Shepherding Movement — Ft. Lauderdale Five

Perhaps more devastating specifically to the JPM than The Family (Children of God or COG), Jim Jones, or any number of other strange teachings and groups, was the Shepherding Movement, because it directly affected our church life. 

The Fort Lauderdale Five—Bob Mumford, Charles Simpson, Derek Prince, Don Basham, and Ern Baxter—were all respected teachers in the early years of the JPM. They formed an umbrella type of ministry that seemed to them to be a necessity, given the chaotic and confused nature of the JPM. These five leaders began to accumulate churches and ministries under their authority and over which they became overseers, “shepherds.” Certain accountability could then be built into the process. It seemed almost a natural kind of progression, a helpful ministry, one borne out of caring, and I think it was just that at first. 

One of their publications coming out of Fort Lauderdale was New Wine, a magazine with articles that really spoke to young charismatics across the country. In addition to the magazine was a steady stream of cassette tapes and books that communicated new and exciting teachings about the fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the last days. We in Marin became faithful readers and listeners of this material, and it became very influential to our Christian thinking.

Across the country, Jesus People leaders, with their ministries and churches, “submitted” themselves to one of the five shepherds and would then become “under-shepherds.” I considered doing the same myself for all of the Open Door churches, because the work was often beyond me and left me wondering what to do next. Here was where my characteristic independent streak rescued me from submitting to one of the five. There was something that bothered me and caused  me to rebel against the Shepherding Movement, and my stance was misunderstood by many of those who served with me in leadership. 

The Attractions 

Many struggling pastors and leaders considered it desirable, even a Godsend, to be accountable to Bob Mumford or one of the other shepherds. And for local JPM leaders, here was a chance for no-bodies like we were to be aligned with big-named and respected Christian spearheads. The identification with men like Bob Mumford was a big attraction. I, too, traveled long distances to hear him and be in his presence. It was a bit like idol or celebrity worship, thus it would be from pride that someone in Podunk could say they were submitted to Bob, or Charles, or Ern, or Derek, or Don. 

Additionally, it was thought, though not explicitly stated, that this arrangement of coming under the authority of the Five was what God was doing in the Last Days. The Last Days, a frequent subject of sermons and teachings, was on our minds. For many of the Jesus People who came out of the Catholic Church, it was comforting to think they still had a bishop or an archbishop, if not an actual pope. 

The Detractions 

My view was that local leadership was a more Biblical model of church structure, despite the troubles it involved. Additionally, it did not seem quite right to be part of a very large organization whose leaders demanded that certain policies be carried out, one of which involved money. The tithe was mandatory, and to determine the amount that should be given, they required submission of financial statements for examination. It was the measure of control they wielded to which I primarily objected. It might have seemed proper to many, but not to me. 

The Battle—Go or Stay 

The matter of being in or out was finally made clear in 1975. One of our pastors, a former seminary student who had taken over the remains of several Christian houses, a bookstore, and our church in San Francisco, announced he was now submitted to Bob Mumford, was leaving our fellowship of churches, and was retaining the Christian bookstore. The battle lines were drawn. 

In response, I asked for a meeting with the Church of the Open Door in San Francisco, now under Bob Mumford. One evening, we met at one of the Christian houses in the City. I invited Bob Hymers to come up from Los Angeles and also Bob Burns, who had earlier been the pastor of the church in San Francisco. It so happened that David Hoyt was in Marin on a visit, and the four of us intended to make our case before the departing church. 

The meeting was packed wall to wall. One by one, the four of us made a presentation of what we knew and thought about the Shepherding Movement. I specifically spoke about our labor in developing the Taraval Street bookstore and the other means by which the ministry had been built over the years. Dr. Hymers, Bob Burns, and David Hoyt also made impassioned pleas for the people to reconsider and remain in fellowship with the other churches in our little network. 

There was little response from the listeners, most of whom I knew quite well and a number of whom I had baptized. They sat politely silent and voiced very few questions or remarks. A few days later I received a letter informing me that the San Francisco church had unanimously voted to be under the shepherding of Mumford. One thing was granted to us, the return of the Christian bookstore that Bob Burns and I had worked so hard to establish, using thousands of dollars from the San Rafael church and bookstore to build it. 

At that point I wrote a pamphlet about the movement and pointed out that the “Five” liked to “wine and dine” pastors and others, in order to get them to submit. This little booklet was printed by many groups over the next several years and was particularly used in Great Britain, where the Shepherding Movement was starting to make inroads. 

From Solution to Problem 

The Shepherding Movement was the source of a great deal of grief for me and continues to impact me in subtle ways to this day. It fractured alliances and friendships and seemed to me to have been one reason the JPM ended, in our region at minimum, but to some extent throughout the entire nation. 

The Shepherding Movement eventually imploded somewhere in the late 1970s or early 1980s. In my view, and from what I heard from some of those who had seen the devastation, the problem looked like the following: A leader of a church full of Jesus People, who has no real experience as a pastor, finds the job to be overwhelming. Out of desperation, this new pastor submits to one of the Fort Lauderdale Five. Changes come down the pipeline, which are not easily implemented. The congregation is divided up with “under-shepherds” appointed over small groupings of them. Now hours and hours of listening to tapes, mostly from Bob Mumford, and more controls and new revelations are placed upon the congregation. The arrangement is not sustainable on several levels, and the whole thing breaks down. 

The mighty Five were falling; pride had set in, and it had become a power game. Surely, the churches and ministries that needed guidance continued to need guidance, and thus more and more control from the top down. What appeared to be a solution became a problem. 

Acknowledging the errors 

One Saturday when I was exiting San Quentin prison after a baseball game, I ran into Bob Mumford at the East Gate. We recognized each other and stood still for a moment, both wondering what to say. It was the first time we had seen one another for a couple of decades; now we were face to face. 

Bob reached his hand through the iron gate and grabbed mine. We spoke for a few minutes, and before I left, he handed me his card and invited me to his office. Within a week I called and made an appointment. We had a wonderful time of reconciliation. Bob was very open about the errors of the Shepherding Movement and did ask for forgiveness, which I was heartened to extend. 

Looking back, I do not blame anyone; what the Five did I likely would have attempted myself had I the opportunity. Concerning the pastor who had submitted himself to Bob and left our small association of churches, I might have done the same if I had been in his shoes. The Five were godly men and perfectly positioned to mentor and guide. They must have been appalled at what they saw happening to the Jesus People, especially when the dark sides became apparent. 

A lesson learned. 

What is the draw? 

Atheism has been on the rise for at least the two most recent generations. Church attendance is radically declining—52% of self-identified Christians do not attend a brick-and-mortar church—so churches are closing, but pop spiritualism focused on the self, called “self-care” or the “wellness movement,” is on the rise. 

Yes, it is the great “awokening,” but comparatively empty as movements go. So, what’s the draw? Shunning the old-time religions is part of the fun, especially that Christian one. Getting hold of ethereal energies is another; but again, only if it has nothing to do with any “organized” religion. Out with you! 

The trouble with this thinking is that there is something innately spiritual about us, some kind of knowledge of and longing for something more. We refuse to go to a church to find it, and our device screens take us only so far. So, where is it happening? 

The move back to the occult, what Tara Isabella Burton calls Contemporary Occultism, could very possibly be it. (We suggest getting her book, Strange Rites.) 

We live in Marin County, California, and it is reported to be the least Christian county in America. There are multitudes more atheists, Wiccans, Buddhists, and shamans than Christians here. After all, our church’s town of Mill Valley is said to be at a major vortex of spirit power—Mt. Tamalpais. Tomorrow we begin a television program series where the guest is the area’s chief spokesperson for shamanism. We will discuss and spar. After that, we hope for a Buddhist, then a Wiccan witch who is up for the challenge. 

Frankly, the most interesting of the above groups is the Wiccan witches. They are knowingly in touch with the supernatural, and they love it. However, you can bet they will not acknowledge being in cahoots with the devil, having probably renamed it as some lord or master in nature. 

These groups usually have rituals and elements identified as “sacred” or“divine” to help with focusing the mind and the attention on the ceremony. It may be candles, burning sage, drumming, ingesting some psychotropic substance, chanting, meditating, or dancing in swirling rotation for long periods. 

For the uninitiated who are just looking for an interesting pastime (at first) to play at with friends, there is the Ouija board. It has a peculiar allure, and it is quite strong. Picture this: guys and gals, a hookah with good stuff in it, some pills with mind expanding capacity, and up all night. All good? Sounds innocent! Someone brings out the board, and all gather about for a fun game. What could go wrong? 

The pros insist it is nothing more than a mind game, called “the ideomotor effect, where your brain may unconsciously create images and memories when you ask the board questions. Your body responds to your brain without you consciously ‘telling’ it to do so, causing the muscles in your hands and arms to move the pointer to the answers that you — again, unconsciously — may want to receive.” 

The scientific researchers are sure that the idea of anything supernatural or spiritual is a folk tale or worse, a hoax perpetrated on the young and naïve. That’s what they say. 

But what is happening here? An acquaintance of ours, gathered in a group the other night around a Ouija Board, reported that two demons introduced themselves via the board: one was identified as a good demon, but another was a bad demon. They all decided to listen to the good demon but ignore the bad one. They don’t know that demons love to lie to humans. Oh, and forget the ideomotor effect, because the planchette continued to move and spell out words when all the participants had removed their hands! 

No matter, who cares. There is no God. Let the Bible thumpers jump up and down. This is for real. 

Kent reports: 

When I was a kid, some neighborhood friends and I fooled around with a Ouija Board. Lots of kids were doing it, as it was popular then. I think my mother got it for us and showed us how to use it. Strange, now that I think of it. 

There we were in the living room beside the fireplace on a wintry afternoon, on our knees, around this strange square with the alphabet, numbers 0 to 9, and some other odd figures and shapes. There was a small heart-shaped object made out of wood (in other countries the planchette, as it is sometimes called, is made of glass or plastic), and we put a finger on it and were wildly amazed as it moved about the board and answered questions we asked of it. Strange also that we would ask a game board questions. 

How shocked we were when the answers we received made sense and even seemed like the right answers. We were excited and scared all at the same time. At first, we played with the board every time we got a chance. However, a few things happened that caused us to back away from it—the answers were too right, weirdly right. That was the last time I saw a Ouija board, and I did not think much about them, until I read Robert Anderson’s book, The Ghosts of Iceland. Dr. Anderson, an anthropologist, studied spiritism in Iceland. His book covers material about elves, trolls, spirits of the dead, mediums, shamans, and other occult activities and practices, including the Ouija board, used by mediums and fortune tellers. Iceland has a reputation for having a highly occult-oriented population. 

History of the Ouija Board 

Wikipedia reports that the Ouija board was introduced to the Western world by Elijah Bond in 1890 as a harmless parlor game and not related to the occult. But then, during WWI, an American spiritualist named Pearl Curran used it for fortune telling. 

Ouija believers feel it has supernatural or paranormal powers, while others, not so spiritualist in orientation, think it operates through the phenomenon called “ideomotor effect,” described previously. Of course, this does not explain how several people who touch the pointer at the same time all subconsciously want the same response from the board. 

Other Wikipedia sources link the Ouija Board to China, around AD 1100, when it was used for automatic writing. The planchette would move to different letters, each would be written down, and thus a message would appear that was supposed to be from spirits of the dead. Apparently, a Ouija type board was also used in ancient India, Greece, Rome, and in medieval Europe. 

Is there something to it? 

The 1973 film, The Exorcist, tells what is thought to be the true story of a teenage girl (actually based on a true account of a boy) becoming possessed by a demon. The film links the possession to the girl’s involvement with a Ouija Board. This was only one of twenty-five films Wikipedia lists as having something to do with the Ouija Board. Is there a reality embedded here in the plots of those films? 

Our research and experience say, yes there is. 

Remember Satan does not play fair, and his devices do not have labels containing full disclosure of the dangers involved. The devil’s religion is the occult, magic, fortune telling, mediumship, séances, and straight-up Satanic worship. The Ouija Board is perfectly targeted to a youthful audience, but at its core, it is aimed at making contact with something ethereal and ghostlike—supposed spirits of the dead. Children playing with it do not think they are trying to contact the dead, but they gather around a tool used for fortune telling and a means of contacting spirits—right where the devil wants young, impressionable minds. Remember, he does not play fair. 

The Apostle Paul makes this very clear when he says of those to whom the gospel is veiled, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). We have seen the reality of this passage many times. A person once delivered from blinding evil spirits will so often quickly grasp the truth of Jesus Christ. 

Ideomotor effect? Maybe. “Does Diane like me?” the boy asks. The boy wants the board to say yes, and it does. Wow. Let’s ask another question. Deeper and deeper, it goes, and then strange things begin to happen—weird things, scary things. And it begins to follow the “players” around until they are seeing and hearing things. Is there something in it? Yes! 

Right or wrong? 

An ancient book, the Bible, has several passages that are chilling, all the way to the bone. 

You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes (Leviticus 19:26). 

Do not turn to mediums or wizards, do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God (Leviticus 19:26). 

If a person turns to mediums and wizards, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people (Leviticus 20:6). 

And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them . . . (Deuteronomy 4:19). 

There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a wizard or a necromancer, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). 

For clarification purposes “sorcerer” means magician, and “necromancer” is a person, like a medium, who communicates with or gets messages from the supposed dead. 

Likely, the admonition about sacrificing and burning sons and daughters will seem strange to us now, but in that era it was not unusual. 

The practices listed in Leviticus and Deuteronomy are the rituals, the religious tools of Satan and his demons, and their aim is to indwell or possess the practitioners of those rituals and tools.

Jesus Cast Out Demons 

In the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, there are six instances in which Jesus encountered demonized persons. They are: 

1. The man with an unclean spirit at a synagogue in Capernaum—Mark 1:21–28 and Luke 4:31–37. 
2. The blind and dumb demoniac—Matthew 12:22-29; Mark 3:22–27; and Luke 11:14–22. 
3. The Gerasene demoniac—Matthew 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; and Luke 8:26–39. 
4. The Syrophoenician woman’s daughter—Matthew 15:21–28; and Mark 7:24–30. 
5. The Epileptic boy—Matthew 17:14–21; Mark 9:14–29; and Luke 9:37–43a. 
6. The woman with a spirit of infirmity—Luke 13:10–17. 

An angel of light? 

The occult is very enticing and attractive. Paul says of Satan: 

“And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So, it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (2 Corinthians 11:14–15). 

This is quite frightening, that what looks so innocent, even good, can be so evil! It has long been known that the devil gives power and knowledge to those who follow him, at least until the knot is so tightly tied that Satan can take the blinders off and terrorize at will. And the only escape is the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our experience has been that Satan gives wormy gifts—sexual fun, power over others, knowledge, and sometimes even material gain—anything to entice. 

The old tale of the Faustian tradeoff rings true. In exchange for his soul, meaning his entire being, Faust receives the devil’s gifts. Faust will likely die miserably, because Satan always reneges, and now all he will have are endless darkness and fire. Yes, both at once. 

And somewhat related is Paul’s warning to the Ephesian Church. He urged the Ephesians: 

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:11–12) 

Okay, now what?

For many years, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, many of us involved in that great moving of the Holy Spirit called the Jesus People Movement, routinely conducted a ministry we called “deliverance ministry,” which essentially was casting out of demons. We testify to participating hundreds of times in casting out thousands of demons, many of which originally gained entry into the individual via occult activities. 

To be direct and clear: Only Jesus casts out demons. Shamans and other occultic practitioners may manipulate or move bad spirits around, even claiming to expel them, but this is a sham. Nothing really happens besides the possible exchange of money, so buyer beware! After the demons have “lain low” for a time, they will be right back at their tormenting. 

Though nearly all the major world religions know about the devil and evil, only Jesus casts them out, and more than that, He gives His disciples authority over them to also cast them out. Here are some key biblical passages explaining this: 

Luke 9:1 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. 

“The twelve” were the apostles whom Jesus had specially called. But in the next passage, it is not the “twelve” who cast out demons but seventy-two other people. 

Luke 10:17-20 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 

1 John 3:8 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 

Part of Jesus’ ministry was to defeat Satan, which He did through His atoning death on the cross, His resurrection, and ascension back to heaven. Jesus is victor over sin, death, and Satan. Those who contact spirits of the dead are falsely comforted when they contact what they think are spirits of the dead. The so-called spirits of the dead are really demons that imitate departed loved ones. 

Yet it is so enticing and appears to be proof of the supernatural, right here and now. At first there is exhilaration, but the excitement eventually fades and becomes, rather, a great burden. 

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Demons are most easily cast out when a person submits to God and resists Satan. No one needs to fear Satan, for his power is severely limited. While he may appear fearsome and dreadfully powerful and full of secret knowledge, he trembles at the power and authority of Jesus Christ, even when His very human disciples show up for the simple ministry of casting out demons. 

In Acts 16:16–24 is the story of Paul while in the Greek city of Philippi, where he crossed the path of a slave girl whose owners were using her to tell fortunes. She recognized, or her demons did, that Paul and his companions were “servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). She kept yelling this out, until Paul became annoyed, so he turned and pointed to the girl and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” Luke, the author of Acts, relates, “And it came out that very hour” (Acts 16:18). 

Paul cast the demon out, and the slave girl could no longer make money for her owners by fortune telling, since the demon that actually did the telling was now gone. As a result, the owners were angry with Paul and stirred up trouble against him. 

Perhaps most people’s involvement with the Ouija Board turns out to be harmless, but if yours is otherwise, know that you can find help and relief in Jesus. And to be clear—in Jesus alone. Yes, there are exorcists who claim that their “magic incantations” are effective, but it is a false claim and fakery, since the devil does not cast the devil out. 

In Christ alone is our help and hope. Submit to him, resist the devil, and that enemy of God will flee. 

Where it Leads 

Little by little the power behind the Ouija board takes hold: 

It’s fun at first, even enticing. 

Next comes empowering. It seems to give real answers—to the rate of about 65% accuracy according to some studies. 

Next comes captivating. 

Then controlling. 

Dependency sets in, being fearful not to trust the guidance. 

Can’t go out the door unless the board is consulted. 

The bottom line: The demonic spirits have one goal: possess those they snare. 

But you are not the real enemy; the Creator God is. 

Because you are made in His image, you are the target. 

Did you not know that Jesus said Satan is a liar, an accuser, a murderer from the beginning? (See John 8:44)147 

How is one freed from the unseen spirits? 

One, throw out the board. 

Two, repent of the sin. 

Three, ask for forgiveness. 

Four, command the demons to come out. 

Excerpts from Wikipedia 

Wikipedia, July 3, 2022 

The ouija, also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words “yes”, “no”, occasionally “hello” and “goodbye”, along with various symbols and graphics. It uses a planchette (small heart-shaped piece of wood or plastic) as a movable indicator to spell out messages during a séance. Participants place their fingers on the planchette, and it is moved about the board to spell out words. “Ouija” is a trademark of Hasbro but is often used generically to refer to any talking board. 

Spiritualists in the United States believed that the dead were able to contact the living and reportedly used a talking board very similar to a modern Ouija board at their camps in the U.S. state of Ohio in 1886 to ostensibly enable faster communication with spirits. Following its commercial introduction by businessman Elijah Bond on 1 July 1890, the Ouija board was regarded as an innocent parlor game unrelated to the occult, until American spiritualist Pearl Curran popularized its use as a divining tool during World War I. 

Paranormal and supernatural beliefs associated with Ouija have been criticized by the scientific community and are characterized as pseudoscience. The action of the board can be most easily explained by unconscious movements of those controlling the pointer, a psychophysiological phenomenon known as the ideomotor effect. 

Mainstream Christian denominations, including Catholicism, have “warned against using Ouija boards”, holding that they can lead to demonic possession. Occultists, on the other hand, are divided on the issue, with some saying that it can be a tool for positive transformation; others reiterated the warnings of many Christians and caution “inexperienced users” against it. 

Talking boards 

As a part of the spiritualist movement, mediums began to employ various means for communication with the dead. Following the American Civil War in the United States, mediums did significant business in allegedly allowing survivors to contact lost relatives. The Ouija itself was created and named in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1890, but the use of talking boards was so common by 1886 that news reported the phenomenon taking over the spiritualists’ camps in Ohio. 

Commercial parlor game 

Businessman Elijah Bond had the idea to patent a planchette sold with a board on which the alphabet was printed, much like the previously existing talking boards. Bond filed on 28 May 1890 for patent protection and thus is credited with the invention of the Ouija board. Issue date on the patent was 10 February 1891. He received U.S. Patent 446,054. Bond was an attorney and was an inventor of other objects in addition to this device. 

An employee of Elijah Bond, William Fuld, took over the talking board production. In 1901, Fuld started production of his own boards under the name “Ouija”. Charles Kennard, founder of Kennard Novelty Company which manufactured Fuld’s talking boards and where Fuld had worked as a varnisher, claimed he learned the name “Ouija” from using the board and that it was an ancient Egyptian word meaning “good luck”. When Fuld took over production of the boards, he popularized the more widely accepted etymology: that the name came from a combination of the French and German words for “yes”. 

The Fuld name became synonymous with the Ouija board, as Fuld reinvented its history, claiming that he himself had invented it. The strange talk about the boards from Fuld’s competitors flooded the market, and all these boards enjoyed a heyday from the 1920s.

The Solid Rock is what we called the house on Wilson Street in
Novato. It was perhaps the most active and important of all the
Christian houses, and its founder was Mark Buckley, later joined
by his wife, Kristina Kenner, after their marriage.
Mark grew up in a northern suburb of San Rafael called Terra
Linda. (From the years 1968 onward, to 1975, Mark was my closest partner in
ministry. He met Kristina at a Bible study I held on Tuesday nights on Greenfield
Ave. in San Rafael. In my mind’s eye I can see Mark seated right next to Martin, later
Moishe, Rosen in the front room of the Greenfield house, otherwise known as Zion’s
Inn. Currently Mark is senior pastor of a large church in Phoenix, Arizona.) There were eight Buckley kids, four boys and four girls, and
everyone in town knew them. Mark was the first of the family to
become a Christian. His conversion took place somewhere in Oregon
through the testimony of people from the Manifested Sons of God, a
group I considered cultic, but they did tell Mark about Jesus.
Mark and his brothers, John, Robert, and Barry, were star athletes
at the high school, playing mostly football. They were all handsome
young men and gifted in many ways. Mark got into the hippie thing,
and his salvation saved him not only from sin but also from what
could have been a devastated life. Instead, he was instrumental in the
conversion of two of his brothers and one or two sisters, as well as
his mother.
Mark was a very skilled carpenter and developed a work crew to
provide income and learn a trade for new Christians living in some
of the houses. He was very energetic, strong, and optimistic, and he
taught a number of young men how to work with their hands. A treasure
I still have is a hammer Mark gave me in probably 1969, when
he hired me to put redwood shingles on the side of a house he was remodeling, in Ross or San Anselmo. During those years I was either
working as a janitor or as a painter.
It was not long before Mark moved out of his childhood home and
became the leader of Solid Rock. If I were to attempt to relay here all
the events of note that occurred in and around that house, it would be
too long a chapter. But there is one story, maybe two, I will recount.
In the back yard of Solid Rock was a large, unfinished, two-story
building. The ground floor was meant to be a three-car garage, and the
upstairs—well, we never really found out about that, but we used one
of the rooms for casting out demons. We called it Deliverance Temple,
from the Lord’s Prayer, “Deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13).
A little background would be helpful now. I graduated from Golden
Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in 1968 with an M.Div. degree;
my diploma may say 1969. An M.Div. used to be a B.D. (Bachelors of
Divinity). A three to four year program, it is the basic seminary course
of study. My ministry in the Haight with the hippies occupied me for
some time, but in 1971, I went back for another masters program, this
time a Th.M., or Masters in Theology, a two to three year program. (Earlier, in 1969, I began volunteering at San Quentin State Prison, located
in Marin. For over three years, I worked under the auspices of the Garden Chapel
(Protestant). I taught New Testament in the School of Theology and later facilitated
a Yoke Fellows group. This volunteer time ended with the George Jackson shoot-out
in 1972. I returned in 1985 to work with a new chaplain, Earl Smith, and for about
twelve years did cell-to-cell ministry. In 1997 I was asked to coach the baseball
team, first the Pirates, then the Giants, which I did until 2012. By my calculation, I
volunteered for thirty years there. I have a treasured photo of Joyful Noise playing
music at the prison chapel in 1971, at just about the conclusion of the band’s ministry.
It is on the cover of this book.)
After the class work and the seminars, I began work on my thesis.
Because of the constant encountering of persons involved in the
occult during my years on the street, I had a desire and need to know
more about it. Already I had moved away from my earlier college
days’ concepts that the demonic was merely poor and outdated primitive
psychology. By 1972, I knew better, but I did not know as much
as I needed to.
By that time, I was already doing deliverance ministry, and my
teacher, via tapes and books, was Don Basham, one of the Fort Lauderdale
Five, about which I will have more to say later. Casting out
demons was a necessary ministry, since so many of the ex-hippies had been involved in or initiated into occult rituals or eastern religious
practices where they had literally invited various deities (so-called)
to guide them, or had experienced trances or altered states of consciousness
through mind-altering drugs like LSD. It was not something
that was going to go away; this ministry, in fact, was requiring
more and more time.
A Manual of Demonology and the Occult was the title of the thesis.
For more than a year I spent every possible spare moment working
on the manual in the old library at the seminary. My major professor,
Dr. Richard Cunningham, signed off on each chapter, and I entered
the oral phase of the project with confidence. But I was harshly shot
down. My favorite New Testament and Greek teacher, Dr. Clayton
Harrop, who long after remained my friend, had the task of telling me
my thesis failed. Disappointed, but not ready to give up, I submitted
a new proposal for a thesis, which took me four months to prepare.
When, however, I gave it to Dr. Cunningham, he decided to tell me
the truth. He reminded me that Golden Gate was a Southern Baptist
institution and that they would never allow a tongues speaker to be
awarded a high academic degree. (Moishe Rosen, who thought I should become a seminary professor rather than a pastor, advised me to sue the seminary to get my degree. My thinking was that I should have known better in the first place. The seminary had the right to do
as it pleased, but perhaps I should have been informed early on about their view
of my tongue speaking. My wife Katie graduated with an MDiv degree in 2009, son
Vernon is a student there now, and currently I am mentoring one student from the
seminary, one of many over the years. It is a fine school.)
The thesis, I reasoned, was yet worth something, so I called
Zondervan Publishing House in Grand Rapids and spoke to Bob
DeVries, the man who wanted to publish Two Brothers in Haight. He
asked me to send him the manuscript. To make a long story short, the
thesis was published in 1973. A second edition came out in 1976; it
was even published in Swedish. It sold like crazy and is actually still
available; a pirated version can be bought at Amazon.
The publication of that book, however, opened a floodgate of people
who wanted demons cast out of them. Many showed up on a regular
basis, some even arriving at my front door in Terra Linda with
no baggage, no money, and desperate. At one point there were twenty-
six people trained to do casting out of demons—thirteen teams of
two, just to cope with the volume of requests.

Back now to Deliverance Temple. Once a week I drove up to

Novato to join Mark and cast demons out of people. Mostly, I never

knew who the people were, never saw them before, and usually never

saw them again. They simply showed up, and Mark or someone else

did the scheduling. And this went on for a long period of time.

Two Stories

Now the first of two stories: After an article covering the casting

out of demons somehow got into Time magazine, I received a call

from Nancy, a young reporter from the magazine, who asked if she

could come to a session where demons were cast out; she wanted to

do a follow-up story. She lived nearby in Greenbrae, so it wasn’t going

to be a big deal for her to show up. I agreed and scheduled a time for

her to witness the “activities.”

It was a stormy Thursday night in mid-winter when I picked Nancy

up and headed for Novato and Deliverance Temple. Mark, Nancy,

and I, along with the first person scheduled for deliverance, passed

though the house, walked into the back yard, entered the unfinished

garage, and ascended the stairs to the second floor. Mark led the way

with his flashlight to where he had arranged four chairs underneath

the single light bulb, our sole source of light and warmth. Nancy was

seated to my right, Mark sat across from me, and the subject, a young

man about my age whom I will call Bill, sat quietly on the metal chair

to my left.

We talked a while with Bill, discussing details about how he might

have gotten demons. Then the praying started, with Mark and I taking

turns commanding any demons in Bill to come out in the name of

Jesus. There was nothing about him, either his behavior or his past,

that indicated that there were or should be any demons present in

Bill. But, as we had found out many times before, one really never

knows, so we did not easily give up.

It was a miserable night in Deliverance Temple, really cold, and we

wore winter coats. Nancy sat quietly watching and making an entry

or two in the notebook she had on her lap. Despite the cold, Mark and

I began to sweat, not so much with the effort put forth, but due to a

certain embarrassment that came over us. Here we were, sitting in a

weird dark unfinished room with only studs along the walls, no real

ceiling, only a roof far above us in the darkness, with the wind and

rain howling outside. We were Jesus freaks, and Nancy was a reporter

for Time magazine; no doubt she thought we were fools, at best, but

more she probably thought we were deluded and crazed cultists.

Mark and I stole glances at each other. Bill sat still and peaceful,

not saying a word or even twitching. No demons were showing up.

Nancy squirmed a little as the time rolled on. Maybe an hour passed.

Suddenly, without warning, Bill literally flew backward, straight

back and up. If there had been a ceiling he would have crashed into

it. He hit the wall behind him and slid down to the floor between the

studs. Nancy had fear on her face; she had just seen something that

was physically impossible. Mark and I were relieved.

We walked over to Bill, picked him up and escorted him back to

the center of the room and his chair. We started again, knowing now

there were indeed demons in him. After a few minutes it happened

again; Bill flew through the air the same way as before. This time

Mark and I pulled our chairs over to him and proceeded, with Bill sitting

on the floor, to cast out several demons. We continued until there

were no longer any demonic manifestations.

Next and last was a young woman, about Nancy’s age, and this

time it was different, typical really. We talked some, prayed some, and

then started to command the demons to come out, based on the power

and authority of Jesus. Several demons were cast out, and we spent

some more time talking, essentially a counseling session intended to

be encouraging and helpful. That was the end of it.

The reporter had little to say on the way home. I asked her to let me

know when the magazine with the deliverance story came out. Weeks

went by before the edition appeared. I read every word but found

nothing about what happened at Deliverance Temple. I called her and

asked why not. She said she submitted the story and described accurately

what had happened, but an editor found it unbelievable and

deleted that part entirely. I never heard from Nancy again, but I will

always remember that strange night at Solid Rock.

One more story: Joyful Noise had been invited by a large Presbyterian

Church in Walnut Creek to minister to their youth group. The

pastor, whom I will call Joe, and I got along well, and I added him

to my newsletter list. Perhaps a year went by before I received a

phone call from him. He wanted to bring his daughter, aged fifteen,

over for prayer. Sue, not her real name, had been acting strangely, and

Joe thought it was of a demonic nature and described some strange

things going on. Once I heard this report, I agreed with him, and he

and his wife, Sue’s mother, brought Sue over for deliverance.

Mark, Sue, and I spent many weeks, six or maybe seven, two hours

minimum at a time, hoping to cast some demons out of the teenager.

She sat quietly and at rest time after time, week after week. Mark and

I decided that she did not have demons, which I called and told Joe. He

did not agree and pleaded for just one more time. Joe was one of the

finest men I had ever met, and the whole family was just as precious

as could be. I agreed to another attempt.

Once again Mark and I trooped out to Deliverance Temple with

Sue and made every effort, did all we could do. As always there was

nothing but simple prayer and asking God to cast out demons. Nothing

again, and I dreaded walking back into Solid Rock with Sue to face

her parents. Since this was to be the family’s last visit to Novato, Joe

wanted to have communion. We stood in a circle in the kitchen area.

Joe served us with the bread first, and then he began to pass the cup

around. As it reached Sue and she raised it to her lips, she collapsed to

the floor, and the cup and its contents went flying. Mark and I looked

at each other and bent over Sue, and just as quickly and easily as anything

I had ever seen, we cast out a whole bunch of demons. Finally

she was exhausted; we raised her up to her feet, there was some charismatic

type of praise, and off the family went.

It was not over, however. Joe called a week later and told me they

found out how the demons had gotten into Sue. There had been a mission

trip to Haiti, and on the return trip they brought home with them

a girl Sue’s age, whom Sue had befriended in Haiti. Sue confessed that

she and the Haitian girl had been playing around with Voodoo spells

late at night when everyone went to bed. Weird things had started to

happen, and both girls were scared to say anything about it.

I agreed to have the Haitian girl come over, too. This time, it was

fairly quickly done. Indeed, demons were present and were cast out.

Some years ago now, maybe fifteen, Sue showed up just before the

morning service at Miller Avenue. I was called out to the front porch

of the building and there was Sue, her husband, and two little kids.

She wanted to simply say thanks for what had happened many years

ago at Deliverance Temple.

The Creator God is a Trinity, which is extraordinarily difficult to explain, and though I have attempted to do so many times, I doubt I have ever done it well. 

“Three in one—or—one in three” is little more than a formula, but it expresses what is revealed about the nature of God as found in Scripture. 

In the Hebrew Bible we find evidence for the triune God. In Genesis 1:1-2 we find a significant piece of the puzzle: 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 

The Hebrew word for Spirit of God in the passage above is ruach and can mean wind, breath, or spirit. Dozens of times in the Hebrew Bible ruach refers to Spirit, the Spirit of God. 

In Isaiah 48:16 and 63:10 we find the Spirit differentiated from God yet yet the Spirit is also deity. Here is Isaiah 63:10: “But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit.” 

So far we have discovered two parts of the Trinity. It is not much of a stretch to acknowledge that the Creator is God. A bit of a stretch to add the “Spirit” as God also, still you have two gods then. The real trouble comes with Jesus. If He is God, then do we have three gods? How could this be expressed? 

As for a third part of the Trinity, the Son, we find evidence in Psalm 2:7: “I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” This Psalm speaks of Christ, the Messiah, and it clearly distinguishes between the Father and the Christ. 

In Psalm 110:1 we have, “The LORD says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” The mystery found here is cleared up by seeing God as a Trinity. 

Already cited is Isaiah 9:6, but because of its direct evidence for the deity of the Messiah, here is the passage again: 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting father, Prince of Peace.  

Isaiah is referring to Immanuel, meaning “God with us,” from his chapter 7 verse 14, the one born of the virgin. Note the titles, “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father,” in Isaiah 9:6, which are used for God alone. 

In the Greek Bible there is evidence aplenty for the deity of the Son, Jesus the Messiah, and thus, the Trinity. In Matthew 28:19-20 we find the three-part formula in the words of Jesus. 

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing then in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. 

It has been argued that such an advanced statement of the Trinity could not have been original with Matthew but has to have been borrowed from a later period. Yet the manuscript evidence shows otherwise. There is only one textual variant in the above passage and that has to do with the use of “amen” following “age,” is some old manuscripts. That is it. Codices Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Bezae, many old Latin translations, the Vulgate, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, Ethiopic translations—these support the usual reading without a final amen. 

It is this formula, originated by Jesus Himself, that firmly establishes the doctrine of the Trinity. The Creator alone is not the God of the Bible. The Son alone is not the God of the Bible. The Spirit alone is not the God of the Bible. God is Father (Creator), Son, and Holy Spirit. To leave one out is to miss the mark in defining who God is. It is as one of the ancient creeds puts it: The Three of the Trinity are co-equal, co-eternal, of one will, and of one substance. 

Let us look a little further in the Greek Bible. 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). 

The use of the English word “was” is misleading. It is a verb of being, and is a grammatical structure known as subject nominative, and could as well be translated, “In the beginning was and is the Word, and the Word was and is with God, and the Word was and is God.” The sentence could also be expressed as, “The Word was and is in the beginning, the God was and is with the Word, and God was and is the Word.” 

This Word then, logos in the Greek, refers to God. The Apostle John makes this clear: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). John continues in verses 17 and 18 to make it clear who the Word is: 

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Paul’s testimony 

To prevent this chapter from becoming a tome, only two additional passages will be presented, both from the pen of Paul who in his pre-Christian life denied the deity and messiahship of Jesus vehemently. On a journey to attack Christians in Damascus of Syria, Jesus revealed Himself to Paul. No longer would Paul misunderstand. The original account of Paul’s conversion is in Acts 9:1-19. 

First of all, we examine what is referred to as the “kenosis” of Christ, kenosis meaning self-emptying. 

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8) 

Then to the Colossian congregation, Paul has a different way of presenting Jesus’ deity. 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20) 

Paul, trained as a rabbi by the renowned Gamaliel, knew that if Jesus was in fact the Messiah of Israel, and knowing that the religious party he belonged to, the Pharisees, had a major hand in putting Jesus to death, then his zeal was in error. 

Over the course of time Paul both studied the Hebrew Bible and learned of Jesus’ life and ministry, preparing him to write the passages presented above. 

One last piece now, and this from John 20:24-29. The main characters are Jesus and one of the apostles, Thomas by name. The scene probably takes place in the Upper Room, that place where Jesus celebrated with His disciples what we call now the Lord’s Supper. 

The first time Jesus appeared, after His resurrection, to His disciples, Thomas was absent. Later, those who had seen the risen Christ told Thomas about it, but he refused to accept their story except he see Jesus alive as well. He said, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe” (John 20:25b).  

Eight days later, gathered again in the same place, this time Thomas was present. Suddenly Jesus was right there and gave them the traditional greeting, “Peace be with you.” Then turning to Thomas, Jesus invited him to touch the wounds on His body. Jesus said, “Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (verse 27) 

Thomas then said, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus’ response, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (verse 29) 

For so many the most preposterous thing about Christianity has to do with the Trinity. Think of it, one yet three, three yet one. It makes no sense at all. Even when Christians believe the truth of it, we still we have a certain amount of cognitive dissonance. And this is only natural since the Trinity is ultra supernatural. 

There came a time for me when I stopped fighting myself about it. Okay, I am a Christian and this is what Christians have always believed, so what is the trouble? 

There is nothing in my experience that helps me accept the concept of the Trinity. It continues to be an absurd doctrine. Where I found help was in realizing that I am not the judge of God. I must, will, let God be God though I don’t understand. And why should all that is God be rational to one such as I am, a limited, sinful, ignorant, and arrogant person of rather low I.Q. 

I am among those Jesus referred to in John 20:29: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

Astrology falls into the category of fortune telling or divination. The core of it is that the movements and alignments of the planets determine how one is to live day to day. 

Horoscopes, also call astrological charts (see more information about the types in the sections taken from Wikipedia at the end of this chapter) drawn up by astrologers, tell you what to do and not do. Here now are horoscopes for July the 16th and the 23rd. 

First is the horoscope from the Marin County newspaper, the Independent Journal, for the July 16, 2022, for Libra (Sept. 23–Oct. 23), no astrologer is named. 

Actions speak louder than words. Be mindful of others and do whatever it takes to make a difference. Setting an example for those around you will discourage people from criticizing or complaining. 

Then from the San Francisco Chronicle, again for July 16 for Libra (Sept 23-Oct. 23). The astrologer is Georgian Nicols. 

The mood of today is completely different, in particular, you want to get better organized and accomplish a lot today. Tonight: Work. 

Here now is a second example: for Leo (July 23–August 22) from the Independent Journal, dated July 22, 2022, no astrologer named. 

You must go it alone if you want to get things done your way. The path of least resistance will tempt you when you know sticking up for yourself is the better choice. Don’t let others limit you. 

The same day, but from the San Francisco Chronical, and the horoscope is by Georgian Nicols, July 22, 2022, and for Leo (July 23–August 22): 

Although you are inclined to work alone or behind the scenes now, today you have strong opinions about banking issues and anything that must be divided. Tonight: Take stock.

Neither set of horoscopes bear any resemblance to each other. And they, the four of them, are so vague, they could be interpreted any number of ways and apply to many kinds of people in many kinds of lifestyles and occasions. And this is the draw, this vagueness—it simply blinds a person to thinking that this whole thing might be phony. 

You will have to take our word for it, but after reading horoscopes in these two papers that come to our house daily, the same disjointedness is repeated over and again. And the concepts are so vague, that if a person committed to following the horoscopes could find ways to say, okay I am paying attention to this sound counsel, they would be blind to the deception. 

Over time, one becomes captive to the daily horoscopes, and a cultic mentality can set in, which is as dangerous as if you joined a Satan-worshiping church. 

Two striking facts 

The first fact is that astrology developed at a time prior to the discovery of Uranus and Pluto. There are nine planets not seven planets, but astrology is built upon seven planets. This is essentially ignored by astrologers and those who read and follow their daily horoscopes. 

Then there is the attempt to say that Jesus Himself endorses astrology. Here is that attempt: (author is unknown) 

Christ himself talked about the importance of astrology when he said in Luke 21:25, “There shall be signs in the sun, moon, and stars.” Jesus even discusses with the disciples the importance of astrology and how it can be used as a sign of his return. 

The passage appealed to is Luke 21:25-26, which reads: 

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of that is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” 

This statement from Jesus has to do with His second coming at the end of the age, which ushers in the day of Judgment, one single day. And on that very last day of the existence of the universe, even the stars and the moon will be impacted. But it is readily apparent that this is no testimony by Jesus that there is any truth to astrology. 

Let us now take a look at a few biblical passages that speak to the issue. 

Deuteronomy 18:9–12 “Abominable Practices”: 

[9] “When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. [10] There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer [11] or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, [12] for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. (ESV) 

Acts 16:16–18 “Paul and Silas in Prison”: 

[16] As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. [17] She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” [18] And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. (ESV) 

God, who inspired the writing of the above Biblical material, created humans and knows our frailties and tendencies and how prone we are to being captivated by evil. He is warning us to stay away from that which harms us and takes our attention and dependency away from Him. 

Final Thoughts 

Probably, most people who read their horoscopes do not take particular care to apply it to their daily lives. Perhaps it is nothing more than a custom, something fun and interesting to read but not much more than this. 

However, there are those who are committed to it, believe there is some esoteric substance and power behind it, and attempt to apply it to their lives. 

But it goes further than this; astrology is a door opener to other more dangerous forms of the occult—everything from Reiki, Ancestor medicine, visiting psychics, channelers, mediums, Tarot card reading, and more. They are then vulnerable to being invaded by demonic spirits. In which case, the only hope is to have these evil, demonic spirits cast out of them. And in our day, it is increasingly difficult to find anyone who does this form of ministry. 

Excerpts from Wikipedia 

Wikipedia July 23, 2022 

Some astrologers write personalized horoscopes using a person’s rising and moon sign, while others use the solar house system to make more general readings (these are what usually comprise newspaper columns).137 

How do astrologers predict horoscopes? 

Astrologers print horoscopes in newspapers that are personalized by birth date. These horoscopes make predictions in people’s personal lives, describe their personalities, and give them advice; all according to the position of astronomical bodies. Mar 23, 2013 

Average Salary 

According to the Simply Hired website, astrologists bring home an annual salary of $42,000, as of this publication. Aug 5, 2019 

Where do astrologers get their information? 

Astrology normally takes its data from a chart. This could be the image of the earth and the encompassing heavenly bodies and planets at a predefined time. Apr 16, 2020 

Wikipedia, July 17, 2022 

Astrology is a pseudoscience that claims to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the movements and relative positions of celestial objects. Astrology has been practiced since at least the 2nd millennium BCE and has its roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Most, if not all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky, and some—such as the Hindus, Chinese, and the Maya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCE Mesopotamia, from where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, the Arab world and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person’s personality and predict significant events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems. 

Throughout most of its history, astrology was considered a scholarly tradition and was common in academic circles, often in close relation with astronomy, alchemy, meteorology, and medicine. It was present in political circles and is mentioned in various works of literature, from Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer to William Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, and Calderón de la Barca. During the Enlightenment, however, astrology disappeared as an area of legitimate scientific pursuit. Following the end of the 19th century and the wide-scale adoption of the scientific method, researchers have successfully challenged astrology on both theoretical and experimental grounds and have shown it to have no scientific validity or explanatory power. Astrology thus 138 

lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in it has largely declined, until a resurgence starting in the 1960s. 

Ancient 

St. Augustine (354–430) believed that the determinism of astrology conflicted with the Christian doctrines of man’s free will and responsibility, and God not being the cause of evil, but he also grounded his opposition philosophically, citing the failure of astrology to explain twins who behave differently although conceived at the same moment and born at approximately the same time. 

The scientific community rejects astrology as having no explanatory power for describing the universe and considers it a pseudoscience. Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support any of the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions. There is no proposed mechanism of action by which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth that does not contradict basic and well understood aspects of biology and physics. 

From Dr. Christopher S. Baird 

Does the position of astronomical bodies affect a person’s life (beyond basic weather)? 

No. The position and orientation of the sun relative to earth does cause seasons. Anyone who has shoveled snow off his walk in January when he would rather be at the beach can tell you that the astronomical bodies definitely affect our lives. Solar flares cause electromagnetic disturbances on earth that can disrupt satellites and even cause blackouts. The position of the moon causes ocean tides. If you are a fisher, the position of the moon can have a significant effect on your livelihood. The solar wind causes beautiful aurora, and sunlight itself is the main source of energy for our planet. But all of these effects fall under the umbrella of basic weather, not astrology. Astrology purports that astronomical bodies have influence on people’s lives beyond basic weather patterns, depending on their birth date. This claim is scientifically false. Numerous scientific studies have disproven that astronomical bodies affect people’s lives according to their birth date 

Wikipedia, July 16, 2022 

A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an astrological chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, astrological aspects and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person’s birth. The word horoscope is derived from the 139 

Greek words ōra and scopos meaning “time” and “observer” (horoskopos, pl. horoskopoi, or “marker(s) of the hour”). It is used as a method of divination regarding events relating to the point in time it represents, and it forms the basis of the horoscopic traditions of astrology. Horoscope columns are often featured in print and online newspapers. 

There are no scientific studies that have shown support for the accuracy of horoscopes, and the methods used to make interpretations are pseudo-scientific. In modern scientific framework no known interaction exists that could be responsible for the transmission of the alleged influence between a person and the position of stars in the sky at the moment of birth. In all tests completed, keeping strict methods to include a control group and proper blinding between experimenters and subjects, horoscopes have shown no effect beyond pure chance. Furthermore, some psychological tests have shown that it is possible to construct personality descriptions and foretelling generic enough to satisfy most members of a large audience simultaneously, referred to as the Forer or Barnum effect.

A steady stream of “prophets” started appearing, from Sung

Young Moon to David Moses Berg to Jim Jones and more. These

were the big names, the big groups; and there were others.

Kathryn Kuhlman

Kathryn Kuhlman was a lovely, elderly lady in Oakland, who had

a healing ministry popular with the local Jesus freaks. She was sweet

and kind and impossible to disparage, but from a pastoral point of

view, she presented difficulties. Kuhlman was a healer of the old fashioned

kind, and when healing of the body is involved, people flock to

whatever remedy is being touted. Some of the Marin kids in the Bible

studies were driving over to be part of the Kuhlman services. In time,

I made the trip, too.

She had rented out what must have been an old-fashioned movie

theater, and before the scheduled start time, she would walk between

the curtains, peer out at the audience and ask, “Have you been waiting

for me?” The audience would roar back, “Yes.”

Ms. Kuhlman spoke softly, preaching the standard evangelical/

pentecostal line but without much biblical content, and soon, lines

of people hoping to be healed appeared on both sides of the stage.

One by one, they walked or were wheeled to the center of the stage to

receive Kathryn’s healing touch and prayer. Helpers discarded wheel

1 From my point of view, the year was 1970 when the trouble started. The

JPM was still in full flower, but opposing forces had moved in and were winning

victories. I estimate that the awakening that was the JPM ground to a halt in 1972,

though it may have lasted longer in some places.

chairs and pairs of crutches, as loud shrieks of praise echoed off the

walls of the cavernous building. One afternoon as I left for home after

a healing service, I saw people throwing wheel chairs and other stuff

onto a pile of like things outside the back door of the theater.

Kathryn was so warm and loving that one did not want to disappoint

her. If she claimed a healing, then there was a healing. No one

dared to publicly embarrass her. I had studied enough psychology

to know about the placebo effect, and as time wore on I was fairly

sure I was seeing this played out. We were glad to see people healed,

but when the healings wore off, which they most often did, pastoral

chores resulted.

Healing is wonderful, and I have seen people healed, been healed

myself, and watched as my son Vernon was healed on at least two

occasions, but healing began to be a distraction from the core activity

of the Jesus People, which was evangelism. What was occurring without

our full realization was that distractions, if not distortions, were

sweeping into the JPM.

Investigative journalists eventually descended on Kathryn, and

her whole endeavor was discredited. Kathryn slowly receded from

the public gaze; gawk might be a better word. She was a dear old lady

and much loved, and she represented a throwback to the old Pentecostal

holy roller healers I witnessed in Portland as a kid.

Other Questionable Persons

Another “evangelist” who came well before Kuhlman was William

Branham. His only trouble was that an angel, named Emma or maybe

Emily, stood beside him and actually conducted the healing ministry.

Branham admitted to it, and despite the fact that he was killed in an

automobile accident while drunk, a kind of cult grew up around him,

claiming he had been the Messiah or a forerunner of the Messiah. (I

ran into little groups dedicated to him at San Quentin Prison.)

It seemed as though one thing after another was insisting on

attention. Individuals and groups, it occurs to me now, saw what was

going on and jumped onto the bandwagon. David Berg’s The Family

fits this description. Victor Paul Wierwille and his Way International

also fit here. But the healers and the positive-thinking faith people

were whom we encountered most of all.

Through arrangements made by a dear lady in Atlanta named

Cora Vance, I was invited to appear on Pat Robertson’s 700 Club for

an interview. In the small, sterile waiting room before my turn, I found

myself talking with a guy in a light blue leisure suit. His interview with

Robertson was scheduled just before mine, and he asked me what my

“shtick” was. I did not know what he meant, so he explained that he

was known for making legs grow. He said he could do it without fail

and insisted on giving me a demonstration. Sure enough, he declared

that one of my legs was shorter than the other and, boom, he made

them both the same length. I just smiled and hoped he would soon be

called onto the stage.

Prophets and Other Problems

In my view, the most dangerous of all were those who styled themselves

as prophets. It was heady to know a prophet and, of course, to

later be known as a prophet oneself. When we heard the words of

the prophets and prophetesses, we yelled out exclamations such as,

“Wow! Praise God! Hallelujah!” Once a “prophet” is accepted into a

fellowship or church, however, trouble begins to emerge.

My sense of it is that those self-styled prophets had learned from

others how to go about “prophesying” yet sincerely thought their

pronouncements were from the Lord. While praying for a person

who was hoping to receive a word of knowledge or revelation, the

prophet would receive impressions and announce them: “God is calling

you to China.” “You are to marry your boyfriend and stop living in

sin.” “You are being used by God to provide finances for this church,

and you must sell your house and hand over the money to the elders.”

These were typical prophetic words I heard, and some of them came

out of my own mouth. At minimum, I was guilty of giving a platform

to people whom I thought I could trust, whom I thought were genuine

prophets of God, but who eventually proved they were not. It is safe

to say that there was a considerable lack of discernment among the

Jesus People.

Then there were the sexual predators who showed up surprisingly

often. It is too much to go on with descriptions and details, but

I saw it all. There were also thieves, only after money. Cultists hung

about at our meetings, looking for new believers and other vulner

able people, befriending them, chatting them up, and inviting them

to other meetings. I understood then what Jesus said about wolves

attacking the flock. At times, it felt like I was being besieged.

It became increasingly uncomfortable to identify myself as a charismatic.

Yet I had seen what I thought were genuine spiritual gifts,

and I would not let the weird taint the real.

Alongside these difficulties were the disturbing theologies. These

were, in the long run, perhaps more troubling than anything else. I

had personally gotten started in the Christian life embracing Dispensationalism

and had taped on a wall several charts I used to predict

the date of the Rapture.I thought any other viewpoint was complete

liberalistic heresy. We reveled in the thought that, at any moment,

we would be blasted into the air to meet Jesus. We were also getting

ready for the seven years of tribulation—that is, if we got left behind.

We were preparing for a war with the devil and his legions, and those

legions could include anyone, even family, and there was no time to

waste on getting an education, starting a business, or raising a family.

This was not a widespread and commonly held view, but people such

as the Children of God, for example, used this end time scenario to

recruit, motivate, and retain members. It was another kind of high;

it got the endorphins going and put an exciting edge on everything.

The JPM existed alongside the 1960s counterculture revolution,

which was a real revolution sans guns and bombs. The Weathermen,

part of a student activist group centered around the University of California

at Berkeley, the radical anti-war protesters, and others on the

fringe, like the Black Panthers, were taking the law into their own

hands. Rock and Roll had morphed into a different kind of music—acid

2 While I was a pastor at Church of the Open Door in San Rafael, a young man

asked me to prove that there would be a rapture. I said, sure, easy, look here in 1

Thessalonians 4. I looked and looked myself, trying to find proof, but the only way

I could do it was to draw a line between verses 16 and 17 and then invert them. I

saw for the first time that the second coming and the rapture were in fact the very

same event. I was shocked and embarrassed, because I had preached a pre-tribulation

rapture my entire ministry. After a lengthy time of study, humiliation, and

repentance, I had to concede that I had been wrong, but at the same time, I couldn’t

see going over to the “liberal amillenialists.” What I did was announce one Sunday,

from the pulpit, that if anyone could clearly, plainly, show me there was a difference

between the second coming and what we called the rapture, I would give him or her

one thousand dollars. No takers yet.

rock and finally heavy metal—and the relatively mild lusts of young

people were being perverted. Eastern religions and mind altering/

expanding drugs impacted the baby boomers with a vengeance. The

occult arts were out in the open and admired, publicized, applauded,

and approved. Here it was—minds blown out and open, spiritualities

abounding, and power, power, power, at one’s fingertips.

Arrogance Abounded

Arrogance is what I am talking about, and the Jesus People were

also arrogant. I was arrogant, terribly so, and I later had a lot of apologizing

to do. We were Jesus People, we were filled with the Spirit, God

was on our side, and we alone had the “full gospel.”

Another view of our arrogance was that we were not as grace-oriented

as one might expect. The JPM, despite appearances, was really

rather moralistic and legalistic. Yes, salvation was by grace alone, but

unless one repented and believed in Jesus, and even more, had actually

prayed to receive Jesus, then there was no salvation. It was really

that we were in control of salvation and grace was not really grace;

it was, at most, cooperation with God. Jesus died and rose from the

dead, but our job was to repent, believe, and say the sinner’s prayer.

This then carried over into our feelings about ourselves and others. It

was a performance-based gospel we preached, and there was plenty

of room to put ourselves and others down.

Even in our houses, new believers were expected to grow up

quickly, and if they failed to do so, they were often told to leave. The

atmosphere at Church of the Open Door was often the same; people,

including the leaders, were on a short leash. Many of the congregants

were baby Christians, mostly from dysfunctional families and converted

out of all kinds of sin and perversion, just barely rescued from

hell itself—and we were worried about a messy diaper. I carry to

this day a measure of guilt for how I judged people and treated them

rudely when their sin was exposed.

Funny how the truth is right in front of us, yet we fail to grasp

it. The “new birth” is a phrase with a big clue: newborns must grow

up in stages and cannot be expected to be mature adults after a five week

discipleship training course.

Within the Bible’s first prophecy is also the first promise: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). 

The prophecy of the enmity is clear, as is the promise, “he shall bruise your head.” Bruising the head of a serpent means a death blow. At our point in history this promise is partially fulfilled through the victory of Christ on the cross, in which He bore our sin, becoming the sacrifice for sin, forever washing our sin into oblivion. While only partially fulfilled, it is still powerful during this interim period. But then the end will come. 

In a number of places in Scripture, the final and total defeat of Satan and his legions is depicted. Here is one of these: “The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). 

The Promise of the Messiah to Come 

Dipping back into the Books of Moses, we find the promise of a prophet like Moses. “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen” (Deuteronomy 18:15). 

What “a prophet like Moses” means is debated. Moses gave the Law of God. And the promised Messiah of 18:15 would likely do something similar. The Law did not bring wholeness and salvation, as we suppose it was meant to do. The Law revealed the impossibility of earning favor with God, since everyone is a law breaker. The coming prophet, meaning one who speaks the Word of God, would bring life, wholeness, and salvation. 

Moses and his Torah, the first five books of the Bible, dating to around 1500 BCE,1 are joined by prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah who lived much later. Isaiah’s date is around 750 BCE and Jeremiah’s about 580. There are many other prophetic messages in the Hebrew Bible, but that is not the focus of this “little” book. 

1 Dates are problematic in regard to the Hebrew Bible. The 1500 BCE is a case in point. Some scholars move it forward to approximately 1350 BCE. Some think Deuteronomy was written later than Moses’ period and serves as a summary of the first four books plus. One need not decide in order to see that Deuteronomy 18:15 contains a promise to come. 

Isaiah’s book is crowded with prophetic images and utterances. The most obvious are found in chapter 53. Here is a short list: 

For he grew up before him like a young plant (v. 2). 2 

He had no form or majesty that we should desire him (v. 2). 

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted 

with grief (v. 3). 

He was despised, and we esteemed him not (v. 3). 

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (v. 4). 

We esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted (v. 4). 

But he was wounded for our transgressions (v. 5). 

He was crushed for our iniquities (v. 5). 

Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace (v. 5). 

With his stripes we are healed (v. 5). 

The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (v. 6). 

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth 

(v. 7). 

Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its 

shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth (v. 7). 

By oppression and judgment, he was taken away (v. 8). 

He was cut off out of the land of the living (v. 8). 

Stricken for the transgression of my people (v. 8). 

They made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death (v. 9). 

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief (v. 10). 

When his soul2 makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days (v. 10).

(Soul means human being, human self or person, and is not some kind of spiritual particle or substance.) 

And he shall bear their iniquities (v. 11).

He poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors (v. 12). 

Yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors (v. 12). 

Isaiah in chapter 7 speaks of a woman, a virgin, conceiving a son who is Immanuel, meaning “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14).

Then in chapter 9 we find more: 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (vv. 6-7) 

Jeremiah’s chapter 31 looks forward to a new covenant, testament, or agreement that the God of Israel will establish. This rather long passage sums up the prophetic tradition: 

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But his is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each on teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, “know the LORD.” For they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” 

Jeremiah 31:31-34 

There is one more prophetic piece I must add here, and that is from David, who is not usually considered a prophet, but in a number of his Psalms we cannot help but see a prophetic utterance. Note that David lived close to 1000 BCE, at a time when no nation or tribe had developed the form of execution we know as crucifixion, which apparently was developed by the Persians, later refined by the Greeks, then further perfected by the Romans. The reader must keep this in mind as key parts of Psalm 22 appear below.3 

3 King David did not experience any of that which is described in Psalm 22. The accounts of his life are laid out in Samuel and Kings. 

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (v. 1) This sentence was spoken by Jesus while on the cross (see Matthew 27:46). 4 

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people (v. 6). 

All who see me mock me (v. 7). 

He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him (v. 8). 

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint (v. 14). 

My heart is like was; it is melted within my breast (v. 14). 

My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my gaws; 

you lay me in the dust of death (v. 15). 

For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me (v. 16). 

They have pierced my hands and feet (v. 16). 

I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me (v. 17). 

They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots (v. 18). 

How can we account for this? 

Even a cursory examination of the material above shows that it can be accounted for in only one way: the prophets of Israel accurately pointed to a coming Messiah, and Jesus perfectly met every single prophecy. 

Some will claim the prophetic material was edited after the days of Jesus to match His life story. However, no biblical scholar—Jewish, Christian, Islamic, whatever—can make this claim stick, since the manuscript evidence disputes this and makes it an impossible assertion. 

It is certain that the Hebrew Bible material was published prior to Jesus’ era, and we need only consider the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, which sets in stone the books of that Bible and which dates to 180 BCE. 

The thousands of extant copies of the Greek Bible, the Christian testament, reveal no evidence of reading back into the story of Jesus events that mirror the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible. 5 

It frankly requires a very preposterous God to arrange all of what we have considered and seen in this chapter. I know it makes non-Christians uncomfortable, even anxious and fearful to even acknowledge the possibility of the truths examined here. 

The promise maker delivers 

The unknown author of the Letter to the Hebrews starts off his masterpiece with a stunning proclamation: 

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:1–4) 

The Jewish but unknown author of the piece above captured the spirit of the prophets. He lived through the time of the fulfillment of the first-time arrival of the Messiah. Yes, first time arrival. This Little Book speaks only of the first advent of Messiah. There will be another. 

If what has been presented so far seems preposterous, it will seem even more so to find out there are three aspects, dimensions, or personages of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

Chapter 17 from Kent’s book, Pathways to Darkness 

We are starting the remaining chapters of this book with this piece on Medium Tyler Henry, because we believe you will find in it most of the issues that cause us alarm regarding occult spiritual activities in our modern world. 

In the April 3, 2022 edition of Marin County’s Independent Journal was an article about Tyler Henry, who “says he talks to the dead.” The title of Kelli Skye Fadroske’s piece in the newspaper is “Medium has a message: Be Skeptical.” Her email address is kfadroski@scng.com. 

In 2016, Tyler began an E! Television series titled, “Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry.” He wanted to advertise his psychic abilities, which he said began when he was ten years old. In the same year he published a “memoir,” Between Two Worlds: Lessons From the Other Side. 

This now twenty-six-year-old has written a book titled, Here & Hereafter. On the front cover is a subtitle which reads, “How wisdom from the departed can transform your life.” Here he presents lessons he learned from thousands of departed persons he has encountered and connected with. He also describes how he regularly practices meditation and trusts in his own “intuition,” which is not described in the newspaper article. However, he admits that “it can be difficult to really get a sense of that kind of inner voice.” 

Tyler relies upon video and audio technology to conduct his readings during the present pandemic, which does not “cause much interference when it comes to communication with those who have crossed over.” 

A medium or a channeler—these titles are very close to the same thing— will enter into a trance kind of state, by means of any number of meditation techniques. This state of consciousness may be referred to as an altered state of consciousness or a shamanistic state of consciousness. And this is what Tyler Henry does. 

We do not deny that he is hearing voices—he is—but the issue is, to whom or what do the voices belong, and what is the substance of these departed or crossed over ones? 15 

Tyler’s techniques have been practiced for many centuries by mediums and channelers, so nothing new here. Contact with loved ones who have died is what Tyler offers, and he is much sought after, and large crowds gather. And it is easy to understand why. The grief process can be devastating, and the chance to speak with a dead loved one is inviting and enticing. Not only comfort is sought for, but the departed can also reveal special knowledge. 

“Is this real?” Is a legitimate question to ask. The medium goes into a trance state, and the best can do so quickly. Suddenly, the voice of the dead friend, brother, sister, child, mother, father, wife, husband, partner, etc., is speaking through the medium’s mouth. The voice sounds just like the voice of the person sought for and can reveal things that only the dead person could possibly know. It is incredibly convincing. And Tyler Henry is very good at it. 

A Challenge 

Reader: you may wonder what is wrong with this scenario or service provided by Tyler and his ilk. Here it is—contact with a loved one, assurance that the departed one is okay, which gives hope that this may be something others can experience as well. The promise of an eternal future existence is right there. 

We challenge you to look at another point of view. 

More than 3,500 years ago, a Jewish leader named Moses wrote the following: 

Deuteronomy 18:9–14 

[9] “When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. [10] There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer [11] or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, [12] for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. [13] You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, [14] for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this. (ESV) ¹ 

1 Also see: Leviticus 19:31, 20:6, 27; 1 Samuel 28:3,7,8,9; 2 Kings 21:6; 23:24; I Chronicles 10:13; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Isaiah 8:19; 19:3; 29:4.

“Necromancer” and “medium” are terms referring to someone who contacts dead people. This is what Tyler Henry does, but he does not realize that he 16 

is being misled. Not that he is a charlatan, a deceiver, a con man, a cheat; none of these things. What he experienced and thought to be contact with the dead was so overwhelming, real, and powerful that he could not help but get on board. And he sincerely believes he is helping grieving people. 

So just what is going on here? Tyler Henry, and all those who practice the occult art that he does, are actually making contact with demonic spirits whose boss is no less than Satan. In some way or another, Tyler Henry became indwelt by a demon, likely more than one, which made it possible to move into a trance state and make contact with what he thought were actually departed loved ones but were in fact evil spirits doing an impersonation. Who would not be fooled? 

Reader, it is totally legitimate to ask, “Well, how do you know this?” Following are four reasons. 

Four Reasons 

One, the Scripture, and just the Deuteronomy passage is enough, but there is more in the Scripture, and these passages are listed in footnote #1. 

Two, there is an incredible story of a person named Simon, and this account is in Acts 8:9-24. He was a magician who amazed people, but something was very wrong. Check out the passage yourself. 

Three, down through the centuries Christians have cast out demons in the name and power of Jesus Christ. This “exorcizing” (Greek “ekballein”) was a major feature of Jesus’ ministry while on earth. 

Four, during the 50 plus years of ministry so far, we have cast hundreds of demons out of hundreds of people. Find three books we have written on the subject wherever you buy books: A Manual of Demonology and the Occult, Deliver Us from Evil: How Jesus Casts Out Demons Today, and Deliverance Handbook: A Guide to Casting Out Demons for Today’s Christian. 

Kent explains how this came to be: 

My college degrees were in psychology, and I intended to be a school psychologist. During my first years at a theological seminary when I would hear the professors speaking about a devil and demons, I thought to myself, “Well, they just do not understand elements of mental illness.” All this changed when, beginning in 1967, I began preaching Jesus to those of the beat-hip generation in San Francisco’s Haight/Ashbury District. Here many were involved in weird religions, some openly practicing occult arts, and even those who were members of Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan. I met LaVey’s teenage daughter, who became a Christian, and on two occasions she took me to meet her father, who was living in an old Victorian house on California Street, painted black. There I came face to face with the presence of evil. No longer could I dismiss the reality I saw in the Bible: Satan and demons were real. 

Then, when Zondervan Publishing House published my master’s thesis, A Manual of Demonology and the Occult in 1973, people came from all over the country and from foreign countries as well, hoping to have demons cast out of them. So many came looking for help that we trained twelve couples to do the deliverance ministry. This ‘work’ still goes on today, but thankfully to a much lesser degree. I think, however, this is about to change. 

The Occult Awakening 

There have been several periods in American history when there was a revival of interest in the occult, with people flocking to seances, fortune tellers, practitioners of various forms of witchcraft, crystal gazers, tarot card readers, mediums, and much more. We are in such a phase again now, but it appears to be far larger than ever before in American history. 

Church attendance is declining sharply, atheism is headed downhill also, but the mediums, channelers, life coaches who use occult approaches (though they say it is all about mindfulness) are on the incline. After all, we are spiritual creatures, and we are attracted to that which is beyond explanation. Directly encountering that which is other-worldly is a powerful magnet. And once a person thinks they are hearing from and communicating with a dead relative, lover, friend, etc., they are likely to be converted through sheer amazement to belief in the veracity of what they have experienced, but it will be an encounter with the worst of all consequences. And what is this? It is dwelling forever and ever in that place where the spirits are, and it is not heaven. 

Unbeknownst to those involved in this practice, that last statement is the whole deal. That old serpent is aggressively prowling about looking to devour as many as possible, and its powers are great, magical, mystical, and ultra-deceiving. Buyer beware! 

Is this real? 

Tyler Henry knows what he is engaged in is real. At this point, however, he does not see that the spirituality he experiences is evil, and by that we mean demonic, powered and directed by Satan. 

A warning must be sounded, and the warning is that mediums like Tyler Henry are involved with demons, which will forever separate them from being with our Creator God, thus bringing more unsuspecting people into the worst possible scenario. 

We are hoping and praying that one day Tyler Henry will be preaching this same message, empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, and will warn people away from the demonic practices of the occult and into the praising and rejoicing of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bob and Diane Ellison were among the people my age or older

who began to show up at Church of the Open Door in San Rafael.

Although there was a whole pack of young people involved, few

had actual jobs or only had low paying work. What I mean is, for a

church our size, our income was below average. Bob and Diane, to a

considerable extent, made up the difference.

After Bob and I had met and been friends for a while, he decided

to invest in our ministries. I don’t have the details of all he did, but

one thing I do recall clearly is the small farm in Petaluma he bought

for use as a Christian house, in maybe 1972 or ’73. The address of the

little farm was 1399 Springhill Road, Petaluma. Because Bob’s first

wife, then deceased, was named Lydia (and students of the book of

Acts know that Lydia was from Thyatira, one of the seven cities of

Asia addressed in John’s revelation), Bob and Diane named the farm

they bought Thyatira.

From the beginning, Bob involved me in the purchase. We checked

out several places in Sonoma County, but the little farm that had once

grown Christmas trees was the most attractive. Our forays into farmland

searches were also enjoyable, because Bob loved hamburgers

like I do, so when we drove up to Petaluma, we always stopped at

a hamburger joint on Washington Blvd. He could have afforded big

steak houses, but he preferred the old-time little places.

Bob’s parents had been with the Salvation Army, and he learned

the thrift store business from them. Later on, he opened a chain of

stores he named Purple Heart, and they flourished. He was a faithful

tither, and that money was put to many good purposes.

Thyatira had a modest main house of maybe 1,600 square feet,

but its best feature was a nice, big swimming pool. Some of my favorite

photos are of baptisms we held there.

Kenny Sanders was the first leader of Thyatira. The first time

I met Kenny was just after he had come to Berachah House in San

Anselmo. His black hair was matted and covered his face. I walked

up to him and parted the tangled, greasy mop that shielded his face,

and got a look at him. His looks at the time did not give a clue that his

father was in the inner circle of attorneys who worked with Martin

Luther King, Jr.

The farm’s bedrooms quickly received their occupants, and the

group next expanded a tool shed and converted it into a dorm of

sorts. When the Petaluma branch of Church of the Open Door opened

soon after a bookstore, they then needed a parsonage, which the guys

promptly built on the property, mostly through the work of Ken Sanders.

Cliff Silliman ran the bookstore in Petaluma, and it was a place

where the community could drop in and get to know the Jesus People

who had taken up residence in the town. Cliff was always welcoming

and cordial, and although the bookstore eventually proved not to be

financially successful, overall it was a solid ministry.

One of my favorite escapes from the counseling work and pastoring

in San Rafael was to drive north up highway 101 to Petaluma.

I would visit Cliff at Berachah House and then drive over to Thyatira.

Those were some of the most pleasant days of my life. It was so nice to

be in that beautiful country and walk around the farms and plan new

projects. As I write this I find in me a desire to go back and find the

locations of those farms. Perhaps I will someday soon.

I recall days when I would paint on work crews that Kenny and Cliff organized

in order to make money for the parsonage on Thyatira. Kenny learned painting

on one of the work crews I headed in Marin while he was at Berachah House

in San Anselmo. Kenny became an excellent painter. The parsonage was expensive

and nicely built, and we had to raise money for it. Kenny was the first pastor of the

Church of the Open Door in Petaluma, later became a medical doctor, and recently

retired as an emergency care doctor with Kaiser.