Prophets and Pastors

The church cannot survive and grow to maturity without the prophetic and the prophetic ministry. It is not an optional extra. The Bible is clear about the importance of prophecy.

Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues (1 Cor 14:39).

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith (Rom 12:4-6).

After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea (Acts 21:10).

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified (1 Cor 14:1-5).

Christianity is prophetic through and through. When the prophets are silent and the word of God is in short supply, the church withers and dies. If there are prophets today, their hands are tied and their mouths gagged by the clumsy democratic processes of church institutions. Prophecy is seldom heard within this establishment. For prophecy comes by the spirit of God and not by consensus or debate (Michael Harper).

For our society to be renewed, it is necessary for the church, and by that I mean individual Christians together, to become a prophetic voice to our land. We must remember the price of being a prophet. If people were given the choice of straightening the wall or killing the prophet, they will usually kill the Prophet instead of straightening the wall (Bob Mumford).

Many people, churches and movements have entirely rejected the prophetic, because they were wounded by false prophets or their mistakes. However, the Scriptures clearly show that God almost never raises up a great leader who does not make serious mistakes. Some of the greatest leaders made some of the greatest mistakes but they did not let that stop them. Many Christians have a genuine prophetic gift or call to prophetic ministry, yet have been discouraged from pursuing their calling because of past mistakes (Rick Joyner - The Prophetic Ministry).

The church is called to be prophetic towards the world. This role requires the development of the prophetic ministry.

Even if we are not called to the office of a prophet, we need to understand this ministry. The entire church is called as a prophetic voice to the nations. Together we are to serve as the Lord’s spokesmen to the world (Rick Joyner - The Prophetic Ministry).

The New Testament prophet’s primary function is to open the church to the ministry of Jesus the Prophet so that he can flow freely among his people. Everyone is not called to the office of a prophet, but the whole church as a unit is called to be a prophet to the world, manifesting Christ’s ministry as the spokesman for God (Rick Joyner - The Prophetic Ministry).

Prophets can be uncomfortable people to have around. They can often be hard to take. We must avoid taking offence at their style and manner and missing what God is doing through them.

The prophet discerns the state of the human heart. The prophetic insight exposes things that are hidden (1 Cor 14:25). Prophets are never popular people. They are not comfortable to have around, if there is a prophet around we will be aware of our sins in a new way (Tom Marshall- The Coming of the Prophets).

Unfortunately, because the Body of Christ is so ignorant of the prophetic word, it stumbles over the messenger and ignores the message (Chip Brogden - Overcoming Prophetic Offence).

No Bible prophet ever had the same delivery or style, from David to John the Beloved. But you must learn to receive from them and most of all love them. Or you may watch them being led down a road of destruction that will lead too much confusion and defeat for the kingdom. This has already happened! And many are wounded and dying because of this very thing (Kris Couchey - Bitter Prophets).

Prophetic people create tension. When God intervenes into our orderly, calm lives, this creates a tension. We need to know how to deal with that and how to fellowship it through. Otherwise prophetic ministry can be an open door for the demonic to enter our churches. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to dismiss the prophecy and cast the prophet in the role of troublemaker (Graham Cooke - Developing Your Prophetic Gifting p.96).

The prophet is violated during his ministry, but he is vindicated by history (Leonard Ravenhill - Picture of a Prophet).

Vision was like a flame with the prophets. You have to recognise that about them, at any rate - that these men were flames of fire. There was nothing neutral about them; they were aggressive, never passive. Vision has that effect. If you have really seen what the Lord is after, you cannot be half-hearted. You cannot be passive if you see. Find the person who has seen, and you find a positive life (T. Austin-Sparks - Prophetic Ministry).

The New Testament teaches a positive approach to prophecy.

Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil
1 Thessalonians 3:19-20

Christians must be careful not to quench the spirit of prophecy. The words of all prophets should be weighed carefully. The Scriptures give clear guidelines for testing prophecies. Anything that is good should be received; the rest should be discarded.

Every church needs both prophets and pastor-teachers. The two ministries are complementary, but they have not always fitted together well. Pastors tend to be warm loving people. This is the strength of their ministry, but it means that they can sometimes find it hard to confront evil. They love to see people grow and to see the church united, so they can be tempted to compromise for the sake of peace and unity.

A prophet would act as a balance to this tendency. Prophets tend to see things in black and white. They have a zeal for holiness and truth. Their main concern is to see the church functioning according to the Word of God, but their zeal for purity and truth can make them appear to be hard and harsh. The pastors will temper their strictness and zeal with love and grace. And whereas pastors tend to concentrate on the present, the prophets can give vision for the future.

Prophets have a way of ploughing up the ground and causing disturbance. Sometimes this is sorely needed. I know many pastors who, when encountering hard ground, simply lay a patio and cover everything up! Prophecy is attacking, stimulating and provoking by definition. Pastoring is about restoring calm and order. Prophets challenge, pastors soothe (Graham Cooke – Developing Your Prophetic Gifting).

This explains why there is such a shortage of prophets in the church. Most modern churches are controlled by pastors and the bluntness of the prophet does not sit easily with them. If the pastor is insecure, he can be hurt by the prophet’s words. The prophet seems to be a nuisance and life is easier if they leave.

The third truth is that pastoral compassion and prophetic purpose will sometimes be at odds, causing friction and even conflict within the local church between pastor and prophet. So a willingness to humbly seek God together to determine His desire for congregation is critical for maintaining unity in the local church leadership (Dr Bill Hamon - Prophets Pitfalls and Principles p. 35).

The church needs pastors and prophets to fully represent Christ. It must exhibit both the love and the holiness of God. Love without holiness is compromise. Holiness without love is harshness. If both ministries are present in a Church then holiness and love will both be evident. The Church will then be a true reflection of the character of God.

A prophet’s perspective is radically different from that of the pastor. He hears from God and quite mercilessly questions everything, including the pastor, from God’s perspective. That, however, is his healthy and God-given duty. For that reason, there is also a historical tension between the pastor and the prophet: one is the defender of the status quo who wants to maintain the community; the other questions everything and is seen (rightly) by many others as a threat, because he disrupts things and wants ‘movement now’ (Wolfgang Simson - Houses That Changed the World, p.114).

Pastors and prophets have very different perspectives on the church.

Prophets usually have a very keen sense of being answerable to God. Pastors have that sense to, but they are also very aware of being answerable to people. A pastor probably feels both concerns different from the typical pastor figures (Mike Bickle – How Pastors Relate to Prophets).

Pastors are often sensitive to things happening beyond what is of the Holy Spirit. They would rather be safe by cutting things off a little before getting in the danger zone. Their boundaries tend to be on the conservative side. On the other hand, prophets tend to be boundary stretchers. They are almost always willing to go a little bit farther than the danger zone to make sure that we do everything that might be of the Lord. Notice that both prophets and pastors have the same motivation. They are afraid of missing God. But they are each proceeding from different point s of view (Mike Bickle – How Pastors Relate to Prophets).

Because of the gift of revelation a prophet may have the tendency to see things very black and white, whereas a pastor, with mercy and wisdom will often see things in shades of grey. The prophet many time may view the pastor as compromising and people pleasing, while the pastor may see the prophet as unwise and unyielding. These differences in perception can become a deficit in their working relationships, if not understood as strengths that God has given to aid one another in being more effective in ministry. Otherwise the prophet will always try to straighten out the pastor and the pastor will always strive to balance out the prophet, when more often their differences, when appreciated, are actually their strengths (Tom Hamon – The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation).

Both pastors and prophets must understand that they need each other.

The modern church is dominated by pastors. The prophetic ministry can only be restored to the church, if pastors allow it. I believe that many pastors have (sometimes unwittingly) obstructed the restoration of the prophetic ministry in the church. This has prevented God from doing all that he wants to do. Sometimes pastors are hostile or fearful of the prophetic due to bad experiences, but this is not an excuse for robbing their people of what the prophetic ministry can bring to their church. This is stated clearly by Tom Hamon (a pastor, not a prophet).

There are many reasons for an attitude of indifference or even antagonism toward prophetic ministry by pastors. Some reasons have to do with ignorance… or with perceived abuse of those who have called themselves prophets within the body. However, I do not believe these are valid excuses today. Never in Scripture does God sanction forbidding the pure and good because there have been bad representations (Tom Hamon – The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation).

While some prophets have hurt people, the reality is that controlling pastors and inadequate pastoring have done far more damage to far more Christians. In numerous situations, a whole church has fallen when their pastor has lost the plot. Pastors have far more power over people’s lives than prophets. A pastor who gets lost can do far more damage than an over-zealous prophet. Where prophets have become unruly or controlling, the reason is usually inadequate or insecure leadership. Moreover, mature pastors have no reason to fear the prophetic. A wise and God-fearing pastor, who is loved by his flock, can never be overcome or pushed aside by a prophet. Despite these facts, the bar of acceptance is set much higher for prophets.

The questions is, why do we accept every other gift and calling among men with great failure and weakness? And yet, the ministry of the prophet who speaks hard truth is discounted with every excuse in the book! Not only is the Word given rejected, but the prophet in particular is personally rejected. This is the great test of a prophet of high calling. I am not talking about people who prophesy. I am talking about people who have been called to the office of a prophet, which are rarer then we would like to think. The burden of words that "leadership" and "friends" will not accept can be a great one if not received and released in great brokenness. The grace to walk such a narrow path is only given to the humble, who are willing to be broken and considered radicals, renegades, and rebels. The danger for this person is becoming like Elijah in an isolation that sees himself alone as having the truth. The answer is the cross of Jesus Christ that allows no man to glory in self or the "gifts" and "callings" God has given (Kris Couchey - Bitter Prophets).

Some pastors may need to be more honest about the real reason for their indifference to prophetic ministry. The problem may be something in their own heart, rather than the prophet.

As pastors, many times prophet ministry can understandably make us feel uncomfortable, so we don’t give place for it to function. However, often that is exactly what God has intended, because we have become stuck in a rut in our predictable, comfortable routines. There are times when God wants to break in on the scene, but we are too protective of our time or our people, or our comfort zones to allow God to really do what he wants. Prophets just seem to have a way of messing up our plans…. Instead of resenting this, fellow pastor, let’s appreciate it, because the good news is that when God leads prophets, they bring a powerful spirit of breakthrough with them (Tom Hamon – The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation).

Have you established the prophetic in your movement? Yes, the prophetic should operate in the back rooms and in the marketplace of everyday life, but seasoned prophetic voices should also be given a platform in the church to help establish and put into place the mandates of the Lord.

Where is the clarion call of the prophetic that is sounding forth with cutting-edge accuracy? Could they be sitting in your pews waiting to be released? The way to break judgements off the prophetic and unlock them is to establish them.

Do you have prophetic voices giving divine strategies for your church? Do they give confirmation and clarity? Does the government of God back them up? If so, are they backed up by you?

Are you more afraid of a few "flakes" than you are of barrenness? Have you judged the entire prophetic movement by one or two voices that fell into sin? Wisdom is needed and it is important that character and humility has been worked into their lives. I'm not talking about budding voices that have not spent their time in the wilderness of training and equipping, but rather mature, proven vessels.

The heavy mantle of government that rests on you as apostolic leaders must be used to recognise and establish the seasoned, mature prophetic voices in your midst while allowing the young eaglets to be raised up under their wings. God wants the prophetic…

We're coming into a season of release for some of the hidden Josephs. The apostolic and prophetic are going to be taken out of their old, tattered garments and adorned with new mantles of government-- wrought in the fires of affliction. They will be clothed in humility and intimacy. Are you ready?

When apostolic gatekeepers embrace and welcome the prophetic, it establishes them so they can unfurl their mantles and release their anointing. (Jill Austin - http://www.jillaustin.org).

I am right behind any Pastor who acts to protect the sheep from such people. That is the shepherd's job, after all. (But if all they are doing is protecting their own hide, and squashing the prophetic word - then judgement will surely follow the prophet's words - as sure as day). Prophets, let God vindicate you. Make no attempt to vindicate yourself (Andrew Strom).

Pastors are often concerned about the damage that prophets can do. They should be more concerned about the effect of the lack of the prophetic in their church. Pastors have a key role in encouraging the development of the prophetic ministry.

The issue cannot be avoided. If they want to fully serve God, pastors will have to deal with the prophetic (and its problems). The church will never reach its full potential without the ministry of the prophet, but the prophetic ministry will only be restored in God’s fullness if there is a radical commitment from pastors to make it happen.

Just as prophets need to purpose to develop the wisdom of how to rightly minister their revelation, so pastors need to stretch themselves to believe to minister by supernatural and revelation and not just rely upon their developed areas of wisdom and counsel…. Churches can survive without prophetic ministry, but they cannot be as healthy as they would without it (Tom Hamon – The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation).

Most churches have no prophet to establish holiness and righteousness. They do not have a mature prophet to disciple young prophets, so God has had no choice but to develop young prophets in the wilderness. This is a second best option that produces lots of problems, but is the only way until the prophetic ministry is fully restored to the church.

This problem will have to be resolved by pastors. There is a surplus of pastors and a shortage of evangelists and prophets, which severely weakens the church. To correct the balance, pastors will have to take the initiative to restore prophets to the church. A pastor who has no prophet in his church should look in the wilderness for a growing prophet and seek to establish him in his church. Obadiah protected, fed and sheltered the prophets when Jezebel was trying to destroy them (I Kings 18:3,4). There is an urgent need for Obadiahs in the modern church.

Many apostles and prophets today are not in church at all, because there is little room for them in traditional pastor centered churches. They have been pushed to the side; they are often feared because they seem so strong, radical and different. Many have been not only marginalised but rejected, and as a result have given up on church almost completely, maybe with a last flicker and a spark of hope still burning in them (Wolfgang Simson - Houses That Changed the World, p.125).

Restoring prophets to the church will not work if the pastor attempts to control the prophet. The challenge to the pastor is to say to the prophet, "I will submit to you, if you will submit to me". They will have to trust each other by submitting to each other. This will be risky for the pastor (and the prophet), but if they commit to it out of love for Jesus, great blessing will follow. A good example of this is Paul, who was started in his ministry when Barnabas found him and brought him to Antioch (Acts 11:25,26). Barnabas demonstrated great courage, because Paul was a high risk person, but his trust brought out the best in Paul. His commitment to Paul brought enormous blessing to the church.

Trust produces trust and responsibility. The pastor will generally be surprised at how responsible prophets will be, if they are just trusted. Prophets will be surprised at how open a pastor will be, if the prophet is willing to submit to him.