The Importance of Inner Healing and Deliverance for Effective Discipleship

A Working Model for the Local Church

Johnathan Lee Shoo Chiang

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781532689772, 9781532689789
• eBook ISBN: 9781532689796
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Personal encounters with God are vital for the current generation of believers--the postmodern/millennial generation who affirm truth through experience. Instead of the traditional view of inner healing and deliverance (IHD) as a "hospital unit" of the church, this dissertation-turned-book will explain the biblical, theological, and current relevance of incorporating IHD into the discipleship structure of the local church.With field research based in Singapore and Taiwan, a grounded theory based on empirical research attests to a framework that enables believers to personally and powerfully encounter God, experience divine healing and wholeness, and become equipped for ongoing sanctification.

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The Need for Inner Healing and Deliverance (IHD) and the Definition of IHD

The spiritual formation of a person towards maturity-in-Christ is often hindered by unattended emotional hurts, unresolved inner struggles, ungodly beliefs in their minds, spiritual oppressions, footholds, and other entrenchments. James A. Lang opines that some Christian leaders now recognize the importance of addressing the inner lives of Christians to overcome emotional roadblocks and deep-seated hurts in their lives, so that they may move on to maturity in Christ.1 Seminary professor and Christian family therapist, Sandra Wilson, who herself experienced sexual abuse and abandonment issues as a child, testified that she had an awesome healing that she never thought possible. She admits that she had experienced growth in her Christian life as a result of Bible Study, prayer and counseling, but that these had not produced what she describes as an “ unshakeable sense of belonging” to God she is now experiencing. Sandra describes her journey in life as an Evangelical, as one learning denominational doctrines, theological and biblical truths about God, but without the healing that has now freed her to have a growing intimate relationship with God.2

The discipleship structure in many churches lacks a ministry for the healing of hurts experienced by believers to varying degrees, depending on their life’s trajectory. The literature of several proponents on discipleship bears witness to this lack. In Dan Glover and Claudia Lavy’s article entitled “Discipleship in the Real World,” none of the six stages of disciple formation identified contains the need for ministering to the inner hurts, struggles, and spiritual oppression of a disciple.3 Shirley Chris describes a framework for designing discipleship characterized by three main frames: paradigm, practice, and platform. These three frames comprehensively describe the purpose of discipleship (love God and love one another), the activities of discipleship, and the sphere of discipleship respectively. Whilst comprehensive, no mention is made of bringing God’s healing to the inner hurts and struggles of the believer.4

Susanne Johnson charged that Christianity is seen simply as a knowledge of historical facts and logically derived truths from the bible about the ontological realities of our existence in relation to God. She says that: “One becomes a Christian by memorizing, and assenting to their truth.”5

Finally, Matthew Meyer makes a comprehensive list of activities for developing Christian growth which include many practices of spiritual disciplines (prayer, fasting, studying and meditating on the Word, spiritual exercises of listening to God), soul-wining, serving, discovering and using spiritual gifts, and being involved in the community of believers.6

Again, no mention is made of IHD as a means to resolving struggles in the inner self of the believer. Such is the predominant discipleship structure of most churches—concentrating on “becoming a Christian by memorizing and assenting to their truth” (mentioned earlier by Susanne Johnson), but with little attention paid to inner healing.

In truth though, IHD is an essential, foundational part of discipleship that is often missing in the spiritual formation of a person’s growth towards maturity in Christ. To reinforce this point, I will share four stories which are composites of typical struggles of discipleship arising from an absence of IHD in the structure of the local church. Some informants were unable to experience the abundance of life as promised by Jesus (John 10:10). Others felt unworthy to enter their calling to leadership and be effective witnesses for the gospel.7 Some have also struggled with spiritual oppression hindering their intimacy with Jesus. Yet others have seen their growth towards maturity in Christ stymied by moral failure affecting their life, career, and ministry. As a result, many pastors and church leaders have found it difficult to raise leaders for the local church, despite having conducted many activities related to discipleship. I also recount the narratives of several Taiwanese pastors who were participants of IHD, and who had themselves encountered the love of God in a very personal way.8

Helen’s Story9

In 2002, I met Helen who was struggling with personal issues she felt she could handle on her own. She was, after all, a highly qualified consultant with a postgraduate degree. Her job required her to instruct managers in the areas of problem-solving and decision-making. She was a consultant to managers who had sought her help to solve their organizational problems. “I thought I was coping reasonably well”, she shared. “I was reading the Bible regularly and was in church weekly. I even attended a nine-month part-time Bible course covering the books in the Old Testament; I even fasted.” However, she was still far from seeing or experiencing Jesus’ promise of abundant living. “I thought to myself, ‘God, I’ve done enough. You’ve got to fix my problems, right?’”

At the time, she was going through a divorce and was experiencing a lot of pain, which she tried to drown by working late into the night or by playing computer games. When her daughter began having problems in school, the school counselor told Helen that her daughter had shared that she was negatively affected by her parents’ divorce and had felt neglected. Realizing the urgency of the matter, Helen approached her pastor who recommended her for the DEW ministry.

At the first meeting, Helen’s DEW worker sought a better understanding of her situation and assured Helen that it was normal to cry as a form of release. “In my heart, I was thinking, ‘Oh no, this is not the way to deal with a problem. Am I doing the right thing? I can still quit from this.’” Then, her DEW worker suggested that Helen pray to declare Jesus as Lord of her spirit, mind, emotions, will, and body. To Helen’s surprise, she could not open her mouth to pray. Instead, she started crying and was losing control of herself. Her DEW worker later told her to consider inner healing.

At the next meeting, Helen met with myself and another DEW worker who explained to her the process of the IHD ministry. She asked Helen for more information about her family, information that would be kept private and confidential among selected counselors only. Helen recounted: “What I want is to get my problem solved. What is the relevance of my family background?” Nevertheless, she yielded to the ministry and left the meeting that night with a big load off h...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• List of Diagrams and Tables
• Foreword by Rev. Dominic Yeo
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 | The Need for Inner Healing and Deliverance (IHD) and the Definition of IHD
• 2 | Field Research
• 3 | Linking Sanctification, IHD, and Discipleship
• 4 | Where Might God be Placing the IHD Ministry?
• 5 | Discipleship that Includes IHD for the Post-Modern Era
• 6 | Conclusion
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Appendix C
• Appendix D
• Appendix E
• Appendix F
• Appendix G
• Bibliography