Parking Lot Exorcism

I stood near the back door of the Christian food pantry. My volunteer shift was in full swing. It was 80 degrees.

In the parking lot, some 20 feet away, I saw an older man holding a leash tethering his German shepherd. The man’s shirt was off.

I listened in.

The man was showing off a bullet hole in his lower left shoulder to three young men helping with distribution of food. The man’s brother accidentally shot him when he was a kid. He wasn’t mad at him.

He put his shirt back on.

I caught that he was a pastor of sorts. Something was going on with him. He was gigging.

The pastor placed his right hand on the shoulder of one of the young men. The other two men placed their hands on their friend’s shoulder. They all closed their eyes.

Something Christian was about to happen, and I say that with confidence because I am a preacher and missionary kid.

The pastor began performing what I believe was a kind of exorcism. He began loudly talking to God and imploring the Almighty to cast out the demon afflicting the young man. The pastor said the young man was weak and the Devil was strong. He asked God to thwart and defeat Satan’s tactics and he actually used the word “tactics.” It had to be the first exorcism in a church parking lot where the pastor had a bullet hole in his body and used the word “tactics” in the history of Christianity.

Half an hour later, the pastor was in line with a rolling cart and loading it with food items. He was thankful and gave out blessings as he made his way through.