Deliverance Center
Brandishing a toy sword, Apostle Daryl Davis address the crowd during a Thursday night service at theTriumph Prophetic Worship Glory and Deliverance Center in Detroit. Thursday, December 6, 2012.
Detroit is a hard place to live. Over the years it became a synonym of urban decay, fallen American manufacturing, dead end to the American dream, murder and drug capital of the USA, you name it. Hustling to survive, many of the city and area residents struggle with low self esteem, drug addictions, poverty or lack of job perspectives.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Apostle Daryl Davis provides one such measure. In 2007 this former factory worker turned taxi driver opened a Triumph Prophetic Worship Glory and Deliverance Center in Detroit. During a five hour Thursday night service, Davis chases the devil away from human bodies. Those who are “delivered” from demonic possession, are to be healed from addictions or homosexuality, are to be empowered to overcome life’s obstacles, are to be free from any troubles that bother them. The center attracts people from Detroit and its suburbs whose troubles are so burdensome they feel their only hope lies in what amounts to magical intervention.
Apostle Daryl Davis follows a typical path of deliverance churches. He interviews people seeking help to learn their problems. He then asks them to write down what specifically they would like to be delivered from. Prayers are said for those who choose to be delivered that particular night. Then the Apostle and senior church members directly addresses the demons they think might be within the victims. This usually causes violent retching, and buckets lined with plastic bags are supplied in case they vomit. Triumph Center's website notes, "It is a shame and a disgrace that so many Christians are going to psychologists and psychiatrists who don't even recognize that their symptoms are caused by demons."
Photo by Marcin Szczepanski