Seers, Speakers and S'posers

It's been a significant number of months since our "prophet" experience at church and we have learned much. The greatest lesson is, perhaps, that when God asserts order in His house, even the prophet must submit. There is much out there today about the mighty prophet role - much that is condemning prophets to a place of irrelevance in the Church. Prophets are teaching prophets that they can declare things over their husbands, pastors, and other leaders, and basically nuke them if they disagree. A prophetess need not submit to her husband, and this is declared Biblical. I'm not sure how. A prophet may become utterly insubordinate to a pastor, declaring himself the only one carrying God's word for the pastor's congregation, and depart the church in righteous indignation, declaring that God is leaving that church. A prophet need not even be IN a church, as their fellowship with God's Spirit is sufficient for their entire discipleship.

These are misappropriations of God's authority, misunderstandings of His dominion, and misuses of His power. Further, it comes from a very minimally educated understanding of Scripture - one that essentially tosses out the whole counsel of Scripture and picks only those verses (when verses are used) that support what the prophet, in his flesh, desires. His word becomes self-confirming, often not even requiring Biblical backing, since the word that came to them supplants Scripture. Ultimately, since it comes from another spirit, it creates division, pushes away community, usurps authority and leaves the prophet without a home in the Church, giving him the authority (so it is declared) to call down fire on God's people as he departs.

But what breaks my heart is that this is all from fear. Fear of community. Fear of accountability. Fear of exposed weaknesses. Fear that the former glory will not return. Fear that the current glory will not be sufficient for the task. Fear that they may have to live just a little more ordinary than their egos will let them. And these fears are there because they continue to get their prophetic destinies confirmed with every new conflict. They are there because they have never let themselves be truly loved in a community that would grow them. They won't set aside their vaunted ideas of what the prophetic life should be for the seemingly "ordinary" life in community. Many prophets will accept this, of course, and grow.