From: "Rowland C. Croucher" <>
Subject: Re: Your posting concerning prophets
To: 

 wrote:
> 
> Hello,
>      I have read your post and have a question for your consideration. I
> snipped out the part I am curious about. You said:
> Here's a practical way to 'judge' present-day prophets: if someone in
> the church believes he or she has a message from the Lord, that
> person ought to submit it first to the pastors/elders, so that it
> comes under the authority of the church leaders. Perhaps it could be
> submitted beforehand in writing.
>      The question is this: where does it say to do this in scripture? And
> where is an example of this given anywhere in the scriptures? It would even
> seem to be contrary to what is found in 1 Cor. 14:29-30. The prophecy is first
> spoken, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. In v.30 it says
> that if a revelation comes to one who is sitting down, the first speaker
> should stop. It doesn´t say "after having first been submitted to the local
> authority for prior approval, then the first speaker should stop".
>      I think I understand why you have adopted this stance. There are a lot of
> spiritual babies in the body of Christ, and they need to be protected as they
> grow by those who are more spiritually mature. This should be done by
> instruction and example. 

Yes, but there are more powerful reasons...

> But somewhere along the line, they need to develop
> the skills or discernment necessary to weed out truth from lies, as cited in 1
> John 4. If they are constantly babysat, how can this happen?
>      Perhaps it could be handled this way. A "prophet" speaks. If it is true,
> it stands. If it is in error, that error is corrected IN LOVE, by one who
> knows it is in error and can explain, with scripture, exactly why. It is a
> win-win situation. Those who are young in the Lord see how it is supposed to
> work. If the one who spoke simply misunderstood, then he/she is corrected. If
> it is more malevolent than that, the body is protected.
>      But I am still troubled with this "prior approval" concept, that, as far
> as I can tell, is not itself scriptural, and would seemingly impede the growth
> of those who need to grow, and not be fed milk all the time. Please share with
> me your scriptural support for this position, because if I am wrong, I would
> most certainly want to know.
> Gods Blessings on you - Mike

It's a matter of cultural hermeneutics. Does your church practise
foot-washing? It's a command in the Gospels (like baptism). Do you have
lists of widows? That's a command in the pastoral epistles. Or,
negatively, do you have Sunday Schools for children? They're not in the
Bible...

So we have to ask: if a prophet is under the authority of the church how
is that _principle_ best applied in various cultures? In a culture (like
many I've visited in the Third World for example) you can have
prophecies from the floor 'cos everyone knows everyone. In suburban
churches that ain't necessarily so. 

-- 

Shalom!  Rowland Croucher                     ()