PowerShift

“What do you do with the demonic?”

Bet you don’t get asked that everyday. But, after midnight at PowerShift ministry at Village Church, who knows what will happen. Friday, August 15th was a busy night for us. Several MPD officers came in for a break (water, air conditioning, bathroom, snacks, and a moment of peace from the bar scene outside). Multiple groups of young people came in as well. And then there he was, a young man looking through the window at the spread of food on the table. I waved at him inviting him in. When he walked through the door, he looked clean-cut. However, he came in alone and was carrying a black backpack. Now if it’s been a few years since you were out at the bars, most young people go out in groups, and they do not generally bring along backpacks. 

This young gets himself a small plate of food and sits next to Bill. Then the young man asks, “What do you do with the demonic?”. We weren’t expecting that question. Usually we get asked, “What are you doing open this late at night?”, “Why are you doing this?”.  The demonic/demons does not usually come up in conversation.  So, as the called pastor (professional religious “authority”) I figured I should speak up.

And my answer was, “We feed people; we welcome people; we practice love; we are trying to follow Jesus.” If you’ve been reading any other PowerShift reflection pieces or heard almost any sermon I give, you hopefully will notice it’s the same thing I always say.

The young man takes a few more bites and then walks out the door. I must confess I might have let out a sigh of relief. Until a minute later he walks back in. “Uh oh”; this can’t be good I think. He stands just inside the door, and proceeds to thank us saying that he really appreciated what we were doing. He really liked what we were about. And with that he turned around and walked out and didn’t come back.

I don’t know if in addition to the backpack, he was carrying around a few demons. I know that I do. My spirit is sometimes has to contend with the demonic powers of fear, of cynicism, of exhaustion. What I use to deal with this struggle, to deal with the demonic is to: welcome all, feed the hungry, sit with the struggling, pray with those who want to, listen to one another, practice love, and try to follow Jesus.  These days, that really seems like a good answer to quite a few questions.

Pastor Donna Brown

Village Lutheran Church