I've mentioned our resident "hyper spiritual" lady - the one who thinks everything is a spirit of this or that, and that the town is controlled by demonic stronghold, etc...I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but she also happens to be our women's ministry leader.
So a couple of weeks ago, she pulls YP aside for a "private" word - gives her a book on deliverance, because she (YP) is still getting headaches, and she needs to be delivered from this familiar spirit that is oppressing her with them. It's actually a combination of allergies and low blood sugar, but that's not a good enough explanation for this lady. Nope. YP politely nodded her head, took the book, and pretty much blew her off, not intending to read it at all. As she said, "Jesus is Lord of my life, and demons are not welcome in my house or my body!" She and I pretty much don't go to women's ministry anymore...
Apparently, this woman also decided to take it upon herself to give a copy of that same book to a new believer who has JUST started coming on Sunday mornings...she was one of our Alpha converts, and was delivered from homosexuality and drugs. I'm not sure what was said to this woman, but she went to one of the ladies in the church who has sort of taken her under her wing and said that it made her very uncomfortable to be given that book. The reason it involves me is because her nieces and nephews have also started coming to church - all of them are aged 10 or under. So let's hope that the whole family hasn't been totally scared off...
Now, if you know anyone who has struggled with those sins, or any addiction (I know several!), it is a day-to-day process. It involves waking up every morning and saying, "Lord, I want drugs (or alcohol, or sex, or whatever!), but I want You more!" The blood of Jesus washes away our sins, but it doesn't give us a lobotomy. Our mind still has a memory of our former life, and it remembers that some of that stuff felt good. At least at the moment. I am tired of people thinking that they can just say a prayer, and "POOF!" all the sins and scars of the past go away, and never affect you or your loved ones again.
I say this because my DH's past is not exactly "squeaky clean." I'm not going to go into anything in detail - just because this is the Internet, and someone could theoretically trace it back to us. Our SP knows about it, as does anyone who needs to know. The point is, we both know the pain that comes from well-meaning, but hyper-spiritual people coming up to us and saying, "Here - read this book," or "Go up to the altar now - they're praying for deliverance from such and such...you'll be all better now!" Sorry, but no. That's not how it works.
Through counseling, and through a commitment each day to live his life the way God wants him to live it, my DH (as well as our marriage!) has vastly improved 200%. But to say that he's "all better" now, or to say that if he still struggles, he's being oppressed by a demon or isn't living in victory, is to completely discount all we've been through. He does live in victory. Every single day that he lives for Jesus instead of the sins that once held him prisoner, he is living in victory!!
And the same goes for our church's new believer, or anyone else who struggles!!
And as far as physical illnesses...well, I'm just getting over a nasty cold. Am I being punished for a sin? Do I have a demon attacking me? Was satan trying to keep me from doing the Lord's work because I stayed home from church last night? Most likely not. I had a cold. Plain and simple. Not a "spirit of sniffles," or (as a friend of mine calls them) "the histamines of darkness."
I know I've ranted about this before, but AAGH! As Freud said, "Sometime a cigar is just a cigar." I know, bad analogy . Oh, well. Freud was godless. Perhaps I need to have the "familiar spirit of psychology" cast out of me.
Hmm...for some reason, I can't edit my post today.
Anyway - My SP did correct this woman today on some of her theology that is a little bit off . We're not sure what she is going to do with it, but a big fat WOO HOO!!! to my senior pastor for taking his pastoral authority and calling her on her behavior .
Now we as the staff feel like if this woman comes up to us with incorrect theology, or tries to tell us that we have demons or familiar spirits oppressing us or whatever, that our senior pastor backs us, so we can tell her to buzz off (in Christian love, of course!) and that we don't agree with her. And it's not just some punk 20-something kids telling an older woman off, but it's us speaking with pastoral authority - not just ours, but our SP's!!
To those of you who are SPs or wives of SPs, I cannot emphasize this enough: BACK YOUR STAFF...100%! Those of us who are in associate positions (youth pastors, children's pastors, music pastors, whatever!) need to know that our senior pastor believes in us, backs us, and defends us. It can be the difference between having a staff and not having one. Sounds harsh, but it's true. If I can't trust my SP to be my covering, then I can't follow him or his vision. And if I can't follow him or his vision, then I have no business working for him.
Anyway, that's just my $.02 from the puppet stage .
Thank God your pastor corrected this woman. She really needs to be brought under control because she could wreck your new converts. She's a loose cannon and can't be left to run amok.
Im am also glad that the Sp called her on it and is backing the staff up 100%. Sometimes I think that people give the devil more credit the he deserves. I have known people where everything had an associated demon... and to a 'seasoned' christian it just got old, but to a new christian it could do a lot of damage. I knew one of these when I was a teen, and it used to scare me bad. I think I got saved a bazillion times because of that.
Like I said, glad to see someone stepping in on that.
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God is my strength and my refuge, in Him will I put my trust.
. Oh, well. Freud was godless. Perhaps I need to have the "familiar spirit of psychology" cast out of me. 
. We're not sure what she is going to do with it, but a big fat WOO HOO!!! to my senior pastor for taking his pastoral authority and calling her on her behavior 
