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 co-
chairing 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.