Spiritual Strangeness And Jezebel

SPIRITUAL STRANGENESS: The Jezebelian Church Woman The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders known as the DSM-IV is a not only a classification of mental disorders but can also be used as an educational tool to categorize and shed some light upon various defining features. In the DSM-IV, a mental disorder is defined by presenting a list of essential features that viewed together would suggest a particular diagnosis. Just as the ?physical' is connected to mental disorders, there are also ? mental' or ?soulish' disorders that affect the spirit. In this regard, , I perceive a significant correlation between mental illness and what I have coined ?neurotic spirituality' or ?spiritual strangeness.' How does such a thing happen? Well, in each case there are different variables, circumstances and situations. However, there are four primary reasons for developing spiritual strangeness: a lack of repentance, a belief in "another Jesus", a seeking after signs and wonders, and the influx of charismatic witchcraft. The key lies in learning how to avoid spiritual traps that have been set by religious demons in organized churches. Through study and the experience of hard knocks, I warn you that the person whom the religious demon seeks is one who DOES have faith, but anchors his faith in a delusion, an illusion or an obsession, and ends up believing that he is saved when he is not. This is a most serious situation. Not only is the person's eternal soul at risk of perdition, it poses a special dilemma for deliverance. Why? Because a person who thinks that he is saved but who himself is lost is incapable of being protected by the onslaught of demons that will attempt to enter him once demons have been cast out of him. A lost person is defenseless because he is incapable of operating in the spiritual armor provided by the Lord Jesus Christ. He cannot pull down strongholds in his life because he has no helmet of salvation---no breastplate of righteousness---no shield of faith,--- no girdle of truth--- no feet shod in the gospel of peace and by no means, no authority to use the word of God as an offensive weapon.(Ephesians 6:10-18) Furthermore, I cannot overemphasize the importance of repentance. As previously discussed, John the Baptist was the greatest prophet, yet John never performed a miracle, cast out the devil or healed the sick. His entire ministry was preaching repentance and baptizing repentant sinners to prepare them for the kingdom of God and the coming of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Without repentance there is no salvation. Repentance is generally preached among word of faith ministers as a change of mind or a turning one's back on sin. However, although the mind is involved, just prior to salvation a sinner must experience the sinful uncleanness of his own nature. He must also realize that he can do nothing about his sin except reach out for the Savior. The sinner should also experience sorrow over his own sin, a godly sorrow that will bring him to the cross of Jesus Christ. So repentance not only involves the mind but the emotions as well. Then there is the matter of how and why those who manifest symptoms of "spiritual strangeness" came to Jesus. The way to Jesus is narrow and there are no shortcuts. "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22) There are questions that I ask prospective clients that are designed to assess whether or not the person understands the gospel and if he was led to Jesus and not to a particular organized church assembly or to a particular doctrine. A major feature of salvation is faith. There is a true faith and there is a counterfeit faith. Assessment of faith should be to ascertain whether or not one's faith is in Jesus Christ or is faith merely in one's own faith or in a dogma or principle concerning faith. Much of faith teaching today emphasizes earthly

blessing and attainment. There is little understanding of how the just must live by faith. Another prominent component of salvation is fruit. There are many who receive constant word and yet they are not fruitful. The primary task is to determine whether or not the professing Christian has a love for religion, a love for the supernatural, a love for church or a love of for the Son of God. Where love for the Son of God is concerned, I try to uncover how does the person in question relate to Jesus. Is the Lord still "the baby Jesus" or is He still "on the cross?" Does the person understand resurrection? Is Jesus viewed in the power of His resurrection? Where is Jesus now? Is Jesus a substitute for a human relationship? Is He a suffering martyr or is He the ruler of the universe? In other words, is the "spiritually strange" worshipping the real Jesus or a fantasy of his own imagination? This is how I discern whether or not a professing Christian is worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth. The counselor side of me is a watcher of personality and behavior. Of course, the professing Christians whom I have observed the longest were those with whom I fellowshipped for several years. As mental illness is defined by a grouping together of various features and manifested behaviors, I believe that spiritual strangeness is the spiritual fruit of charismatic witchcraft, the religious demon's handiwork and the partnership of other lesser demons working in consort. I believe that the people whose personalities that I am about to describe are people who for all intents and purposes, would not be considered to have a mental disorder according to the world's system of diagnoses. In fact, I am pretty sure that neither woman has ever been on the couch in a psychiatrist's office. These two women are professing Christians, whom I personally believe suffer from a spiritual disorder. The two women that I chose to present herein are classic examples of spiritual strangeness. Though both cases are similar but the two women presented display different manifestations of the spirit of Jezebel. The spirit of Jezebel has many faces. It is a religious demo who has a form of godless but denies the power of resurrection life through excessive polity, feigned poise and a striving for position. The central issue is domination and control. I have already mentioned the important role played by Presiding Elder Rose Smithsonian in having me removed from the rolls of the Denominational Church. The reason why she was so used is because her personality is akin to the Jezebel spirit. However, I will begin by presenting first the profile of Sister Black, followed by a profile of Rev. Smithsonian. Sister Black has been a well known, beloved lay leader in her denomination for many years. In fact, she was a pastor's wife for most of her adult life, widowed recently. Much could be written about Sister Black. Suffice it to say here that she and I have communicated on frequent occasions over a period of twenty years. Bar none, every conversation that we have ever participated in over the years, either in person or by telephone, Sister Black has completely monopolized it. In fact, her entire conversation is devoted to her own life and Christian experience and she does not appear to notice. Sister Black seems spiritually sane, as she is particularly popular among the laity. Often she has been elected to represent her community at national church meetings and conferences. However, ministers within the denomination secretly share among themselves that they believe Sis. Black is a frustrated lay member, perhaps called to preach as a minister herself, but for whatever reason, has not heeded the call. Therefore, the ministers agree that Sis. Black is a subtle yet divisive passive/aggressive hindrance in any congregation.

Consider this recent episode. Two months after I became a grandmother, we spoke over the phone. Sis. Black commented "well, I guess you can't wait to be a grandmother." Slightly exasperated, I remarked: "My grandson was born two months ago." Three months later, we spoke again. She asked, "So when is your daughter due to have her baby?" My reply? I said to her "My grandson's name is Isaiah, and he is now over 5 months old. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for asking me that question again. What do you think my daughter is, an elephant!!!" And what was Sister Black's response? "Well," she retorted with a high minded sound, difficult to describe. "I am not into things these days. I am only into worship and into God. The Lord is all that I have on my mind." However, the center of her conversation was not the Lord Himself but as usual, about her own spiritual journey. Her priority in conversation is most often her pastor and his particular approach to leading "her" church and how the members seek her for the counsel that her pastor is not capable of providing. Since his appointment to Sis. Black's church, she and Rev. Johnson have been persistently battling each other over various church projects. The warfare seems to be centered in a battle between new members and those who have been members prior to Rev. Johnson's appointment. Sis. Black pointed out that she has been cochairing a project with another sister in Christ and that her pastor has been avoiding her and communicating with the other co-chair. Now these are practically her exact words. "Isn't the Lord's sense of humor so wonderful? The co-chair fell and broke her ankle and can no longer function as co-chair. Now Rev. Johnson HAS to speak to me because the other co-chair is out of commission. Isn't the Lord grand?" This is a clear example of neurotic spirituality or "spiritual strangeness". Sister Black sincerely believes that God broke the ankle of her co-chair to force Rev. Johnson to have to communicate with her. Sister Black has a reprobate mind and yet she affirms that she is a part of the remnant church. Admittedly, her pastor DOES have his problems. However, in a very elusive way, Sis Black uses her "spiritual experiences" as a weapon to contend with him. For example, she will look like she is completely consumed or "caught up" in the Holy Spirit?--falling back and wailing loudly. Others have to jump up from the pews either to restrain her or to hold her up to keep her from falling and hurting herself or those who may be sitting near her. As out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, Sis. Black told me of one of her "spiritual fits" which occurred as the service was being brought to a close. While the congregation was singing the doxology, suddenly, Sis. Black indicated that "the anointing" came upon her and she fell backwards into a euphoric state, a form of being slain in the spirit. Most of the congregants left the sanctuary, but a group of 10 or more women stood by her and ministered to her for another 45 minutes. Sis. Black retorted, "Pastor didn't even stick around to minister to me. Well, too bad, we all got caught up in the glory cloud and had ourselves another wonderful worship service, praise the Lord! Pastor just went into his office, slammed the door and sulked." What diagnoses out of the DSM-IV is suggestive of Mrs. Black? I would suggest to you that her spiritual strangeness can be compared to the diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder. Yet Rev. Smithsonian is an even more serious example of neurotic spirituality than is Sis. Black. Rev. Smithsonian's outward demeanor is that of a compliant, pleasant and polite nature. Generally there is an artificial smile on her face. She presents a façade of goodness, persistently sharing a belief that people are "nice" and she very rarely is caught not being "nice" herself. Yet, somewhere in

her maturational experience, Rev. Smithsonian has learned to use her politeness as a defense against perceived hostility or aggression, using politeness as a means of covert counterattack. Therefore her own inner hostilities are hidden from view by a veneer of a pretended politeness, feigned fair play and an appearance of good fellowship. This "front" or façade has been used in subtle ways to move against perceived enemies in an effort to shame them with her "nice" behavior. The façade consists of pretenses, hidden fears, some genuine caring and some spiritual strangeness. Rev. Smithsonian's strong desire to make others believe that she is a "good" person consists of a certain amount of sincere feelings, as long as she is in a position of unchallenged prominence and prestige. Unfortunately for her, Rev. Smithsonian feels herself to be surrounded on all sides by competition for the ascendancy she herself craves. As a result, her strong need to outshine or excel over others, to outsmart them, to make them subservient to her wishes plays a crucial role in her particular brand of strange spirituality. For example, every situation or interaction is looked at from the stand point of "can I top his or her performance?" Or " is this person trying to make me look bad? What can I do to protect myself?" Allowing herself to be used as a tool of the enemy against me was only one case in point. There were others that I was personally aware of and more or less involved in. Take for example, Rev. Davis. Rev. Smithsonian entered into ministry late in life. So did her colleague, Rev. Davis. Both Rev. Smithsonian and Rev. Davis served under the same pastor at the same church, Rev. Roberts. Anyway, during their initial training Rev. Smithsonian did everything in her power to outshine and discredit Rev. Davis, a very likeable, easygoing person. I can remember countless times how Rev. Smithsonian used any means available to discredit Rev. Davis. First of all, she took charge of those tasks that her pastor did not really like to do, and excelled in them, thereby becoming Rev. Roberts' right hand. Driven to assert herself as the most proficient administrator and the most studious and scholarly preacher and teacher, she propelled herself forward both within the church and the religious community at large. The zest and intelligence that Rev. Smithsonian put into her work made her highly esteemed and recognized. Nevertheless, in spite of her up and coming success in ministry, Rev. Davis continued to serve as a thorn in Rev. Smithsonian's side. Why? Because he was beloved not only of the congregation, but he was continually praised within the denomination. What bothered Rev. Smithsonian the most, is that the people loved Rev. Davis' "down home" style of preaching. The day came when Pastor Roberts resigned. He recommended Rev. Smithsonian to replace him and she was appointed pastor of the church. At the same time, Rev. Davis was appointed pastor to a sister church just 3 miles away. His church was smaller, having gone through various difficulties that threatened its existence. Traditionally, both churches had worked together well without conflict for many years. However, once again, the intensity of Rev. Smithsonian's struggle became even more pronounced, now that both Rev. Smithsonian and Rev. Davis had been promoted to pastorates within the same community. Almost immediately, strife, confusion and division between the two churches were set in motion by Rev. Smithsonian's spiritual neurosis that caused her to attempt to eliminate the competition. With several opportunities to observe Rev. Smithsonian, I came to believe that her "coming against" Rev. Davis was very often unconscious due to the compulsive

nature of her obsessive rivalry with him. For example, during ministerial meetings, I observed that Rev. Smithsonian was compelled to stand and speak immediately following Rev. Davis. Whatever Rev. Davis reported, Rev. Smithsonian would attempt to top it. If Rev. Davis made a good point, she would undermine or minimize it. This was particularly apparent because with 15-20 ministers gathered, she would get up to speak each time without fail, directly after Rev. Davis, when she could have spoken up directly after 15 or more other ministers. Before Rev. Davis could even sit down, Rev. Smithsonian would pop up out of her chair and offer a rebuttal to ANYTHING he said. Once he announced that his church was having a revival and that I was the preacher of the hour. Before Rev. Davis could sit down, Rev. Smithsonian immediately stood up and loudly boasted "well, we have already had a revival." Her comments were impulsive and out of context with the overall discussion, as each minister was presenting upcoming events and not those that had already transpired. Privately, Rev. Davis confided in me that the competition was so intense, that Rev. Smithsonian was experiencing a backlash that was making matters worse for him. In fact he expressed concern that the members of her congregation had begun to visit his church on a Sunday morning. Making matters even more competitive, the Regional Director of the denomination was continuing to publicly praise and rejoice in how well Rev. Davis's church was prospering under his revitalized leadership. From her lips to my ears, I know that these commendations were causing Rev.Smithsonian great consternation. Moreover, she could no longer skillfully cover her spiritual strangeness, as her limitations and vulnerabilities were rapidly being exposed at a local level. However, once the Presiding Elder Jonathan Kent resigned, Rev. Smithsonian herself was promoted to the position. The fact that now she was promoted to a position of even higher visibility, prominence and leadership turned out to be a situation that only served to intensify the conflict. Regarding this new position, it could be best described in secular terms as "middle management." Having worked in middle management for 25 years, I am very familiar with the peculiarities of such a position. In general terms, it is the position of a flunky or a lackey---one who appears to have a semblance of power, whose primary responsibility is "to keep the peace" for those in the highest ranks of authority, ie. to shield top leadership from organizational problems and the complaints of line staff. Within an Denominational Church , "line staff" include the pastors, the lay leaders and the members of the various churches within a region. The bishop is the top leader with ultimate power. Therefore the position of Presiding Elder is a glorified "coordinator" who acts as a buffer between the Bishop and the rest of the pastors and churches in his or her particular region. Only an ordained elder can qualify for the position, and frankly speaking, once a vacancy did occur, the elders were not standing in line for the job for a number of interpersonal and practical reasons. As it turns out, Rev. Smithsonian was probably the only pastor interested in the position, as well as the only one of them who was also "available". So as fate would have it, Rev. Smithsonian was exalted from obscurity into a position that is lavished with prominence, praise and prestige although without direct power. This is a classic work experience, ridden with the potential to create more tension and stress for someone with Rev. Smithsonian's personality or "spiritual strangeness." Secular psychoanalysts would agree that constant striving for superiority is at the center of the narcissistic personality, forming a stronghold that is very difficult to shake or even to weaken. This of course, is a serious obstacle to counseling in general, and deliverance in particular. Such a personality disorder

creates a conducive environment for both the religious and the witchcraft demons. The question to ask is "What is at the root of Rev. Smithsonian's constant striving?" From my own communications with her as well as my personal observations over the years, I believe that her disorder of soul and spirit stems from early childhood, where she was raised in the segregated south of the 50's as a "dark skinned" African American. I base this assessment on a statement made in passing by Rev. Smithsonian that I myself found to be strange at the time, so I never forgot it. To summarize, two of the pastors on her district were a very clear concern to Rev. Smithsonian, because the truth is that both of these men were plotting to discredit her. They did not particularly desire the position for themselves but they did not want Rev. Smithsonian to have it. She did not know this to be a fact but I knew it because they had shared their dislike of her to me. They viewed her as a person who would sneakily run to the Bishop behind their backs. I myself know that these two preachers had much to hide. Anyway, in trying to understand why these two preachers under her jurisdiction did not seem to like her, while conversing with me, Rev. Smithsonian ventured a guess. In her estimation, it was because both of them were "high yella" and she was dark skinned. I was particularly amazed at her comment because I myself did not consider either of these men to be particularly light skinned blacks. One of them is about my own complexion and the other one is just a shade or two lighter than my mocha or honey brown skin color. In my estimation, these two were not even close to being light skinned blacks. Rev. Smithsonian then went on to express how sometimes high yellas act like they are white people, and therefore they look down their noses at dark skinned people, fellowshipping only with their own kind. In this day and age of African American diversity, such an out dated statement was truly strange. Therefore, I believe more or less that trying to compete as a minority in a world dominated by a white majority who believes that you are inferior is an open door to mental health disorders. Because of His grace, the gospel of Jesus is so liberating. Grace declares that regardless of our own idealized image of our personal superiority and greatness, as unsaved people, we are all sinners. The righteousness of God is available to all who believe on Jesus and who call on His name and confess His Lordship. If Rev. Smithsonian is really saved, there is victory in Jesus to wipe away her unconscious sense of inferiority. If she would cease from constantly measuring herself and comparing herself to others, she would be delivered. I personally do not believe that Rev. Smithsonian's disorder is rooted in vanity or in caprice but it has become a matter of bitter necessity, crucial to her emotional and mental survival. As such, she is in a perpetual search for something that will make her feel more personally competent. It would seem that Rev. Smithsonian has never truly understood and internalized the "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" scripture. Therefore, the word of God has not been able to renew her because she also wants to feel more worthy than others. By striving to outshine others through her alleged competence and superior gifts and intelligence, she has grieved the Holy Spirit, for this sort of behavior is definitely not the way of Christ. The root of Rev. Smithsonian's competitive spirit manifested itself almost immediately upon her assuming the new position. Her spiritual strangeness became evident when she unnecessarily placed herself in competition with her immediate predecessor, determined to outshine him. It was not enough that she was the first and only woman to be appointed presiding elder in our region. Rev. Smithsonian set out to prove that she was the best person to ever hold the position in 150

years. Such a subliminal motive served to create a division with her predecessor, Rev. Kent. Extremely dismayed and disconcerted, Rev. Kent revealed to me that he was feeling very uncomfortable around her. He himself had resigned the position due to poor health. One day he spoke directly to me. "Rev. Sheppard, I don't know what I have done to Rev Smithsonian. As I sit in her meetings, when I turn my head and glance in her direction, I find that her eyes are upon me with a hostile stare. She never sends me out notices of meetings or anything. I feel like I have done something to her but yet, I don't know what it is." You would also think that her old rivalry with Rev. Davis would have dissipated but conversely, with her new authority, it intensified. In the last 20 years, all of her predecessors resigned from pastoring so as to devote all of their time to their new position of Presiding Elder. Not Rev. Smithsonian. She would prove how competent she was===how better than the rest she was===by maintaining both positions. Therefore, she now had the administrative advantage over Rev. Davis, yet he still remained her "pastoral" rival. Projecting and expecting a backlash in the foreseeable future, Rev. Davis resigned his position as pastor and accepted a teaching position at the university, completely relocating to a new community, 200 miles away. Now her "competitive church" was without a pastor, and she had the authority to supply the church until the Bishop would make a permanent appointment. Rev. Smithsonian had 5 available new preachers to select from. I myself was even available. Did she select one of us? No! She appointed HERSELF!!! Now pastor of not one church but two, she also remained the Presiding Elder, with 8 other churches and pastors under her watch care. Rev. Davis's former church rebelled by not attending on the Sundays that she preached, a serious mistake on their part. As would be expected, Rev. Smithsonian and her committee recommended that the church be closed and the Bishop acted upon their recommendation. Rev. Smithsonian's rival church is NO MORE! I have only presented two examples of the Jezebelian kind of spiritual strangeness in this chapter, but there are many more relative to spiritual strangeness within Christiandom that I describe in detail in my third book entitled "Faces of the Religious Demon." Considering the plethora of spiritual strangeness that transpires in Christian intimate relationships of family, friendships and relationships between man and woman, I could therefore write several books of profiles alone.