The prophet's handbook

a church. They can help you identify any personal ambition that may have entered and spoiled the motives of the new messenger. When this happens, know that whatever comes from such prophets’ mouths can be tainted with anger or jaded with personal bias. Before resistors leave, they criticize everything, refuse to participate in anything, and leave behind a trail of bitterness. Their anointing at this point mainly supports or explains their misconduct. They reek with self justification, as well as pastor and church vilification. Organized churches and religion are the band of such an up-and-coming minister. A good rule of thumb for assessing the prophetic motives of a potential or installed church prophet is to see how much the church at large voices its recognition of the prophet’s positive influence in its vision, mission, and overall evolvement. If the prophet is not from outside the church, then the church congregation is the best judge of his or her potential. Good candidates for church prophet are actively involved in the members’ lives, and the membership can attest to it. Generally speaking, the person with the most impact on the church overall appears everywhere, even if he or she is not in the forefront of the ministry. If a prospective church prophet is genuinely interested in the church, then that prophet’s handprint, or mantle-print, will be as evident in the church’s life as those of the pastors and its other leaders. Forefront ministers do not in themselves translate into the most effective servants. Often, it is the prophetic candidate whose work is seen long before a discovery that makes the best choice. This is because the historical fruits of his or her presence are more obviously present than the forefront prophet is, and the most credible church prophet signature. A chain of positivity and enduring fruit definitely has the greatest impact. Exploring the Church Prophet Roles The church prophet, in addition to what has been said so far, also serves as a divinely stationed sentinel. The mantle’s prophecies sound the alarm that announces approaching danger to the pastor and the flock. A sentinel is a lookout, a demonstrator with a stake in the work he or she guards. Prophets see their call as ones who close the gaps in churches’ coverings. As a sentinel, the prophet of the church scouts the supernatural regions surrounding the church to spot intruders (human or spiritual) from Satan and ward off impending seductive invasions. Through prayer, he or she patrols the spiritual terrain of the ministry as God’s divine watcher. Agabus performed this function for the apostles in Acts 21. Study as well Paul’s final public address to the Ephesians’ presbytery in Acts 20:17–31. Both examples show the sentinel work of the stationary prophet.