hitch. We asked ourselves, “Coincidence or an unseen force trying to stop us? “