Pigs in the Parlor
Content Warning: Homophobia, Demon Possession, Victim Blaming, Mental Health Shaming
“I remember watching an exorcism at CFC, which was a disturbing service,” recalls Erin Kinnen Kilback, who grew up at CFC. “I don't remember her name, but she was a very tiny woman and I remember they said there was some sort of demon.”
Christian Fellowship Center and other churches in the Latter Rain tradition emphasize the role of extra-biblical revelation, such as prophecy, deliverance, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues, in the Christian’s everyday life. Manifestations of the supernatural have ebbed and flowed over the decades; during the Toronto Blessing years, for instance, it was more common to see people being slain in the spirit, running euphorically around the sanctuary, and loudly exclaiming in unintelligible words. Demon possession, and the need to have demons cast out through prayer, is one of the more sinister aspects of this emphasis on the supernatural.
Do you have a migraine, or is it a demon? Is your child queer, or are they possessed by a demon? Your wife’s inability to submit to your authority? Definitely a demon.
Understanding CFC’s approach to demon possession and how it serves as a tool for spiritual abuse requires a trip back to the 1970s when CFC first started. First published in 1973 by Frank and Ida Hammond, Pigs in the Parlor was standard reading at CFC for many years. It appears to have fallen out of favor as a practical manual, but it's essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how Rick Sinclair and other CFC leaders weaponize the supernatural.
Author Frank Hammond attributes everything that he views as negative to demons. Are you shy? You have a demon of shyness. Do you forget things or procrastinate? That is also demon possession.
We see this same tendency in Rick Sinclair. Multiple people have charged Rick with accusing them of demon possession when they challenged his authority or spoke out about abuse. When Michelle Wilbur told Rick Sinclair that she was going to leave her abusive husband, she recalls “that’s when he told me [that my daughter] and I had demons.”
Many women who reach out to CFCtoo with stories of domestic violence highlight the way that Rick Sinclair and other CFC leaders controlled the narrative around their abuse. Abused wives recount how they were labeled “delusional,” “demon-possessed” or displaying an “antichrist spirit.”
Attributing normal human behavior like anger, distrust, or criticism to demons means that if someone is angry about abuse, they can be dismissed as demon-possessed. If someone criticizes or disagrees with Rick Sinclair, that person can be neutralized with accusations of demon possession.
LGBT+ individuals at CFC suffer grievously under accusations of demon possession. Mike DeVoe, who started attending CFC in 1983, recalls that Pigs in the Parlor was common reading. Mike says, “That kind of deliverance ministry with its dramatic expressions by those receiving it was, and still is, a part of the DNA of the church. It brought everything down to being some sort of demonic possession or oppression. The more “extreme” or “perverse” the sin, the more likely there was demonic activity attached to it. It did not take long for me to hear all about deliverance ministry and all of the manifestations of demons being cast out.”
Mike recalls that his experience with deliverance ministry started the day after he was water baptized. “Rick Sinclair prayed over me to be delivered from all sorts of homosexuality and perverse spirits. Having heard all the stories it was not hard for me to start ‘manifesting’ all of the dramatic activities associated with deliverance, including dry heaves, tears, sweating, and exhaustion. It was a battle after all. The problem is that nothing changed.”
Despite the deliverance ministry, Mike came away feeling like he still was unacceptable. “Rick said to me something to the effect of, you know, when somebody tells their testimony that they've been a thief or they've been a liar, or they've been a murderer, and Jesus gloriously changed them. There's great celebration and great rejoicing, but your testimony would make people uncomfortable, so you need to keep it to yourself.”
Pigs in the Parlor also relieves a pastor of the responsibility of properly handling mental health issues. Depression, anxiety, and other common mental health concerns can be attributed to demons and handled through deliverance. If, for instance, a woman is suffering from Postpartum Depression because she just birthed her 9th child, Frank Hammond would recommend an exorcism instead of prescribing an SSRI.
Hammond’s approach to mental illness is thoroughly anti-intellectual. “I considered doing research on schizophrenia since we were not schooled in psychology or psychiatry,” Hammond writes. “The Holy Spirit stopped me as I took my first steps toward the library. He said, “I do not want what I have given to be mixed with what the world thinks.” So the chapter was written just as Ida Mae [Hammond] received it from the Lord.”
The sheer hubris of dealing with serious mental illness by purposely not doing research is stunning. CFC follows Hammond’s approach in treating “secular” therapy and medication with disdain.
The solution to demon possession is to admit you have demons and seek help. This is, of course, a problem if you are not actually possessed by demons. Denying that you have a demon simply proves that you have one. "Demon possession" is an absurdly easy way to control and get rid of people.
Pigs in the Parlor describes many abusive beliefs and practices that are woven into the DNA of CFC. People who display normal, developmentally appropriate emotions are shamed. People who challenge abusive practices are villainized. People who need medication get exorcisms. The heart-beaking reality is that everyone suffers in an environment that fixates on demon possession.
If you have experienced accusations of demon possession or been pressured into deliverance sessions, you are not alone. What you experienced was wrong and it dishonors God.
