Prophets need pastors.
Jeremiah Johnson
PROPHETS NEED PASTORS
Without the influence of pastors, prophets have the tendency to be harsh, arrogant, and disconnected from the saints. These two 5 fold ministries are the hardest to get to work together, but are also the most effective when they get along.
Pastors impart compassion, tenderness, and personal care for the prophets. Without strong pastoral care, prophets remain wounded in their souls due to the amount of rejection that they face because of their calling. Pastors are focused on the present issues at hand while prophets are caught up in the future. Pastors typically slow things down while prophets want to speed things up.
Pastors desire to counsel people while prophets would prefer to just cast the demons out. Pastors will sit with hurting and broken people for hours while the prophets want a quick solution now. Prophets just want to prophesy and leave, but pastors are willing to walk through the pain and trials of those who receive the prophetic ministry. Pastors love hospital visitation and more, prophets just want to walk in and raise the dead real quick. Every prophet needs a pastor and every pastor needs a prophet.
Prophets like to focus on maturing saints at an accelerated pace, pastors take time for the hurting, broken, and wounded. Pastors stroke, but prophets provoke. Pastors coddle, but prophets cut. Pastors comfort, but prophets correct. Pastors stimulate, but prophets impregnate. Pastors listen, but prophets challenge.
When prophets choose to join themselves with a pastor, they are greatly balanced and matured! Both of these ministries are so important and though they have separate functions, they must learn how to work together. Prophets are never given permission to be a lone ranger and pastors have the difficult function of teaching the prophets the joy of living in community and learning how to grow in love toward God’s people. The most unstable and immature prophets that I have worked with around the globe are always those who refuse pastoral care for their own lives and don’t think they need community with one family of believers.
-Jeremiah Johnson