Skin in the Game: Prophecy

Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of skin in the game when it comes to God’s Kingdom.

There are so many places where this impacts the church, but today, let’s talk about prophecy.

Prophets and prophetic people tend to live in the heavenly realms. We use derogatory terms for that like “they have their head in the clouds” but the reality is prophetic people see things the rest of us don’t, focus on things the rest of us don’t, and that is the gift they bring to the body.

As you can imagine, though, this tendency leads them to have less skin in the game.

Once, I had a prophetic friend who prophesied regularly. Then, after prophesying about a number of things, it became clear that there were several wrong predictions he made. When I talked about the prophesies with my friend, he shrugged, and said “that happens sometimes.” It was here I had to share this concept of skin in the game. Prophetic individuals can’t be spiritual weathermen, predicting the future but knowing that some of the stuff just won’t happen and that’s “part of the deal.”

Instead, mature prophetic ministry is invested in the outcomes of their prophecies. They work to see God’s will come about. They pray. They rebuke. They correct. When it turns out they are wrong, they repent and seek to understand where they missed God’s voice. They are vested in the outcome of their prophecies, whether good or bad.

Much could be written about this and it could become its own separate series. For the sake of time, if you’re a prophetic person, here are some legitimate suggestions about how to have skin in the game when you prophesy:

• Keep a prophetic journal where you record what the Lord is speaking to you and what you think it means.
• Develop sound relational accountability with other believers in the body. For more, see my post here.
• Learn scripture at a deep level. Even learn to have a taste for theology.
• Be a regular part of a healthy church.
• Develop deep relational commitment with other gifted people in the body: shepherds, elders, and apostles. These people help translate true “words” into reality.
• Be open to correction about your prophetic words and understand you only “see in part.”

The most powerful uses of the prophetic I’ve seen are instances where relationaly connected prophets can work within the body of Christ for the good of the body. Prophets who learn to have skin in the game not only have greater impact, but they also grow in their understanding of the Lord.

Photo Credit: Prophet Elijah and scenes from his life [detail]. Painted by Theodore Poulakis, Corfu. 2nd half of 17th cent., Byzantine & Christian Museum, Athens by Dimitris Kamaras

Don’t Forget:

My new book, “Stick Your Neck Out” was just released. If you’re looking for a short introduction to house churches for yourself or others, this 71 page book will help you or someone you know move from interested to invested in planting churches in the harvest. Get your Kindle or paperback version here.