The prophet's handbook

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Life experience

Structured training

Apprenticeship

Dramatic induction Divine confirmation Supernatural enlistment

Childhood induction Life Experience is the first stage, and the largest of them all. It gives prospective ministers the broadest base of knowledge and the widest frame of reference to draw from upon entering the ministry. Naturally the education process from this preparation branch starts at birth. Every component—parents, home life, environment, school, joys, pains, pleasure, and suffering—serves as a tool that etches the proposed minister’s fundamental self for the remaining years of his life, determining what he or she will do forever. The situations and events that occur mold the attitudes, beliefs, and so on, affecting what is to come. They form the instruments in God’s hands that will be used by Him for service to Him. Ideally, that service will be through His Son Jesus Christ and salvation. However, whatever path the person chooses, he or she will always be clay in the Maker’s hand. Past encounters, experience derived from certain events, and exposure to different situations all come together to generate the skill, proficiency, and reservoir of inherent knowledge the person draws from once in God’s service. History and retrospection play the most vital roles in this preparation branch. Moses’ years of service with the Egyptians, Paul’s long tenure with the Sanhedrin, and Jeremiah’s rearing in a priestly household are examples of this. Structured Training comes under the umbrella of formalized education. It goes beyond rudimentary study. This preparation branch speaks to vocational study geared toward equipping the minister for eventual religious service, and therefore is designed with the rigors and demands of the ministry in mind. Such training pulls from large portions of life experience and links significant aspects of its teachings to what the minister will ultimately be doing. For good reasons, practice and application make up a good amount of its delivery. Object lessons, simulation exercises, and relevant case studies figure prominently into this