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A Minister's Manual for Spiritual Warfare

A Minister's Manual for Spiritual Warfare

By Mark Allen Quay
Foreword by Foley Beach
RESOURCE Publications pp124
This book can be purchased at Amazon.com
http://tinyurl.com/jhms9w4

Reviewed by David W. Virtue DD
www.virtueonline.org
June 6, 2016

Few thoughtful Christians will deny that believers are engaged daily in spiritual battle with forces of darkness often beyond their control.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesians (6:12) says this; "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

Mark Quay, rector of an Anglican parish and a teacher at the Anglican Studies program at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, has attacked this problem head on in his book A Minister's Manual for Spiritual Warfare. He is concerned to assist pastors and other ministers help their parishioners find freedom from demonic oppression. The book is based upon years of experience and research and was written in consultation with orthodox, highly credentialed theologians, biblical scholars, clinicians, and attorneys. "If Jesus had to deliver people from the oppression of the evil one and his demons, it should not surprise us that his ministers will be called to the ministry of deliverance as well. Jesus knew his followers would face this reality in their ministries.

Quay writes from an evangelical Anglican perspective, but the book can be used and is useful for other Christian traditions. It is not exclusively Anglican, but it is designed primarily for Anglican priests to assist them in the pastoral offices of spiritual warfare.

Warfare requires discipline. It requires training. It requires knowledge of tactics, strategy, and the overall battle plan of the commanding general, writes Quay.

The author is mindful that a lot of mistakes are made and much damage is done by sincere believers, many of whom do have a genuine calling to this ministry.

The book is a how-to manual--technical and pedestrian at the same time.

The manual describes various kinds of demonic attacks and discusses the reasons to involve medical and mental health professionals.

The manual is a practical guidance for the deliverance ministry and includes diagnostic procedures, insight into the makeup and training of a ministry team, the appropriate use of liturgies, pastoral care for victims and deliverance ministers, and legal considerations. The book devotes special attention to exorcisms, emphasizing the importance of a teamwork approach and the necessity of thorough preparedness, including an awareness of different strategies which demons may use to thwart exorcists. Rounding out the manual is a series of accessible, biblical, step-by-step instructions to assist ministers in helping others find freedom in Christ from demonic attacks.

Lyle W. Dorsett, Billy Graham professor of Evangelism at Beeson Divinity School, says Christians have finally admitted that we are engaged in a deadly war for souls. Craig Isaacs, a clinical psychologist, says the manual is a worthy resource for anyone confronting such personal evil when ministering to others.

I believe this manual is a must-have for any Christian minister involved in deliverance ministry. I cannot recommend it too highly.

END

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