Power Encounter 3: Animism | Dr. Timothy Warner

The sermon centers on the critical importance of understanding and engaging with people’s worldview—particularly in cross-cultural missions—arguing that true conversion requires confronting not just intellectual beliefs but the experiential and spiritual dimensions of a person’s belief system, such as animism, ancestor worship, and spiritual powers. It critiques the Western Christian tendency to operate from a deistic, dualistic worldview that separates the natural and supernatural realms, leading to a diminished perception of demonic forces and the Holy Spirit’s active presence. Instead, the sermon advocates for a biblical worldview that affirms three functional realms—God’s sovereign realm, the angelic realm, and the human realm—where angels actively serve God in sustaining creation, guiding believers, and engaging in spiritual warfare. The ultimate call is for missionaries and believers alike to move beyond superficial cultural adaptation to deep identification, especially at the level of kinning, where shared worldview enables authentic community and effective spiritual transformation.