A few weeks ago I traveled to John Paul Jackson's Convergence in Dallas, Texas along with my father John, my brother Loren, my sister Andrea Bareither, Robert Fetveit, and local pastors John and Ruth Filler. There we joined 30 or 40 other leaders to discuss the plethora of false prophecies and flaky teachings in the prophetic movement, as well as the lack of ethical standards. John Paul questioned whether we are a stabilizing or destabilizing influence on the Body, and warned that the five-fold ministry is in danger of coming to an end in the not-too-distant future.
Just two examples of the harm being done by false prophecies: a number of well-known prophetic voices have given prophecies to leading politicians—both here and abroad—that have not come true. Now these leaders will have nothing to do with prophecies or prophetic people. Because of false or insensitively given prophecies, many churches are turning away from the prophetic gift.
We discussed false teachings, such as the idea that you don't have to repent (even of adultery!) because it's all "under the blood," and the idea that anything written before the time of the cross (including the Lord's prayer!) no longer applies to us. And we discussed wrongful practices, such as charging for prophecies—affixing prices depending upon the time taken to prophecy (yes, some people are actually doing this!).
Before the conference, John Paul and a committee composed a code of ethics for prophetic people. We hope it will be published in Charisma Magazine. He invited us all to help perfect it. For the last few years I have asked God to prompt someone to spearhead something like this; I even suggested John Paul in my prayers. Thank you, Lord, for coming through! Please pray that this code of ethics is well made, and that God uses it to bring help to a movement that is very much in need of reform.
