Jonathan Pokluda doesn’t strike you as the type of guy who spends his time thinking about exorcisms. The Texas pastor is best known for his straight-talking, deeply practical approach to faith, helping young adults navigate everything from dating to career choices. But for the past few years, he’s been fixated on a different kind of battle—the one raging unseen just beneath the surface of everyday life.
“I was raised Catholic,” Pokluda recalls. “Behind the altar at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, where I grew up, there was a statue of Michael the Archangel stabbing a demon. So every week, I’d see this reminder that spiritual warfare is real. But I didn’t become a Christian until I was in my early 20s. I was at a club, hungover, smelled like smoke, and someone invited me to church. That’s where I gave my life to Jesus.”
That moment set him on a path that would eventually lead to his latest book, Your Story Has a Villain, an unfiltered, no-nonsense deep dive into what the Bible actually says about spiritual warfare. The premise is simple: if you believe in God, you have to believe in an enemy. And according to Pokluda, that enemy is far more invested in your daily life than most Christians want to admit.
“The Bible says more about spiritual warfare than it does about marriage,” Pokluda points out. “And yet, when I was studying theology, I barely heard anyone talk about it. Christians will say silly things like, ‘My car won’t start—hashtag spiritual warfare.’ And I’m like, really? What did a demon do? Drain your battery? Leave your door open? We throw the term around, but do we actually understand what’s happening?”
The Third Mistake
Pokluda cites C.S. Lewis’ famous observation that there are two mistakes people make when it comes to demons: either they give them too much credit or they don’t believe they exist at all. But in 2025, he argues, there’s a third mistake: believing they exist and assuming that knowledge has no real implications for your life.
“So many Christians say, ‘Yeah, I believe in spiritual warfare,’ but they don’t actually live like it’s real,” he says. “We say things like ‘Satan is attacking me,’ but let’s be honest—Satan doesn’t even know I exist. He’s probably somewhere where there are wars and genocide and governments to manipulate. I probably have a snaggletooth demon assigned to me, one who’s studied my family line, knows my weaknesses and is just trying to deceive me.”
The deception, Pokluda argues, is key. The enemy’s most effective strategies aren’t the dramatic demonic possessions Hollywood loves to depict; they’re the quiet, insidious ones that creep into daily life—discouragement, division, distraction, desensitization, deconstruction.
“He’s trying to get you to believe God doesn’t love you. That He isn’t good. That He isn’t real. The very first thing Satan says in the Bible is, ‘Did God really say?’ He’s still running that same play today.”
Modern Spiritual Warfare
For most American Christians, conversations about spiritual warfare feel distant—something that happens in other places, far away. “We’re fascinated by witchcraft, by manifesting, by crystals,” Pokluda says. “But when it comes to actual spiritual warfare, we think it’s something that happens in Africa or Haiti or the Amazon jungle. And yet, we’re constantly running the same test that Satan ran. We’re trying to be God rather than worshiping Him.”
According to Pokluda, the enemy’s greatest victory in the West is getting people to dismiss him entirely.
“We live in a sexually charged, sinfully promiscuous culture. We’ve normalized things Jesus died for. We’re entertained by things He went to the cross for. We’re desensitized. And that’s by design.”
This isn’t just some abstract theological debate for Pokluda—it’s personal. He spent three years studying spiritual warfare, wrestling with what he found in Scripture and preaching about it to his congregation. What he discovered changed the way he sees everything.
“If you read the Bible like it’s true, then you have to take spiritual warfare seriously,” he says. “It’s not a metaphor. It’s not a suggestion. It’s real.”
The Strategy to Fight Back
For Christians who hear all of this and feel overwhelmed, Pokluda has good news: you’re not defenseless.
“If you want to know how to push back against spiritual warfare, the Bible gives us a strategy,” he says. “Ephesians 6 lays it out.”
He breaks it down into seven key steps:
- Know the truth – “Jesus says, ‘Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ We’re on a happiness journey, but we should be on a truth journey. Because if you don’t find what’s true, you’ll never find lasting joy.”
- Guard your heart – “The breastplate of righteousness protects you. Don’t be entertained by the things Christ died for.”
- Share the gospel – “If your faith is struggling, go tell someone about Jesus. It will bring you to life.”
- Stand firm in faith – “Faith is what protects us. The stronger your faith, the less the enemy can get to you.”
- Remember your salvation – “You belong to another kingdom. This world is not your home.”
- Know the Bible – “When Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus responded with Scripture. If you don’t know the Bible, you don’t have a weapon.”
- Never stop praying – “Prayer is how we stay connected to our Commander in Chief. Without it, we’re defenseless.”
Pokluda is clear: the point of this book isn’t to make people afraid. Quite the opposite.
“We don’t need to be afraid. The Bible says, ‘Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.’ Demons aren’t scared of me. But they’re terrified of my God.”
A Wake-Up Call
If Pokluda has his way, Your Story Has a Villain will serve as a wake-up call for Christians who have unknowingly been sleepwalking through a war.
“We blame God for Satan’s attacks,” he says. “But James 1 tells us every good and perfect gift comes from God. Satan is the one who steals, kills and destroys. If you don’t recognize that, you’re going to live your whole life confused.”
So what happens if the church actually wakes up? If believers start engaging in spiritual warfare the way the Bible prescribes?
“We’d be battle-ready,” Pokluda says. “We’d be walking in truth, in faith, in righteousness. We’d be sharing the gospel. We’d stop being entertained by sin. We’d stop letting the enemy get easy wins. And above all, we’d depend on Jesus more than we ever have.”
