PROPHECY AND RESPONSIBILITY

Prophecy & Responsibility
by Graham Cooke
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The following is an excerpt from Graham's brand new book, Prophecy and Responsibility. We hope you enjoy it.

Growing people will cause us hard work and some heartache, but people are worth the hassle. We must cultivate the attitude in our churches that people have worth and value. Helping people mature is a Biblical mandate.

I still remember the attendant feelings and emotions that I had when I first moved out in the supernatural many years ago. I was a child in what I knew. I was awestruck, afraid, uncertain, insecure, and inadequate. Like a toddler tripping over his own feet, I prophesied. I was convinced that I had done everything all wrong. I felt stupid when I could not properly verbalize what I was sensing. I felt like everyone was laughing at my mistakes.

I remember, too, the awful pride that I went through as I became more accustomed to speaking and moving in supernatural ways. Like a moody teenager who thinks they know everything, I fell into arrogance.

When we look back at our early development, I imagine most of us cringe at the mistakes we made. I was so desperate for approval, kindness, and, above all, real help in my development.

People need to be free to make mistakes and to fail. Our leaders must create an environment within the church that is safe for both the body and the developing prophet. Once we set a protocol for prophetic ministry to follow and appoint someone to oversee that area, we can genuinely relax. Prophetic protocol teaches us how to use revelational prophecy and the accountability required. We can sow that teaching into our foundational classes and ministry training. We can then determine what are honest mistakes needing loving correction, and what are breaches of protocol that may require discipline and adjustment.

We must learn to deal with failures and turn them into positive learning experiences for people. We cannot simply drop people or forbid them to prophesy; we must work with them to overcome their difficulties. We should be kind, humble, and full of mercy--yet firm, caring, and well-disciplined. The leader’s role is to balance care for the individual with protection for the flock. We are not employers; we cannot fire people from their gift. We cannot dismiss their life and ministry because they create tension and difficulty. People are worth fighting for and therefore, our heart is always to win people.

The grace of God abounds when sin is plentiful. We need the same godly reaction to failure. Our love, warmth, and acceptance needs to abound. People need us most when they have failed. It is not easy to begin to move in the supernatural; it is full of pressure and uncertainty until we develop proper practice. We learn mostly by experience, and that is costly to acquire. Often we learn how not to do things before figuring out how to do them properly. We should respect and be grateful for anyone willing to put themselves in that kind of firing line. Whenever a person begins to move in the supernatural, they may as well paint a big target on their back and yell “Shoot me!” Developing prophets draw enemy attacks and Christian criticism. Church people should set their sights on redemption, not harassment.

I need my brothers and sisters more when I have failed than I do when I have succeeded. Success should bring approval while failure should bring acceptance. To do otherwise is to be worldly and not godly.