Brian N. Connor (May 23, 1946November 8, 2014) was an American pastor and

exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...

who also taught people about

spiritual warfare Spiritual warfare is the Christian concept of fighting against the work of preternatural evil forces. It is based on the biblical belief in evil spirits, or demons, that are said to intervene in human affairs in various ways. Although spiritua ...

Background

Connor was born May 23, 1946, in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, to his parents George Connor and Mary Connor. Connor graduated from the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, and held a doctor of ministry degree.

Ministry

In 1985 the ministry of

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

was first introduced to him when he encountered a woman who was a third generation

satanist Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few h ...

. From then on he ministered to people with spiritual oppression. He said of exorcisms that, "when one experiences it face-to-face – when one sees

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

, smells it, feels it, has things thrown in his face, encounters evil prowling around like a lion – then you know there's a spiritual warfare going on all around us." In 1998, after twenty-seven years as a pastor at Southern Baptist churches in Maryland and South Carolina he left his ministry to become a full-time exorcist and run his deliverance ministry. Connor believed that spiritual oppression is a real part of biblical

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

, which includes

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...

and

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

. Connor stated that even people who go to church regularly or minister can still be oppressed. "By belonging to

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, we are forgiven in terms of salvation," he explained.Baptist Press, ''27-year veteran leaving pastorate to launch 'ministry of deliverance, Todd Deaton, October 14, 1998 "We can still make wrong choices which open doors within us to satanic oppression by dabbling in the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

, attempting to communicate with the dead, using crystals, accepting

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

beliefs, following

spirit guides A spirit guide, in Western spiritualism, is an entity that remains as a discarnate spirit to act as a guide or protector to a living incarnated human being. Description In traditional African belief systems, well before the spread of Christ ...

, participating in rituals." "Anytime someone reaches out to an

evil spirit Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is generally ...

, that spirit puts down roots and will torment and oppress that person," Connor stated. On November 13, 2001, he appeared on ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasion ...

'' casting

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

s out of an American baptist. He founded and led the Good Shepherd Institute which helped spiritually oppressed people. He was featured in ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' (August 2002) and ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

'' (August 2003) and seen on

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

, A&E Channel,

Biography Channel FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American basic cable channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications (each owns 50%). The network features lifestyle pr ...

and

The Learning Channel TLC is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. First established in 1980 as The Learning Channel, it initially focused on educational and instructional programming. By the late 1990s, after an acquisition by the own ...

Death

Connor died on Saturday, November 8, 2014. Aside from his mother, Mary Connor, He is survived by his wife June Christopher Connor of Folly Beach; 2 daughters, Amy Connor Bradley and husband Dr. Raymond J. Bradley of New Bern, NC, Carey Connor McNamara and husband Dr. Robert McNamara of Mt. Pleasant; the girls' mother, Faye Vickery Connor of Mt Pleasant, a step-son, Jonathan "Jay" Argoe Jr. of Folly Beach; brother James "Jim" Connor and wife Janet of Floyd, VA; grandchildren, Caroline, Samuel, and Benjamin Bradley, and Connor McNamara.

References

External links

Good Shepherd Institute Blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Brian 1946 births 2014 deaths Clergy from Charleston, South Carolina Spiritual warfare Southern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States 21st-century Baptist ministers from the United States American exorcists

Background

Ministry

Death

Further reading

References

External links