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Freedom in Christ: Spiritual Deliverance Within a Disciple-Making and Missional-Sending Church Vision Kerry D

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Freedom in Christ: Spiritual Deliverance Within a Disciple-Making and Missional-Sending Church Vision Kerry D Fuller Theological Seminary Digital Commons @ Fuller Doctor of Ministry Projects School of Theology 4-2019 Freedom in Christ: Spiritual Deliverance within a Disciple-Making and Missional-Sending Church Vision Kerry D. Bowman [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fuller.edu/dmin Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons, Counselor Education Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, Other Psychology Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Religious Education Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Bowman, Kerry D., "Freedom in Christ: Spiritual Deliverance within a Disciple-Making and Missional-Sending Church Vision" (2019). Doctor of Ministry Projects. 374. https://digitalcommons.fuller.edu/dmin/374 This Project is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Theology at Digital Commons @ Fuller. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Projects by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Fuller. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ministry Focus Paper Approval Sheet This ministry focus paper entitled FREEDOM IN CHRIST: SPIRITUAL DELIVERANCE WITHIN A DISCIPLE-MAKING AND MISSIONAL-SENDING CHURCH VISION Written by KERRY BOWMAN and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry has been accepted by the Faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary upon the recommendation of the undersigned readers: Jay Travis _____________________________________ Kurt Fredrickson Date Received: April 11, 2019 FREEDOM IN CHRIST: SPIRITUAL DELIVERANCE WITHIN A DISCIPLE-MAKING AND MISSIONAL-SENDING CHURCH VISION A MINISTRY FOCUS PAPER SUBMITTED TO FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY KERRY BOWMAN APRIL 2019 Copyright© 2019 by Kerry Bowman All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Freedom in Christ: Spiritual Deliverance within a Disciple-Making and Missional-Sending Church Vision Kerry Bowman Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2019 To empower people in the Temecula Valley and The Awakening Church to become fully alive in Christ and to his mission, this project creates a place for deliverance ministry along a disciple-making pathway whereby sin patterns and strongholds are broken through spiritual warfare, inner healing and obedience. When Jesus sent his disciples on mission, while instructing them along the pathways of Judea, Luke 9:1-2 states, “he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” The desire of The Awakening Church is to raise up disciples who continue to proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom of God with power and authority. In order to forward the gospel’s message and ministry to the broken, including those who are affluent, kingdom-laboring disciples must find freedom in Christ and operate fully with the abundant joy, divine guidance and real-time empowerment of the Holy Spirit. This project seeks to enhance the current disciple-making strategy by embracing the development of a spiritual deliverance and healing ministry within the local body and for the valley. As part of The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) denominational movement, the historical emphasis on the four-fold gospel of Jesus is central – Jesus is Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King. Jesus as Divine Healer will take a renewed emphasis in the life of the church and the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). To make disciples of all nations we engage both the natural and spiritual worlds. Both are equally real when it comes to meeting the challenges and seizing the opportunities associated with our culture. Content Reader: Jay Travis, PhD Word Count: 274 To my father and mother, Charles and Norma Jean Bowman, for their encouragement and support through many years to undertake ongoing education while serving Jesus Christ and his purposes in vocational ministry. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge the love and support of my wife, Melissa, our three sons, Ryan, Zac and Levi, along with our daughter Grace. Thank you for helping me not shy away from teaching on the subject of spiritual warfare and helping me sustain lasting years of deliverance ministry to those in need. Thanks also goes to the elders of The Awakening Church and the whole church family for their receptivity to learn and minister within a biblical worldview that includes the unseen things in this visible world. I also would like to thank Dr. Charles Kraft, Dr. Paul King, Dr. Terry Wardle and the late Dr. Gerald Earl McGraw for their influence in personal and/or written form to be bold in this subject matter of the spiritual realm and offering genuine inner healing and deliverance to people in need. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv FIGURES vi GLOSSARY vii PART ONE: MINISTRY CONTEXT INTRODUCTION 2 CHAPTER 1: THE AWAKENING CHURCH ON MISSION 10 IN THE TEMECULA VALLEY PART TWO: THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 26 CHAPTER 3: A THEOLOGY OF SPIRITUAL DELIVERANCE FROM EVIL 57 PART THREE: MINISTRY PRACTICE CHAPTER 4: DELIVERANCE SESSION MINISTRY DIRECTIVES 93 CHAPTER 5: MINISTRY IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS 122 CONCLUSION AND A LOOK TO THE FUTURE 139 APPENDICES 145 BIBLIOGRAPHY 149 v FIGURES 1. Pathway of Disciple-making 58 2. Worldview Realms 66 3. Biblical Worldview 67 4. Dimensions of Spiritual Warfare 74 5. Personal Battlefronts 76 6. Demonization Continuum 82 7. Human “Temple” 86 8. Ongoing Healing 119 9. “ROOTED” Strongholds 126 vi GLOSSARY Deliverance – A Christ-centered ministry practice of freeing individuals from spiritual bondage caused by unseen demonic spirits afflicting the mind, will and emotions. The ministry practice can be initiated by a devout Christian exercising the authority of Jesus Christ who defeated Satan through his atoning death on the cross and resurrection. Deliverance includes counseling of the whole person, prayer and the expelling of demons as needed. It is different than exorcism which relies on formalized rituals and often secretive acts of appointed clergy within high churches. Demonization – The state of being troubled by demonic spirits, whether outward or inward, and passively coming under the direct influence of their lies, accusations, sickness and supernatural control. Demonization comes from the Greek word “daimonízomai,” but should not be mistakenly translated as “being demon-possessed” because no demon has ownership of an individual. Rather the word means to “have a demon” which can manifest itself in various ways causing physical, psychological, volitional or sometimes mental disorder within a person’s life. Inner Healing – A term generally reflecting the broad and deep-level healing work of Jesus Christ for the whole person. It includes addressing the brokenness of painful events, suppressed memories, unforgiveness of others, debilitating depression and personal condemnation. Healing is brought about by biblical counseling establishing self-worth on a believer’s identity in Christ, his presence in all life circumstances and his power to set a captive sinner free. Damaging thoughts and feelings are replaced with truth, the mindset of Christ and his unconditional love. Spiritual Warfare – The ongoing fight to resist Satan and the evil works of his fallen angels in the invisible world as they try to thwart God’s purposes and oppress humans in the visible world. It is not a battle over power, but an active engagement of enforcing the authority of Christ upon demons. Warfare includes strategic encounters with both higher- level spirits overseeing spiritual realms, territories and institutions and also lower-level demons afflicting individuals through the mindset of the world, the sinful nature, and by direct attacks of the devil’s demons themselves. Stronghold – Used as a general term to designate any area where the enemy Satan still has some control over a person’s life. This control may stem from a pattern of ongoing sin, an external attack by a demonic spirit or the internal attachment of a demon to a part of the body, mind, will, or emotions. Bondage to spiritual strongholds are broken foremostly through repentance, prayer, obedience and embracing the truth and power of Christ to set a person free. Strongholds which carry demonic attachment often require deeper inner healing ministry and even deliverance. vii PART ONE MINISTRY CONTEXT INTRODUCTION Unfamiliar environments often create anxiety, especially when special protocol and decorum are in order. Whether it be a formal dinner invitation for a casual soul or a third world experience for a member of the social elite, we can all identify with being a bit uncomfortable in foreign settings. What should one wear, how should one act, and what should one say or be thinking are a few questions weighing on the mind of a novice sojourner in uncharted terrain. Questions arise, and our internal reservations throttle our external engagement when confronted with unfamiliar lifestyles and activities. Associated beliefs and practices are also avoided, if possible, and flight back to our own tastes for life are made as soon as possible. The same is true when asking a person who lives solely in the natural realm to attend to the realities of the supernatural dimension of life. Such a pursuit looms as a foreign subject matter to avoid. To contemplate, investigate and discuss the unseen spiritual world breeds apprehension and anxiety; it is an unfamiliar environment. We may believe in the existence of the supernatural, but our preference is to not visit the reality or give it much attention. Regrettably, engagement with the invisible spiritual realm has become an uncommon practice for the majority of Christians in the western world. But it should not be so. Encountering the unseen things in this visible world is not only given little attention in our modern ministry portfolios, but it is not even a subject of discussion or belief in most churches.
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