Hundredfold Ministries, Int'l

Now that we have explored the various aspects of the called prophet, let us examine some of the ways I believe a pastor or any church leader can train the prophet into maturity.

Obviously, the first step a church leader must take is to be able to recognize a less mature prophet when he encounters one. By “less mature prophet” I mean a person who has the call of the prophet on his or her life but is still in the very untrained stage. In fact, very often the untrained prophet will not even realize that he has a prophetic call.

Usually the first thing the immature prophet realizes is that he is not like everyone else. He is much more bothered by sin than most other Christians and he is usually very judgmental about the shortcomings of those around him. If he is in the position of a pastor, he will have probably already realized that he is different from other pastors. He preaches more about sin. As a result, his church is probably not growing and “prospering” like other churches.

The alert pastor will recognize the immature prophet as one who is intense, has a strong personality, wants to correct all the “sin” in the church right now, and who will no doubt be able to tell you all the things the church leadership is doing wrong!

When you encounter such a person, ask them some questions along the lines of the content of this book to be sure you have correctly recognize that person's call. Then tell him about the call. Chances are it will be a big relief to him or her. Remember that young man in chapter 14 who was so joyful after hearing my wife and I teach this subject. It was only then that he finally realized that he was a called prophet and not just a misfit in church.

Another time, when my wife was teaching on the call and characteristics of the prophet, a woman came up to her afterward and said, “You have just described me perfectly. Why hasn't anyone ever told me these things before? I even went to Bible school and didn't learn this. Why wasn't I told why I was so different from most Christians I know?” She was at once both relieved and a bit angry that she had been kept in ignorance so long.

Possibly the most important beginning point you can teach someone with a prophetic call is that it takes years, even decades to mature the call. And let me warn you, this is hard for the untaught prophet to hear. Your goal must be to keep the maturing prophet under submission to the pastor. The prophet tends to be a NOW person. If God is telling the prophet something, it must happen now. The prophet doesn't like to be told to wait.

That is why most maturing prophets step out from under submission on occasion. It is the mature pastor who uses wisdom to bring that person back under submission. You may need to explain several times the proper relationship of pastor and prophet. The pastor will need to pour much concentrated prayer into that maturing prophet. This pastoral oversight, on occasion, may take a great deal of time and cause some concern in the church. But being part of the maturing process of a prophet is very rewarding. And remember, the untrained and unsubmissive prophet is often full of pride and very judgmental. That kind of person can and usually does cause a great deal of trouble in the church. So it is in the pastor's own interest to recognize and train the prophet right from the beginning. He can save himself and his congregation a lot of trouble in the long run!

You should also, if possible, have the less mature prophet read this book and any other material available on the subject of the call and training of the prophet.

This person should also be encouraged to spend a great deal of time reading the Bible, with a special emphasis on the study of the prophetic books. Today's prophets can learn much from reading and praying about the persons and messages of the Old and New Testament prophets. The danger here is that the immature prophet will start seeing himself as a modern day Isaiah or Elijah after only a few weeks or months of study. Watch out for these tendencies and keep them under control.

Another very good thing a church leader can do is to take the maturing prophet into his confidence occasionally concerning an issue and ask the prophet to pray about it along with the pastor and the rest of the church leadership. As we discussed in the prior chapter, you will benefit from this input. Remember, however, always make it clear that the prophet's views are only part of the whole and that the pastor will, in the end, make the final decision. The prophet needs to understand that the pastor is free to reject the prophet's views.

There will no doubt be times during this process that the prophet will come to the pastor with a problem that the prophet sees in the church. A wise approach is to ask the prophet to pray with you to seek the Lord's guidance as to how to deal with the problem. In other words, both the pastor and the prophet are to join in prayer and ask God how to put it right. This approach has many advantages. It keeps the prophet in the process, it concentrates prayer on the problem, it teaches the prophet that it is God's solution you are looking for, not the prophet's solution, and it keeps the pastor in control. The pastor has assumed responsibility for the problem by this process but he also has invited continued prayer about it from the prophet.

In addition, if at all possible, assign the immature prophet to a mature prophet in the local church body so the mature prophet can disciple and cover him. This is an invaluable process. For one thing, it can relieve the pastor from some of the training and discipline. It also gives the less mature prophet the benefit of the years of training and experience which the mature prophet has already gone through. Remember, the mature prophet has already been through much of the breaking and molding process we describe in chapter 14. I like to quote a variation of the old expression, “Experience is the best teacher.” No, I believe “Someone else's experience is the best teacher!”

Finally, the pastor or local church leaders should teach their congregations about prophecy and the prophet. I am convinced that the 20th century church at large is woefully ignorant about prophecy and the role of the prophet in today's church. Once the local church body begins to understand the need and value of mature prophets, they will be more willing to help, encourage, and guide the less mature prophets in their midst. They will also more readily recognize the mature prophet's value to the church.

Small Group Settings

Once you have recognized and begun to train the immature prophet, be sure that person is put into a relatively small, safe setting to allow the call begin to develop. A small prayer group is ideal as such a setting. But be sure the group leader is mature enough to understand the process and is strong enough to keep the maturing prophet under some authority.

The advantage of the small group setting is that it is easier for the person to develop the gifts needed to become a mature prophet. It is just less threatening. Also, in a small setting, the immature prophet can't do as much harm if he gives an incorrect word or tries to direct the group in some inappropriate way.

The danger of the small group setting is that a strong willed, immature prophet can take over the group and try to dominate it with “prophetic words.” He can turn the group into his or her own little kingdom. That is why the group needs a strong leader who can control and who is willing to either confront the prophet directly, or who will go to the leadership when necessary so the pastor can intervene.

How To Deal With A Maturing Prophet Who Has Grown Crooked

What I have just described in the above section is a rather easy, painless process. It assumes you have a immature prophet who is very teachable and willing to learn and to submit.

A much more difficult, and I fear, a much more common problem is what to do with a truly called prophet who comes to the church without the proper training and who has already gone far down the bent road of pride and judgmentalism. Usually these people come from another church where either they were not happy or the leadership invited them to leave because they were just “more trouble than they were worth.”

First, I suggest that once you realize you have this untrained prophet on your hands, you have a meeting with him. When you meet, regard him with the respect that the office and person of the prophet requires. The call is to be presumed to be genuine, it has just gotten off track.

However, at that meeting, as tactfully as you can, explain that the pastor has the ultimate responsibility for the congregation and that you fully accept that responsibility. Indeed, you take it very seriously as you are aware that, ultimately, it is you, as pastor, who must answer to the Lord for the congregation. Explain that you respect the call of the prophet and that your goal is to have all the calls and gifts of the Holy Spirit flowing in your church. But they all must work in harmony and with mutual respect for one another.

The pastor should also explain that he has a different perspective towards the local church. Explain that the pastor and the prophet very often have different views towards the same set of circumstances. Ideally, these views, when expressed with mutual respect and submission, will result in a greater whole than either one alone.

Finally, “remind” the prophet that the development of the prophetic call takes years. It has been my experience that these prophets who have not been well trained are relatively new in their call, maybe two or three years. To be sure, this person will not like to hear that he or she will not really be mature in the call for many more years to come. But it is true. There is just no way God's breaking and molding process for the prophet can be accomplished in a short period of time.

Sadly, the pastor and/or the church leadership may eventually conclude that this person is not willing to submit to authority. If this is the ultimate conclusion, the pastor or church leadership must take whatever steps are necessary to control this prophet. Often, by this time, the prophet is very unhappy anyway and will willingly leave the church.