How to Introduce DCW to Your Church (or Other Hard Doctrines)
Introducing challenging theological ideas in a church requires a pastoral approach that prioritizes humility, patience, and unity while grounding teaching in the language and themes of Scripture. Doctrinal development should proceed gradually by beginning with shared convictions, building understanding through connected biblical concepts, and clearly demonstrating why the teaching matters for spiritual formation rather than intellectual novelty. Careful attention should be given to tone and terminology so that unnecessary offense or misunderstanding does not hinder growth, while avoiding self-elevation, sensationalism, or presenting new ideas as corrections of past faithfulness. Meaningful change occurs over time as trust is maintained and Christ-followers are guided toward deeper understanding through consistent, faithful teaching.
I came to Palmdale Church almost exactly 10 years ago. As a young adult, I became convinced of an overall supernatural metanarrative of Scripture. In seminary, I was drawn to figures like Sam Storms and Sam Lamerson, who were not afraid to teach academically about the supernatural. Towards the end of seminary, I was introduced to some of Michael Heiser’s works and was initially turned off by some of his conclusions. But in time, I came to appreciate his approach to Scripture. As I took on my first pastorate, I needed to wrestle with traditionalism and historical Protestant theology, or else pretend I did not believe much of what now framed my approach to the Gospel and the Bible’s story.
DCW (Divine Council Worldview), as a formalized biblical theology, did not exist until recent days. But this is not the first time in history when preachers and teachers have faced a congregation that needed to be taught new ideas. Indeed, I was not only tasked with teaching a new perspective on the supernatural but also with leading my church in a new view of covenants and the end times, which conflicted with their traditional suppositions. And so there is much to learn from those who have gone before us, those who have graciously moved a congregation in their views of Ecclesiology, Soteriology, or Missiology towards a more biblical view.
I want to frame my approach in this first charge of humility: Preacher, the church isn’t heretical because they don’t hold your view. If your view is correct, and indeed you must think you are, then they are deficient; they are not the enemy. They need a teacher, not a corrections officer, not a parole officer.
For many, this is more complicated than coming under the scrutiny of a congregation. Perhaps you are not the regular preacher and must submit to other pastors/elders/teachers. Be gracious, humble, and willing to learn even as you lead a small group, Sunday school class, or even the congregation into uncharted territory. The goal is never to divide, but to unify around biblical truth. Therefore, I’ll provide 5 “To Dos” and 5 “To Don’ts” to prepare you to teach or preach the DCW or other controversial topics to your congregation.
What To Do
1. Speak the Way the Bible Speaks
In Jonah 1:17, we are told that a great fish swallowed Jonah and was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights. But in Jonah 2:2, Jonah says he is in the belly of Sheol. Many take this as a license to spiritualize Jonah and deny the supernatural narrative—perhaps Jonah wasn’t in the fish at all! Maybe the “weird” is just a metaphor for Jonah dying in the seas (or perhaps nearly dying, since the seas then vomit him out on dry land, alive).
These are the decisions preachers have to make when preparing to speak. What, therefore, have other great preachers done with these difficult passages? For that, we go to the greatest preacher, Jesus himself, who said, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). Of all that could be said about this connection, we must not miss that Jesus chooses to use the language of the text. He says that Jonah was in the fish for three days and nights, just like in Jonah 1:17.
As a preacher or teacher, don’t try to put the Bible into your words or your framework as much as is reasonably possible. Speak how the Bible speaks. In Jonah, we read that Jonah was in the belly of the fish. It’s hard to criticize the weird when you’re quoting directly from the Bible.
2. Go After the Scaffolding
In the DCW, several pieces of scaffolding support its core principles. If the core principle is that God has a divine council that ruled the nations and which continues to influence the world, then here are a few pillars or scaffolds that hold up this principle:
Real spiritual beings claim authority over the nations (Dan 10:13, 20) and are called demons by Moses (Deut 32:16–17) and Paul (1 Cor 10:20–21).
God gives divine beings (or angels) authority and caregiving responsibilities (Ps 82:1, 6–7; Deut 32:8; Dan 10:13, 20–21).
God communes with and consorts with angels or divine beings to carry out his will and purpose (1 Kgs 22:19–22; Job 1:6; Isa 6:1–8).
Before you provide a full-blown system regarding the DCW, just set up a few pieces of scaffolding first.
Another note: if your goal is to develop a full DCW for your church, each of the 3 points above may need to be scaffolded on its own. Talk to your congregation about the works of angels and demons, and develop some of those narratives noncontroversially before you can set more pieces into place. I would not imagine you could reach a full DCW for at least a year (or more!) even with intentional, week-to-week development of the scaffolding.
3. Start with Shared Ground
Most Christians believe in angels and demons. If they don’t, this isn't controversial and is easily shown in the Bible. Before you get into anything you think might be a disagreement, it's best to develop what you can within their existing framework for a while. Much of your shared ground will serve as scaffolding for potentially disputable topics. Now, don’t do it just to geek out on the fun and weird stuff in the Bible—see point 4. Always do it for edification and growth of understanding. Preaching and teaching aren’t about proving who’s right or wrong, but about the edification of the Saints, so if you move from shared ground too fast, you may lose them, no matter how right you are.
Here’s the pattern you could follow in how you move from shared ground to scaffolding of controversial ideas. In the best-case scenario, these are not individual points in a sermon or lesson, but rather individual sermons or lessons. You might listen to my sermons and call me a liar and a hypocrite since I’m no longer concerned with presenting big ideas. But my congregation is used to these things; I can easily get through all of these phases in one sermon without losing anyone. When I started, though, we moved very slowly and took years to get where we are now. Let’s review:
Everyone knows Scripture already teaches X. Look where we see it here in the Bible…
This theme runs from Genesis to Revelation. See how it's engaged with the Patriarchs? under the Mosaic covenant? in the New Testament?
Now, if all of that’s true, what does this principle mean in another context, here… ← this is the first moment you want to say anything that might be shocking.
If you follow this pattern, the teaching will be about understanding what Scripture says and what people agree on before it challenges their traditional understanding. You’re merely asking them to remain consistent in their reading of the text from one principle to another.
Here’s a direct example of how this could play out:
Scripture consistently presents God as surrounded by heavenly beings. We see this very clearly in Revelation 4-5 (and provide other passages throughout the Scripture).
What if I told you this concept runs from Genesis to Revelation and is central to understanding the biblical story? Look at Genesis 1-3 and notice how God enters the Garden, but there are also other divine beings in the Garden (Gen 3:8; Ezek 28:13–14; Gen 1:26; Job 38:7). Look at all these different places where God interacts with divine beings (again, provide other areas throughout the Scripture).
Today I want to go to Deuteronomy 32 to show you God’s design for the world’s nations and how even divine judges rebel against God’s authority—we could call these fallen angels.
4. Figure Out Why It Matters and Teach That
My book The Gospel is Bigger than You Think directly engages this exact point, so let’s just use that as an example.
CAVEAT: If you just want to use a bunch of really weird stuff in your sermon because you like to geek out on that sort of thing, then get out of the pulpit; you’re setting yourself up for failure. But if you share in the heart of God by His Spirit in You and as a gifted teacher, you want to present the truths of Scripture for the edification of the Saints, then here you are! You’re in the right place.
I wrote my book out of pastoral concern for how the Gospel has traditionally been preached in Evangelical circles. That said, the book is primarily biblical theology (with a little systematic and applied theology throughout). But my point was to help people understand the Gospel so they have the right expectations for the Christian faith. The goal was first pastoral, second evangelistic, and maybe only tertiarily interesting (though I think it is interesting).
5. Choose Your Words Carefully
This point is brief, but oh so helpful. Try to identify trigger words. Here’s one: Enoch. When I spoke with Rich and Mel on the Divine Council Worldview Podcast, they asked how I incorporate many of the DCW ideas into our church. One was in my preaching.
I gave my stock answer regarding preaching the weird stuff: Be careful how you speak. My example is always 1 Enoch, as I have written on the topic of Watchers for my church. But when 1 Enoch comes up in preaching, I don’t say, "Read my weird book," or try to explain why 1 Enoch is safe to read, even if it's not Scripture. No, I introduce my topic this way: “In the Hebrew folklore, it says that…”
Some folks are bothered by that approach as if I’m being defensive. I think some people are just trying to find out if someone will actually drive them out of the pulpit. But we should choose our words carefully to be truthful, while recognizing that a single word can keep people from the truth. And for those who lack the maturity, “Enoch” might be one of those words. (I have seen people leave our church, never to return, because I mentioned the book of Enoch, so this is a real thing.) As a preacher, if I can guard the hearts of my people by guarding my words, that’s a pretty simple sacrifice.
What NOT To Do
6. Don’t Elevate Yourself
Do you have a PhD in Biblical Theology or Ancient Near Eastern Religions? No? Me neither.
And guess what? Even if I did, this advice remains the same.
I’ve always been taken by how pastoral Michael Heiser could be, even while presenting ideas that really rub people the wrong way. His heart was for people first. Truth only matters if you can get truth into people. Feel me?
I get emails and emails and emails from people asking about DCW and adjacent topics. Great! Keep em’ coming! But everyone seems to be struggling with a similar problem: I have X context in which my DCW views might not be received or are outright rejected. What do I do?
Well, DCW is BIG and historical, but it's not historical Christian orthodoxy. Your pastor’s (probably) not a heretic. God (probably) did not appoint you a DCW prophet to convert your pastor. You are passionate because of how it’s changed you. Bless God! But let's not overreach on these points. You are not a greater theologian than your pastor or the people he reads and submits to—let this sink in—even if those theologians reject the DCW. In fact, you are only a greater theologian if you are in fact a greater theologian. And if you think you are, I can be pretty sure you are not.
So, all things in place—let’s say you’re taking the pulpit to talk about giants this Sunday — “Lord, your will be done; keep me in your grace; speak through me to edify your people; less of me and more of you; Salvation comes from Yahweh alone; may I make much of Christ Jesus; Amen.”
7. Avoid Provocative Language
In some ways, I mean words like “Enoch” and referring to the gods of the nations as “gods” (my preference is to say something like, “God appointed divine beings, like angels, to judge the nations.”) But it’s more.
We get psyched up. It’s spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically difficult to get up in front of people to challenge their long-held beliefs. By the time you’re there, you’re often so psyched up that pastoral sensitivity goes out the window and you say everything you can to get under their skin. I’ve not had this problem with DCW. Still, if you’ll allow me to be vulnerable, I’ve said things about dispensationalism that I’m not proud of—even though I think the dispensational hermeneutic has caused an immense amount of problems for contemporary churches.
So, I put this here as a reminder to us all: when we’re dealing with sensitive topics (and DCW is VERY sensitive), let's approach the topic pastorally, not with a hammer.
8. Avoid Oversensationalization
When presenting the “weird,” don’t speak in a theatrical, exciting, or exaggerated way. This includes going beyond sensationalism to overstate facts or prove your points through shock and emotion. This kind of approach will inevitably result in a majority rejection of your claims. At least that’s my experience.
Sensationalism is effective only when you tell people what they want to hear, which is not biblical preaching. When you’re challenging someone’s worldview, you want to help them love Jesus, the Scriptures, and God's plan and purpose. Give them a big Gospel, a sovereign God, and a beautiful plan of redemption that permeates all of Scripture. But by all means, let the power be in God’s word, not your obverse theatrics.
On this point, perhaps it would benefit you to listen to some preachers who hold a DCW worldview. You can listen to mine here @PalmdaleChurch:
Doug VanDorn, RBCNC
Jon Moffit, Grace Reformed Church
Jon Dillon, Stillwater Community Church
Daniel Southwick, Southern Hills Baptist Church
Obviously, look for sermons that deal with the topics you want to cover or just broadly DCW ideas so that you can observe the mechanics. I know for myself, people get the idea that every sermon I preach is on the gods, the giants, or the Watchers. Those are essential threads in biblical theology, but if I’m in Romans, they won’t come up every week (chapter 1, though…).
9. Don’t Try to Do It All at Once
Remember scaffolding. God is sovereign. Time is exhaustive. DCW isn’t the Gospel (though I think it helps clarify the Gospel in some respects). There is no rush to teach everything at once and risk damaging the faith of those who struggle with your message.
That said, trust God, faithfully preach the truth, week to week, and connect it to their prior knowledge, whatever that is. That’s the pathway to faithful doctrinal change for a church.
10. Avoid Presenting the Issue as a Corrective Against the Church
If you approach the topic from a corrective perspective, it will likely make the congregation feel that their historical pastors were unfaithful or uneducated, or that the church wasn’t truly a church because of faulty doctrine. So, there is a great danger even if they believe you!
That said, lean into historically orthodox doctrine and show the connection points between that and whatever you are trying to show them. Perhaps quote the creeds or the church's statement of faith to demonstrate the consistency between positions. Your presentation of doctrine and biblical understanding must be for their growth, not merely for their correction. If you get this wrong, even if you’re right, you might be the one branded a heretic.
