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Appendix C: Challenges for the Church

Additional Reading

Experiencing demonization in modern America affords a unique view into the body of Christ. There is the local church we see on Sunday mornings, and there is the local church as it operates outside the sanctuary. It is impossible to generalize every Christian church in America—there are far too many for that—yet I believe the lessons associated with my once demonized condition (FIXME) may broadly apply to many different churches. The following critique is not intended as a bitter airing of grievances but rather constructive criticism in the hope that the church universal can use these specific examples to learn and grow. This is not about me; the Lord has taken care of my needs. This is about the broader church as comprised of local congregations. Every local church that stands firm in its dedication to Christ must also exist as a stronghold against spiritual evil. If we fail to do that, who will? Accordingly, when a link in that chain needs repair, then we must recognize the problem and fix it.

First, in my situation, the church was unprepared to deal with demonic attacks and real spiritual battles. It took more than two days for the church to fully acknowledge my problem for what it was, but even then, no one on staff had any experience ministering to a demonized person. The retired pastor who tried to help me happened to be a congregant in this church, but had he not been available, there was no one else who seemed to know what to do. Furthermore, my problem was largely unresolved when the church stopped all involvement in my situation. My suggestion for the broader church is to recognize that the Bible does not mince words when it discusses demons. It means what it says! Church leaders are responsible for many things—perhaps too many—but knowing what Scripture teaches about demons and how to minister to demonized people fits squarely within those responsibilities. The church should be a viable resource for those who need help with demons. Learning how to resolve a demon problem should not become the responsibility of the demonized.

Second, the church viewed my demonization as a problem that could wait. My misery was real and relentless. I had no relief. There was no medicine nor any hospital that could soothe my pain. There was no emergency room I could visit. There was no doctor I could consult. I barely slept. I thought I was going to be overcome at any moment by the demons attacking my body and mind, and I was terrified. So when pastors canceled appointments without notice, when offered assistance was unavailable until the following day, and when phone calls went unreturned, I had no one else to turn to and no other recourse. I was too immature in my faith—and we as a family were too inexperienced with demonization—to do anything but rely on other people to show us the way forward. I waited in intense misery, trying not to despair, attempting to hold on for just one more hour at a time while schedules opened enough to pencil me in. My suggestion for the broader church is to recognize that it is the emergency room for demonized individuals. There is no other organization that can or should serve in that role. Whether this means shifting administrative priorities, creating a specialized staff position, starting a new ministry, or something else entirely will be specific to the individual church. Demonization is a serious problem that a church should prioritize when it becomes aware of a person in need of its help.

Third, I only received help from the church when we specifically requested it. It seemed as if clergy and congregants were both afraid to approach me, and that felt like living as one of the lepers in the gospel accounts. Metaphorically speaking, I was crying out in a loud voice, “Have mercy on me!” while other Christians averted their gaze and busied themselves elsewhere. Pastors met with us when we called them first and specifically requested a meeting or prayer, but they did not offer any spontaneous suggestions. Additionally, everyone associated with the church who did (or did not) help us felt it necessary to first clear it with the main pastor; this prolonged response times and added an element of uncertainty. Help and concern from the church completely stopped when we stopped directly asking for help and concern. My name disappeared from the prayer list after only a week or so. No one ever followed up with me to see how I was doing or if I recovered. It was as if my family had never been part of the church and were complete strangers to all the people there who knew us. My suggestion for the broader church is to be proactive in the lives of congregants. Yes, congregants have a responsibility to become known in the churches they attend, but once that bar is met, the church should have enough structure to support and encourage a meaningful community. It should look more like neighbors caring for neighbors than a religious event center. Congregants should not feel like outsiders in the churches they attend. Both God and the real needs of real people must be central to how every church operates.

Fourth, I was quick to believe whatever a perceived expert taught me. Because I was immature in my faith, I did not know how to distinguish spiritual truth from spiritual guessing, and because I urgently needed help, I readily accepted deliverance ministry authors as uniquely qualified experts who could guide me. Unfortunately for me, deliverance authors frequently teach a worldview that leads to further bondage. This is not quite the same bondage as Old Testament legalism but rather a new kind of bondage sitting on top of it, one based on imaginative ideas only loosely resembling Scripture. Do this, receive a demon. Do that, make it worse. One cannot get rid of a demon without first knowing why it is there. One cannot rely on God alone to intervene on our behalf. These “experts” trapped me in a frame of mind that had me living under a new kind of fear. When every action I did or did not take could potentially result in more extreme demonization, I was afraid to do anything. Spiritual bondage is not what God wants for His people—Jesus came to release His people from that (Luke 4:18). My suggestion for the broader church is to prayerfully discern what teachings and which experts it endorses. Even pastors can be deceived, and many pastors have written many books. Before launching a new ministry, counseling a congregant, or recommending a resource, it is imperative to be absolutely certain the underlying principles under discussion are in full accord with God’s Word.

Fifth, God honored the righteous intentions of my deliverance sessions even though these sessions were theologically unsound. My demons were not completely driven out, but I did become stable enough to function. This is another testament to the Lord’s mercy and grace. The Lord has never said that we must have a perfect theological understanding for Him to intervene in a difficult situation on our behalf. Gideon believed the Lord completely abandoned Israel—a belief at odds with the actual situation—yet the Lord used him anyway to rescue Israel from its oppressors (Judg 6:13–14). Jesus’s twelve disciples were ordinary people who were often mistaken in their beliefs (Matt 16:5–12), yet God worked through them in extraordinary ways despite their early misunderstandings. Earnestly seeking the Lord, even when we accidentally go about it in the wrong way, counts for much in His view. We must always correct our mistakes once we become aware of them, but our loving heavenly Father does not use ignorance as a reason to deny requests for His help. My suggestion for the broader church is to not be afraid of ministering to a demonized congregant. Take whatever precautions are warranted while also recognizing that God is in control. Do not allow insecurity or fear of failure to be the reasons why a congregant does not receive help from the church. Understanding Scripture is very important, and yes, mistakes will be made from time to time, but we must never believe that God values perfect understanding over genuine faith. God desires that we demonstrate loyalty to Him and love to one another above everything else (Matt 22:36–40).

The Church Is Its Members​

As with the critique of the church as a local organization, there are also lessons here for individual Christians. We each have a responsibility to reflect the love of Christ in this world. It can be difficult to do that at times, particularly when our neighbor is a complete stranger, but what happens when our neighbor is well-known to us? That should make it even easier. Jesus teaches, “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same?” (Matt 5:46–47 NASB). This has important implications for us because it means that when we fail to do even this much, the corrupt tax collectors and pagan idolaters Jesus had in mind have demonstrated even more righteousness than we have! Clearly something is wrong with this picture. The following story presents a similar idea:

A Christian man was traveling from El Paso to Dallas, and his car broke down on a remote road between these two cities. He got out of his car to inspect the damage, and no sooner had he popped the hood than he was hit by another driver. This other driver, though fully aware of the collision, never stopped to help. The man laid half dead beside the road, bleeding and unconscious.

By chance, a Christian driver came along. When she saw the man lying next to the road, she switched lanes to pass before continuing toward her destination. Before long, another car approached from a distance. The driver—a Christian pastor—stopped his car next to the bleeding man. He said a quick prayer, got back in his car, and continued toward his destination.

Then, an atheist came along. He was traveling along the same road, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Stopping his car next to the bleeding man, the atheist carefully gathered the man’s belongings for safekeeping then did his best to bandage the man. He carefully loaded the man and everything he found into his car, made sure the man’s car was locked, and quickly drove many miles to the nearest hospital. He paid in advance for the man’s treatment, telling the receptionist, “Please take care of him. If his bill runs higher than this, here is how you can contact me.”

Which of these three would we say was a neighbor to the man who was hit and left beside the road? It was the atheist. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, have a responsibility to go and do the same. Jesus once told a parable very much like this, which must have shocked the listeners of His day (Luke 10:25–37). A Samaritan helping a Jew while other Jews ignore the situation? Never! But that was the entire point. A modern audience might express similar incredulity. An atheist helping a demonized Christian while other Christians ignore the situation? Never! But that is exactly what happened to me. During the course of my demonization, my parents and I contacted various Christians for support. We told them what was happening to me, and we asked for prayers. Their responses were mixed. It did not matter whether they were family or friends, close or distant, clergy or layperson, the responses were all about the same:

  • A tiny minority of these Christian believers were genuinely supportive.
  • Many Christians were entirely skeptical. They would only believe me if I could somehow convince them my pain was real and the Bible is true. One or two flatly refused to believe me at all.
  • Some Christians outright mocked me. They blamed my condition on a mental disturbance or absurd superstitions.
  • Several Christians were afraid of me. They wanted no part in my situation and no discussion about what was happening to me.
  • Other Christians were wholly indifferent toward me. They heard about my condition and received it as if it were a weather report, mildly interesting but entirely unworthy of comment.

In contrast to the Christian reaction I commonly received, two people who showed me considerable love were an atheist and a Hindu. It did not matter to these individuals why I was hurting, it only mattered to them that I was hurting. They stayed in touch with me, called me from time-to-time to see how I was doing, and expressed sincere concern over my welfare. They were legitimately worried about me. Although they could do nothing to help me directly, they made it a point to let me know they cared and were thinking about me. They were my neighbors, doing what they could to bandage my broken and bleeding body.

The Christian responses to my situation are not unique. They are merely symptoms of a much larger problem. It seems that in many corners of America, apathy and skepticism have choked out Christian effectiveness. It is like good seed falling among thorns; “these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:18–19 NASB). This warning from Jesus could not be any clearer; not all Christians are bearing fruit! Not every Christian represents seed sown on good soil, “who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much” (Matt 13:23 NASB). Collectively, we have much work to do.

Christians are not to be like first century Pharisees, having only the appearance of righteousness but lacking behaviors indicating a true child of God. We are called to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and a city set on a hill. “Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:16 NASB). Once we become indistinguishable from the secular culture around us, we have completely discarded the part of our Christian identity that makes an actual difference in the world. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people” (Matt 5:13 NASB). We must take these warnings to heart if we are to live as Christ expects.