Lying Prophets, Spiritual Calisthenics, and a Whole Lot of Church Goings On?
Lying Prophets, Spiritual Calisthenics, and a Whole Lot of Church Goings On?
I remember a heated argument that I had in the late 80’s with the late Dr. Khallid Abdul Muhammad on a basketball court! Dr. Muhammad (whom I esteemed as one of the 10 greatest orators of all-time) and I were friends up until his………………death!(I won’t comment on what I really think) He respected me for my views on Black Uplift, although he didn’t agree with some of my Christian Stances! He would push to sway me in the way that those who knew of him could assure you that he could! His comments on that day was which fried chicken eating black preacher anywhere could draw the crowds that Minister Louis Farrakhan could? During that year Minister Farrakhan was on a speaking tour to sold out crowds of 10,000 to 30,000+ on a nightly basis all across this land. If I can remember correctly this tour was called the Stop the Killing Tour! My words to the late Dr. Muhammad on that day were to watch the church for it will soon shine in a way that it never has, and the crowds will dwarf any that you have ever seen!
Well many year later the church has seen the growth that I foretold of in that day, but are we much better off? We first filled smaller venues, and then after a season of growth we started to fill the major arenas of our land with our church conferences, convocations, and conventions. Are we better off in this day than in the day where we couldn’t fill these venues? My concern here is that we have to cure some of that which we picked up in our climb upwards. There was a day many years back when there weren’t swarms of people with business cards with Prophet, or Prophetess printed on them. While I don’t oppose that ministry office, I do question those whom others can only recognize as a prophet by the fine print of their business cards. While I have moved in the prophetic gift and I have preached a prophetic word for years, I have never let anyone call me that because that is not the office at this time that I am called to! I must confess that I know people that can tell you that you have 69 cents in your pocket and when you look to find out, you will find out that they were right on! Yet have we started to exploit our giftings?
Should there be prophets that only prophecy that which others want to hear? Should we listen to the litany of bathroom prophets, parking lot prophets, choir stand prophets, and workplace prophets that tell of that which we want to hear? Has the church gone wild? While there are many in the traditional church that would deny all of the prophetic gifts as hogwash, I beg to differ! There are many in our land that want to hear a word from the Lord, and God is releasing those that sit in every ministry gift office! If you look for the extreme growth in the church over the last 20 years it would not come from the ranks of those who only stick to traditional modes of worship, doctrine, and teachings! While the mainline denominations’ ranks are increasing at the pace of a snail, the ranks of those that attend to nondenominational or pentecostal teachings are swelling at breakneck speed. Yet should we maintain balance in that which we operate in?
There is a need for the church to look at itself and much of its new found fame. In the days of old the prophets of the land warned the leaders of their day of their wrongdoing, but have we forsaken that day for our being able to play golf with the political leaders of our day? Are there lying prophets out there that only want to speak of houses, cars, marriages, and getting your stuff back? The prophet is one that speaks to edification(Building Up), exhortation(Rallying the Folks, Getting Them Back in the Game, Pushing them to Move) and comfort( Giving a Word to Those Who Are weary and About to Faint). Will we see this ministry office return to what God intended it to, before someone took a handkerchief around her neck and told us that we need No More Shee_s? I pray that we will! God doesn’t want us to move in this Hollywood Walk of Fame stuff that has caught many of those of the church for a decade or longer!
Will we go back to being a thinking practical church? Will we stop prophesying to get the most dates, the largest offerings, and the top billings at our church conferences? Who couldn’t prophesy into a crowd of 50,000 women that there is someone having money problems, or someone believing God for a man? Is it true prophecy that gives us these leadings, or is it just the law of large numbers at work? My prayer is that we would return to humility in ministry as a virtue, and that we would return to the day where telling others to live right will be our goal even if it means losing preaching engagements! Are we only supposed to speak that which the upper authorities in our land, church, and our denomination want to hear? Has true prophecy went the way of a Dale Carnegie Course? Will there one day be a Christian Best Seller called, How to Prophecy to Win Friends and Influence Leaders? I remember when Bishop G. E. Patterson first ran for Presiding Bishop that one of the great prophets of the land prophesied that he would win! Imagine Bishop Patterson’s surprise when he discovered that this same prophet prophesied the same thing to his two opponents! Church how far have we gone over the edge, and can we make it back before it is too late?
Relentless in My Pursuit of Him,
Pastor Stephen F. Smith
I remember a heated argument that I had in the late 80’s with the late Dr. Khallid Abdul Muhammad on a basketball court! Dr. Muhammad (whom I esteemed as one of the 10 greatest orators of all-time) and I were friends up until his………………death!(I won’t comment on what I really think) He respected me for my views on Black Uplift, although he didn’t agree with some of my Christian Stances! He would push to sway me in the way that those who knew of him could assure you that he could! His comments on that day was which fried chicken eating black preacher anywhere could draw the crowds that Minister Louis Farrakhan could? During that year Minister Farrakhan was on a speaking tour to sold out crowds of 10,000 to 30,000+ on a nightly basis all across this land. If I can remember correctly this tour was called the Stop the Killing Tour! My words to the late Dr. Muhammad on that day were to watch the church for it will soon shine in a way that it never has, and the crowds will dwarf any that you have ever seen!
Well many year later the church has seen the growth that I foretold of in that day, but are we much better off? We first filled smaller venues, and then after a season of growth we started to fill the major arenas of our land with our church conferences, convocations, and conventions. Are we better off in this day than in the day where we couldn’t fill these venues? My concern here is that we have to cure some of that which we picked up in our climb upwards. There was a day many years back when there weren’t swarms of people with business cards with Prophet, or Prophetess printed on them. While I don’t oppose that ministry office, I do question those whom others can only recognize as a prophet by the fine print of their business cards. While I have moved in the prophetic gift and I have preached a prophetic word for years, I have never let anyone call me that because that is not the office at this time that I am called to! I must confess that I know people that can tell you that you have 69 cents in your pocket and when you look to find out, you will find out that they were right on! Yet have we started to exploit our giftings?
Should there be prophets that only prophecy that which others want to hear? Should we listen to the litany of bathroom prophets, parking lot prophets, choir stand prophets, and workplace prophets that tell of that which we want to hear? Has the church gone wild? While there are many in the traditional church that would deny all of the prophetic gifts as hogwash, I beg to differ! There are many in our land that want to hear a word from the Lord, and God is releasing those that sit in every ministry gift office! If you look for the extreme growth in the church over the last 20 years it would not come from the ranks of those who only stick to traditional modes of worship, doctrine, and teachings! While the mainline denominations’ ranks are increasing at the pace of a snail, the ranks of those that attend to nondenominational or pentecostal teachings are swelling at breakneck speed. Yet should we maintain balance in that which we operate in?
There is a need for the church to look at itself and much of its new found fame. In the days of old the prophets of the land warned the leaders of their day of their wrongdoing, but have we forsaken that day for our being able to play golf with the political leaders of our day? Are there lying prophets out there that only want to speak of houses, cars, marriages, and getting your stuff back? The prophet is one that speaks to edification(Building Up), exhortation(Rallying the Folks, Getting Them Back in the Game, Pushing them to Move) and comfort( Giving a Word to Those Who Are weary and About to Faint). Will we see this ministry office return to what God intended it to, before someone took a handkerchief around her neck and told us that we need No More Shee_s? I pray that we will! God doesn’t want us to move in this Hollywood Walk of Fame stuff that has caught many of those of the church for a decade or longer!
Will we go back to being a thinking practical church? Will we stop prophesying to get the most dates, the largest offerings, and the top billings at our church conferences? Who couldn’t prophesy into a crowd of 50,000 women that there is someone having money problems, or someone believing God for a man? Is it true prophecy that gives us these leadings, or is it just the law of large numbers at work? My prayer is that we would return to humility in ministry as a virtue, and that we would return to the day where telling others to live right will be our goal even if it means losing preaching engagements! Are we only supposed to speak that which the upper authorities in our land, church, and our denomination want to hear? Has true prophecy went the way of a Dale Carnegie Course? Will there one day be a Christian Best Seller called, How to Prophecy to Win Friends and Influence Leaders? I remember when Bishop G. E. Patterson first ran for Presiding Bishop that one of the great prophets of the land prophesied that he would win! Imagine Bishop Patterson’s surprise when he discovered that this same prophet prophesied the same thing to his two opponents! Church how far have we gone over the edge, and can we make it back before it is too late?
Relentless in My Pursuit of Him,
Pastor Stephen F. Smith
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