3. Deliverance Ministry Does Not Have To Be A Circus
If you have the inclination, a lot of time and a strong stomach, consider going to YouTube and searching for videos under “deliverance ministry”.
It is an enlightening exercise and what you will see runs the gamut from reasoned and reasonable to beyond belief.
Maybe you’ve already been exposed to deliverance in your church or altar setting and the experience was unsettling. I had a pastor once confide in me that even though he believed in deliverance, the term scared him, and he was not at all sure it was something he wanted to see in his church!
Deliverance ministry, as it is practiced in the church today, is characterized by the absence of standardization and a plethora of styles and techniques. At Above & Beyond, we are fond of using an analogy of McDonalds and the Big Mac. That hamburger will be the same whether you purchase it in Topeka, Tulsa or Toronto! The same cannot be said of deliverance ministry.
Some ministers and churches deliberately set it up to be a spectacle, ostensibly so people can see the power of God at work and be drawn to that. Hopefully their motivations are not more sinister. In these sessions, the minister is usually the center of attention, and there can be a lot of yelling, gyrations and even body fluids (in extreme cases) coming forth!
For that reason, many who may otherwise believe in the ministry are fearful at the prospect of getting ministered to or bringing it into the church. The sessions often look chaotic and are frequently upsetting, particularly for those not well-versed in spiritual and demonic matters.
If you persevere in researching, you would find that there are other methodologies and processes!
It does not have to be chaotic and loud! Some ministers use this approach to good effect, but it is not a mandatory prerequisite for effective deliverance ministry.
It can also be done very efficiently in a quiet and gentle environment.
At Above & Beyond Counseling Center, we use a five step process to take people through deliverance. The deliverance ministry session (the fourth meeting) is generally quiet and gentle, and we get concerned if the process becomes loud and messy!
Such an escalation usually indicates that there is an open door or legal right for torment which is why the demon spirit is fighting so hard! Rather than yelling louder or trying to wrestle the person to the ground, resistance like this causes us to regroup and assess the situation. Why is the demon spirit not leaving?
The fifth session is conducted a few days to a week or so later involves a teaching session on how to discern and stay free when the spirits try to return to the house.