by Nate Howard
One of the six ways we develop Kingdom workers for increasing Gospel impact in the Eastern PA District of the Alliance is in the prophetic. Some might maybe ask the question, why do we believe increasing Gospel impact depends on people being developed in the prophetic? Here’s an answer:
We develop people in the prophetic because prophetic gifting is biblical.
Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, and Ephesians all speak about prophetic ministry and gifting — and there’s never a mention in the Bible that the gift disappeared or will no longer be necessary here on earth for God’s people to be and do what Jesus calls us to be and do. I recognize some people disagree. Some believe prophetic ministry ceased when the New Testament writings were complete. They say once we received the complete Scriptures, we no longer needed prophetic ministry. They are concerned an emphasis on modern day “revelations” might undermine the authority of Scripture. The problem is, in an attempt to elevate the Bible, they ignore what the Bible says. Actually, it’s out of a high value of Scripture that we feel compelled to develop people in the prophetic ministry which is so clearly described in the Bible. It is true that modern-day prophetic ministry has its limits. It receives authority from Scripture and never surpasses or supplants biblical authority. But if we are going to follow the Bible, we will want to develop people in prophetic ministry.
Other’s don’t necessarily believe prophetic ministry has ceased. They simply have great distrust for anything labeled prophetic because there are extremes out there or because there are too many examples of prophetic ministry gone wrong. I’d agree you can find many stories about prophetic extremes and many examples of immature, mistaken attempts to prophesy. But I’ve also heard a lot of stories about abusive pastors and confused biblical teaching. Still, I’m not going to rule out the gifts of pastoral leadership or teaching because some people get those wrong. Errors don’t make me want to discard spiritual gifts, they make me want to develop people in spiritual gifts — including the gift of prophecy. Extremes or counterfeits don’t prove the non-existence of what is genuine and mature. In fact, extremes motivate us to develop in people what is true.
We develop people in the prophetic because prophetic gifting is needed.
Revelation 19:10 says, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Although that verse doesn’t provide a complete definition of New Testament prophesy, it at least points to a few things which are central to New Testament prophecy. It also gives vision for why we need prophetic ministry so much.
According to that verse, prophecy testifies of Jesus — it points to and exalts Jesus. The verse also gives the picture that Jesus has a testimony — he has something to say. Prophetic ministry is, at its heart, driven by what Jesus has to say. And the truth is, he has a lot to say about people, situations, churches, problems, areas of conflict, justice — the list could go on and on. In fact, the greatest need in any situation is to hear what He is saying, to get His perspective, and feel what He feels. And he is more than willing to tell us what He thinks.
Prophetic ministry is discerning and proclaiming or demonstrating the perspective and feelings of Jesus. When that happens, individuals, churches, and regions are edified and restored.
In John 6:68, Peter explained to Jesus why, given the option, he would not stop following Jesus when he said, “Jesus, I cannot stop following you because you have the words of eternal life.” When I used to read those words, I thought Peter was talking about getting into heaven. But now, what I think Peter was saying was more like, “Jesus, when I hear your words, when you speak, something of the quality of eternity gets into my life and I come alive…. when you speak, I live."
I believe that’s a description of what prophetic ministry does. Prophecy gives voice to Jesus’ words. And when He speaks, people, situations, and churches come to life. When I look around and see churches and people and situations that desperately lack life, I realize what we need most is for Jesus to speak. His life-giving voice is what we need. That’s why we want to develop people in the prophetic.
If you are curious to learn more about the prophetic or how our district seeks to develop people in it, please make sure to attend the prophetic breakout session, Discovering and Discerning Jesus’ Voice, at district conference this year. You can register for District Conference at www.epdalliance.org/dc20.