Power Encounter 1: Introduction & Bibliography | Dr. Timothy Warner

This Seminary Course presents a deeply personal and theological introduction to the reality of spiritual warfare, grounded in the speaker’s lived experiences—from childhood hardship and wartime service to personal loss, cross-cultural ministry in Sierra Leone, and encounters with demonic oppression in counseling contexts. The central message affirms that spiritual warfare is not a peripheral or fringe concept but a biblically grounded reality that profoundly impacts personal faith, psychological well-being, and missionary work. Drawing from firsthand encounters with demonic activity, including cases of satanic ritual abuse and occult pacts, the speaker argues that the church has long ignored this dimension of spiritual life, leading to ineffective counseling and spiritual stagnation. The course outlined emphasizes a biblical worldview, the authority of Christ over demonic powers, and the necessity of integrating spiritual discernment with psychological insight, while cautioning against both dismissal of demonic realities and uncritical acceptance of sensational accounts. The tone is pastoral, urgent, and deeply conviction-driven, calling believers to engage the spiritual realm with both theological clarity and courageous faith.