From the Red Road to the Real Jesus: A Testimony of Supernatural Deliverance -Wendy McCullough Testimony

I want you to imagine for a moment that you are sitting on the floor, surrounded by scraps of fabric and loose pinches of tobacco. Your fingers are fumbling, trying to tie these tiny bundles together into what they call "tobacco ties." They are supposed to be like a prayer, a way to reach out to the spirits. But no matter how hard you try, the knots won't hold. You're trying to fit into a world of Shamanism and ancient pagan rituals because you want to be close to the people you love. You want to belong. But every time you finish a tie, your husband reaches over, pulls on the string, and the whole thing falls apart. You're left sitting there in tears, feeling like a failure in a religion that was never meant for you.

This is the reality Wendy McCullough lived for years. Many of us know what it's like to feel spiritually homeless. We feel a tug in our souls for the supernatural, but instead of finding the narrow path that leads to life, we take a detour down the "Red Road" of paganism or the "New Age" mist of modern spirituality. We think we're finding ourselves, but we're actually losing the very connection to the Father we were created for. We feel the isolation of being "in" a group but not "of" it, because the Holy Spirit, in His infinite mercy, refuses to let us be comfortable in a lie.

The pain point for many of you reading this is that same nagging feeling: Something is missing. You might be active in a church, or you might be exploring alternative spiritualities, but you’re still battling the same old bondages—fear, addiction, and a sense of spiritual impotence. You’re looking for stability in a life that feels like it’s constantly shifting. The good news is that Jesus Christ didn't just come to give us a ticket to heaven; He came to restore our souls and give us authority over every work of the enemy. Wendy’s story is a vivid reminder that no matter how deep you go into the occult, the hand of God is long enough to pull you out.

In our last session of "Coffee with Conrad," we heard the beginning of Wendy’s journey—how she felt the touch of God at a young age but eventually found herself deep in the Red Road of Native American paganism. Today, we’re diving into the second half of that testimony. It’s a story of total collapse, a divine audible voice, and a mass exodus of an entire family out of the occult and into the light of Jesus Christ.

If you’ve ever wondered how far God is willing to go to get your attention, you need to pay attention to this. When you follow the Spirit, you recognize the Shepherd's voice. You might not understand every word at first, but you know it’s Him. Wendy’s life is a testament to what happens when we stop trying to tie our own "tobacco ties" and start letting Jesus hold our lives together.

The Red Road and the Line in the Sand

Wendy spent years trying to suppress her Christian roots. Her husband at the time mocked her Bible study and her church attendance. To keep the peace and to fit in, she tried to become what she thought he wanted. She tried to become a Shaman. She tried to resonate with the ceremonies, the offerings, and the prayers to ancestors. But there was a fundamental problem: Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (Amos 3:3 KJV).

She was walking a path that didn't resonate with her spirit. She felt alone, even in the middle of crowded ceremonies. Have you ever felt that? Surrounded by people, yet spiritually isolated because you know you’re in the wrong place?

The sensory details Wendy shares are heartbreaking. She would try to tie those tobacco ties—ceremonial bundles used in prayer—and she simply couldn't get the knots right. There was a specific way to do it, a "proper" ritualistic way, and her hands just wouldn't cooperate. Every time they fell apart, it was a physical manifestation of a spiritual truth: the Lord didn't need those rituals for her to talk to Him.

One of the most beautiful parts of her testimony is how she realized, looking back, that God had drawn a line in the sand. He allowed her to go a certain distance, but no further. He prevented her from getting an "Indian name." He kept her from going on a "Vision Quest." He even used ceremonial protocols for women to keep her out of certain ceremonies at just the right times.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV).

God was hedging her in. He was protecting her even while she was rebelling. But the rebellion came with a price. She picked up a heavy smoking habit because tobacco was so central to the ceremonies. She was offering tobacco to spirits and smoking it in prayer pipes, and before she knew it, she was in bondage to a physical addiction that mirrored her spiritual state.

The Bottom Falls Out

In 2003 and 2004, the "Red Road" Wendy and her husband were traveling hit a dead end. Her husband had a prestigious government job after leaving the Navy, but he lost it. Then came the nervous breakdown. They were on the verge of losing their house. Their marriage was a battlefield of power struggles. Everything they had built on the foundation of paganism was crumbling.

It reminds me of the house built on the sand. When the storms come—and they always come—that house cannot stand. They had to lose it all before they could find God again. They moved from Tennessee to Indiana to be near family, and that's where the seeds of prayer began to sprout.

Unknown to them, her husband’s family had been praying fervently. They had an uncle who was a pastor, and he started a bus ministry. He would come by on Saturdays to pick up their five-year-old son for Sunday School. Wendy’s husband, still defensive and deep in his pagan mindset, told the uncle, "I don't care if you take him to Sunday School, but don't you dare tell him there's a hell."

Why was he so afraid of the word "hell"? Because once you acknowledge hell, you have to acknowledge sin. And once you acknowledge sin, you have to acknowledge a Savior. The New Age and paganism love to talk about "energy" and "spirits," but they hate talking about sin and accountability. But Jesus was very clear about the reality of the afterlife. He talked more about the dangers of hell than almost anyone else in Scripture.

The Audible Voice and the Family Exodus

Wendy was hungry for stability. She was 31 years old and felt like a failure. She knew she had received a call to ministry when she was younger, yet here she was, lost in the occult and watching her life fall apart. She attended a revival at a local church, and the preacher spoke about how God could save, sanctify, and help you live a life of holiness without the constant struggle.

She didn't run to the altar that night. She just prayed in her heart, "Lord, I don't know what he's talking about, but I want it."

That is the prayer of a heart ready for soil. Soon after, the family was sitting in church. They were singing the old hymn, "My Wonderful Lord."

"All the talents I have I have laid at Thy feet, Thy approval shall be my reward..."

In that moment, Wendy’s husband heard something that changed everything. It wasn't an "impression" or a "feeling." He heard the audible voice of God speak to him in the middle of the song. The Voice said:

"Why sing at an altar where I do not stand? Sing where I do."

He immediately got up, went to the altar, and repented. He got right with God. And then, something supernatural happened—a domino effect. Wendy repented. Her mother-in-law came out of the Red Road. Her three sisters-in-law came out. The children came out. An entire family, once bound by familiar spirits and pagan rituals, was swept into the Kingdom of God.

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31 KJV).

Deliverance is the Children's Bread

One of the most striking parts of Wendy's testimony is her deliverance from tobacco. After getting right with the Lord, she was still struggling with smoking. Her church was starting a 21-day Daniel Fast in January. She and her husband talked about it for only fifteen minutes. She felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit—not condemnation, but a clear call to be free.

She told her husband, "I think the Lord would be honored more if we just gave up the tobacco."

She gathered everything—the ashtrays, the lighters, every pack of cigarettes. She put them in a trash bag and threw them in the can behind the house. She was done. The Lord told her, "I'm going to deliver you from these, but don't ever pick them back up again." After a couple of days of deep breathing and blowing out matches to satisfy the oral habit, the desire was simply gone. Today, she’s actually allergic to the smell of smoke.

Wendy’s experience led her into a deep understanding of Deliverance Ministry. She realized that Jesus spent about one-third of His ministry casting out demons. If it was important to Him, why is the modern church so afraid of it?

In my book, Overcoming Night Terror: Making the Demons Leave, I talk about this very thing. We have authority in the name of Jesus, but we have to use it. Wendy found that many people continue to struggle after salvation because they have "legal grounds" or "open doors" from their past involvement in the occult that haven't been dealt with. Deliverance isn't something to be feared; it's the "children's bread." It's a gift from the Father to His children to ensure they can walk in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Personal Reflections

When I listen to Wendy's story, I'm reminded of my own journey out of the New Age and into the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. We often think that "knowledge" is what sets us free, but it's the Truth—the Person of Jesus—that sets us free.

I remember when I first started realizing that the spiritual experiences I was having weren't all from God. It can be scary to admit you've been "sincerely wrong." Wendy’s husband was sincere in his paganism, but he was sincerely wrong. It took a crisis and an audible word from God to break that cognitive dissonance.

Jesus corrected me in a similar way. He showed me that I couldn't just have "spiritual experiences" without the foundation of the Word. If you’re exploring the prophetic or the supernatural, you must be grounded in the Biblical Jesus. Otherwise, you’re just tying knots that are destined to fall apart. Wendy’s hunger for stability is something I see in so many people today. They are tired of the "up and down" spiritual life. They want the peace that passes understanding. That peace only comes through total surrender—throwing the "ashtrays" of your past into the trash and not looking back.

Biblical References

Wendy’s journey is mirrored throughout the Scriptures. Consider the man with the Legion of demons in Mark chapter 5. After Jesus delivered him, the man wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him:

"Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee." (Mark 5:19 KJV).

This is exactly what Wendy is doing. She is telling the "gathering" what God has done. She's refusing to let the topic of deliverance be a "taboo" in the church.

We also see the importance of the family unit in Wendy's testimony. When the jailer in Acts 16 asked what he must do to be saved, Paul didn't just give him a personal plan; he gave him a family plan. God loves families. He wants to bring the whole house out of Egypt.

Finally, the struggle Wendy had with "fitting in" with pagan groups while having the Spirit of God is explained in 2 Corinthians:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15 KJV).

The reason she couldn't tie those knots is that Light has no communion with Darkness. The Holy Spirit was literally hindering her "success" in paganism to save her soul.

Key Takeaways

• God’s Invisible Protection: Even when we are in rebellion or lost in the occult, God can draw a line that the enemy cannot cross.
• The Power of Prayer: Wendy’s family was brought out of the Red Road because people were "praying fervently" for them behind the scenes.
• The Reality of Hell: Acknowledging the reality of hell and sin is often the first step toward needing and finding a Savior.
• Deliverance is for Today: Casting out demons and breaking addictions through the power of Jesus is a vital part of the Gospel that the modern church needs to reclaim.
• Total Surrender: Freedom often requires a "15-minute decision" to gather up the past and throw it in the trash.

Conclusion and Call to Action

Wendy McCullough went from hearing the call of God to getting lost in the deep woods of pagan Shamanism, only to be rescued by the audible voice of God and the power of deliverance. Her story proves that no matter how messy your life has become, or how many "failed knots" you’ve tied, Jesus is ready to restore your soul.

Are you struggling with an addiction? Are you feeling spiritually oppressed or "blocked" in your walk with God? There is a way out. Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free.

Don't forget to subscribe to the blog at ConradRocks.net and share this post with someone who needs to know that God hasn't given up on them. Leave a comment below—I’d love to hear your thoughts on Wendy’s journey or your own experiences with deliverance.

Dig deeper, go higher.

Action Items

• Audit Your "Knots": Identify any rituals, habits, or spiritual practices in your life that don't align with the Bible and resolve to let them go.
• Intercede for Your House: If you have family members lost in the New Age or the occult, commit to a season of fervent prayer for their "exodus."
• Clean House: Like Wendy, if there are physical objects in your home tied to past bondages (occult items, ashtrays, etc.), gather them up and dispose of them immediately.
• Study the Ministry of Jesus: Read through the Gospels and specifically look for every instance where Jesus cast out a demon. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how that authority applies to your life today.