Sword of the Spirit at Pa., also heavily affirms praise and worship, which is demonstrated in several ways. The church advises people of its worshiping style in advance.

Former leaders Ed Conlin of Sword of the Spirit and Jamie Treadwell of Servants of the Word are subjects of ongoing lawsuits and settlement negotiations with their victims.

Sword of the Spirit’s website says it’s a non-denominational Christian group with some 14,000 adult members worldwide.

To direct “Sword of the Spirit,” Ashton acquired the help of Dusty Brown, an upcoming director on the Gulf Coast. Brown took on the project being aware of how hard life can be on some people.