Prophetic Ministry
Rightly Related To The Body Of Christ,
2nd Edition

"And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." (1 Corinthians 14:29-33)

It is important to move in what could be called proper "protocol" in the church. That is important to move in prophetic ministry most effectively, and to avoid any potential for reproach. This necessitates that the prophet (or prophesier) recognize the other giftings operating within the Body of Christ and particularly the ministry of government.

Just because someone is a prophet does not automatically mean they can usurp another's legitimate governmental sphere. Government and prophetic ministry are two different ministries. This is not to say that someone may not exercise ministry in both arenas at the same time.

It is important to understand that God Himself established government in the church. There is such an easy inclination for us to consider our "ministry" of "proclamation" most important, but God also set in the church, apostles, pastors administrators and other forms of elders who's ministry is "government". It is important then to properly relate to that government. The following scriptures speak to the issue very clearly. "Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God." (Rom 13:1)

"Obey your leaders, and submit to them for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you." (Heb 13:17)

Of course this issue of proper prophetic protocol within the local church is difficult simply due to the fact there are a broad variety of situations, levels of maturity and forms of church government within the Body of Christ. Readers here may also be ranging from budding prophesiers, to internationally recognized prophets/prophetess. And the number of variations of prophetic procedures are probably as many as the number of kinds of churches.

If you are in a church or group that does not believe in or practice the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, my advice would be, rather than offending the leaders, you might ask God to lead you to a group that does. If you KNOW God has placed you there, and there is no other alternative, it would still be better to follow the values and practices of the church you are in than to cause division and strife over the gifts of the Spirit which God intended for a blessing and not as a point of strife.

Although we certainly must acknowledge there are numerous versions and structures of government within the Body of Christ, the Christian who is humble and submitted to God will recognize the value of submission to spiritual authority and look for legitimate spiritual authority to relate to in a proper way. While some are, in our opinion, better and closer to the scriptural pattern than others; the more important issue in this discussion is that God can and does rule through various forms of government, and He calls us to respect it.

If, in our desire to minister to the church, we find ourselves despising or resisting authentic spiritual authority, the first question we need to ask ourselves is "What are the motives and attitudes of our hearts?" Do we operate out of an attitude of rebellion, independence and pride; or are we humble, teachable and willing to be correctable? Having settled that in our hearts, it is important then, to flow within the accepted protocol of the particular church or setting you find yourself in.

For instance I (Carolyn) have had the honor of ministering by prophecy and/or "prophetic song" in a number of conference settings with, in some cases, thousands in attendance. Some of these circumstances were in settings where I was involved in the leadership of the meetings. and other times I was there as a guest and was actually unknown to the leadership.

When the Spirit of the Lord would stir a Word within me in my local church, I knew what to do. They knew me, I knew them and it was not a problem. I knew our protocol was to go to the front, submit to the elder or pastor over the prophetic ministry that I "felt" I had a word from the Lord to share. (It is very important to be submitted and deferent in heart and attitude.) Most of the time I was given free liberty to share the word. Sometimes I would be asked what the content was or what the spirit of the word was. The pastor or elder in charge in that service had/has the right to tell me that he/she did not feel that now would be the right time to release that word. I would then have the privilege of modeling how a mature and submitted servant of the prophetic word simply walks back to her seat with a smile on her face and a submitted attitude, even if, on the inside I may have been wrestling with the lies of the enemy telling me that everyone was going to think I had a wrong word or I was not sensitive to the Lord and got sent back to my seat.

I had to learn to shut the mouth of the enemy by refusing to listen and trust the heart of my pastors. I have known other prophetic people who were so broken in their own souls that to be sent back to their seats brought them great shame and embarrassment that they would slander the leadership and tell others that the leaders "missed God" by not letting them share. Or others would accuse them and say they were "quenching the Holy Spirit" and thus created strife, division, mistrust, etc.

I am one entrusted with the gift of prophecy and have ministered in the local church for 23 years as one under authority and then as one in authority. As such, I feel very blessed to have had pastors and elders who have embraced the Father's heart and desire to raise up a company of prophets who will help prepare the way and make ready a people for the Lords' coming. I know many who have not had that experience and there is healing and restoration for you. But I believe that the responsibility of the one with the gift of prophecy is to submit to the Lord and the local pastor and leaders and serve with their gift. It is not about control, position, prestige, honor or lack of honor, importance or any other self-promoting emotion or idea. It is about the Word of the Lord being released to bring hope, courage, joy, edification, exhortation, comfort, and in some instances, direction or correction.

I (Jim) have, at times, met "would be" prophetic ministers who despise the thought of having to be "subject to any man." What most aspiring prophesiers don't really understand is a pastoral leader's sense of God-given stewardship and responsibility to protect the flock entrusted to them. These leaders take seriously the fact that they will answer to God for what they allow into the assembly. One of the dilemmas every pastor or leader faces is the tension between "quality control" versus an "equipping" environment. What that creates for a leader is a continuous tension between passive & irresponsible latitude verses overt control. From situation to situation, group-to-group and church to church, you will find protocol that represents every degree in between these two extremes in an attempt to walk in balance.

What pastoral leaders need to know as well, is that, while certainly prophetic ministry has the potential for abuse and misuse, it is also a valuable "tool" for building the kingdom. However, it must be administered by people of character and humility. When that is observed in the life of the one who would prophesy, most pastors are much more willing to trust and entrust ministry to such a person.

For those who would prophesy but have not been given leadership responsibility or the responsibility to "steer the meeting", it is best to avoid giving directive words to the congregation. Certainly God does sometimes bring directive prophecy through proven prophets. God may give a participant a word that would change the entire direction or flow of a service. However, the responsibility for that decision is ultimately given by God to the leadership--the operating government in any given setting. And the word and control of direction of the service should be channeled through them. The biggest difficulty arises from the fact that immature prophetic ministers can fall into the trap of attempting to control things through directive prophecy that are way beyond their sphere of authority to direct. God Himself has established other offices as well as the prophetic that have responsibility to govern and direct. Don't be offended if your word is held back. (It might even be a test from God!)