ISSUE 413

JULY 20TH 2011

Prophetic Brief
Insight and Analysis for the 21st Century Personal Process An Interview with Scott on His Growth & Development - 1

New Video Series

In the previous article on Patriotism and the Prophetic I talked about sharing some of the personal processes involved in my growth and development after my fathers death. My long-time friend and close colleague Steve Schultz, who has written articles for SWM before, joined me on a trip a few days after that article and we sat down and talked about some of those issues. What follows in the next few articles is that interview. Steve: First, thanks for the article on Patriotism and the Prophetic and for sharing the story about your father. Ive known you for a long time but I learned a few new things when I read it.

We are living in an unmatched time in the earth; a time when crisis is erupting through natural disasters, political destabilization, and economic meltdown. Politicians and religious leaders are all weighing in on these events, but they dont seem to have the answers to a world in intense distress, and are rightly wondering:

Scott: When did we meet Steve, back in 1984 or something? Weve known each other for a few years for sure. You and I are old friends and Im not sure if the greater emphasis should be on old or friends (laughter). Steve: You mentioned in that article that you might share some of the things you have dealt with as a result of what you experienced in life, particularly the impact of losing your father at an early age. So lets start with that. What is the biggest thing you had to deal with? Scott: It has to be the whole issue of identity. Identity is core and a lot of things come out of it, and if we dont know who we are everything in our life suffers. Fathers are supposed to be the ones who lead us into a correct identity in terms of knowing God, knowing why we were put here on the earth and building a strong family culture that produces clear boundaries and definitions that provide identity for children. I have found that many who grew up with a father in their home also didnt have it they were fatherless even though they didnt lose their dad. Steve: Thats very true. So can you describe how a lack of identity impacted you? Scott: It was so pervasive, its hard to know where to start but I suppose it has to be my own standing before the Lord. Its not that I didnt know that I was saved because I did know that, but I didnt have a strong certainty of my standing before the Lord. I wasnt bold in my relationship with him, always feeling like there was something lacking in my life. That manifested not only in me personally, but also in terms of being a husband and a father. Men are supposed to know what to do, but when we dont we kind of fake it till we make it (by the way I hate that phrase because it describes a lack of being authentic). So men dont know, but they are supposed to know, so they dont ask. Or they dont even know what to ask. They end up going through life being deficient, feeling like they dont fully measure up and being unable to really rise up and govern from a place of correct identity. I
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What in the World is Going On?

In this series of Prophetic Briefs, Scott Webster addresses questions that are on peoples minds, and brings prophetic perspective to the events happening in the earth today, so that we can stand effectively in a day when so many things are falling apart. View the full six episodes in the series What in the World is Going On at scottwebsterministries.org.
2011 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES.

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JULY 20TH 2011

think that is a very pervasive thing in the earth today and as I said it is not just for those who had no father. There is a plague of fatherlessness. It even affected me in the prophetic. Steve: How so? Scott: The best way to explain that is to share an experience I had many years ago in a particular church. I used to go to this church pretty regularly to preach, minister and prophesy to the people I think I went there every year for 5 or 6 years. The pastor was a very decent guy but I noticed that the worship in the church was very stagnant. People didnt enter in very well. The worship service itself was more formal and religious than I thought it should be. And the guy who led the worshipI dont want to be unkind but he really was not placed correctly he couldnt sing worth a lick and besides not being able to carry a note he had an operatic style. So if you can imagine a guy who cant carry a tune, trying to sing worship songs in some kind of high operatic style, and the church kind of enduring it, thats what I experienced year after year. And for the life of me I couldnt figure out why the pastor didnt change it. The pastor was a guy who was older than me, I was in my early 30s and he was probably late 50s, old enough to be my father as a matter of fact. So you can see where I am going with this story. Steve: I think I can see clearly what you mean, but please continue. Scott: On one visit I was going to minister for 2-3 days beginning Sunday morning, and on Saturday I was praying and writing down things that I felt God wanted to say to the church corporately. This wasnt a personal prophetic word. It was the speaking of God for the entire church and I think I had 4-5 points listed when God began to speak to me about the worship. I really felt strongly that I was supposed to adjust the worship and change the order of leadership, so I prayed strongly into that and prepared to speak to them the next morning. One of my biggest concerns was how the pastor was going to respond to what I said. I assumed that he liked the worship the way it was and he wouldnt like the word that I had to change it. So I struggled with that in my own mind and heart as I prepared for Sunday, but I determined to say what I believed God had spoken to me.
2011 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES.

Men are supposed to know what to do, but when we dont we kind of fake it till we make it (by the way I hate that phrase because it describes a lack of being authentic). So men dont know but they are supposed to know, so they dont ask. Or they dont even know what to ask. They end up going through life being decient, feeling like they dont fully measure up and being unable to really rise up and govern from a place of correct identity. I think that is a very pervasive thing in the earth today and as I said it is not just for those who had no father. There is a plague of fatherlessness.
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Steve: So identity, or a lack of it, became an issue in declaring the word of the Lord for you? Scott: Definitely! Steve: Dont leave us in suspense, what happened in the church when you dealt with the issue of worship? Scott: Well I did my best in relaying what the Lord showed me. I said pretty plainly that God wanted the worship culture in the church to change, and that the time for the existing worship leader and team was over it was time for a new thing. I said that I saw a worship team made up of some younger people and I saw this church really coming into powerful and expressive worship in a way they never had before. I have to confess that standing in front of the church and looking at the pastor as well as looking at the worship leader as I talked was an interesting experience, and I didnt know what to expect when I finished. I finished giving the prophetic word, prayed and said amen, then went to sit on the front row by the pastor who proceeded to give me a huge hug. The guy almost kissed me as he told me he had been waiting for that word for 5 years! Steve: Not what you expected? Scott: Not at all! As I said, my view was if the guy didnt like the worship than why didnt he change it, but his story was very revealing. He took over the church after the former pastor failed. The guy who led worship (badly) was a holdover from the previous pastor and he had lots of influence in the church. He was one of the leaders, and the pastor didnt want to destabilize the church too much by removing him. The existing pastor had consulted with his oversight and they had advised him to take his time and let the people really embrace his leadership before making a decision about this other leader the pastor was really aware and trying to work through this situation in his church. So when I came along and said God wanted to change the worship it was a strong validation from the Lord not only for the pastor but for all the people that God Himself was behind this change, and it was now time to enact the decision. The pastor told me all this over lunch. He also said he had a young worship team that had been worshipping together and practicing in the back room for the last year, and that very afternoon he was going to call the bad worship leader and relieve him of his responsibilities and activate the younger team that was ready. I remember thinking dont be too rash but the guy was convinced, he was ready and he had been ready for 5 years. That new worship team was so graced by the Lord and their hearts longed to worship effectively first themselves I think the year in the back room was very good for them in that regard. They learned how to journey towards God in worship, not just sing good songs, and when they began leading in the church they led the people towards God. I visited the church several more times and rejoiced with them as they became a very genuine worshipping church. Steve: Wow, and you were debating about whether to give the word because of fear of the pastors reaction. Scott: Basically that was it. That experience taught me so many things. First and foremost it taught me not to be afraid of men. That was an overarching lesson God was working into my life at that point and it went way beyond giving a word to that church. It sounds so basic but the fear of man is the big lesson God was working into my life and He wanted me to be free from the fear of man, and that is an identity issue. I learned that when I shook myself free from the fear of man I also had access to new levels of understanding of Gods heart and His love for the
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people, and that even if I said hard things it was always from a correct posture of love and care. The fear of man is idolatry that lifts itself up in our own mind and heart, and it effectively prohibits us from receiving a whole bunch of stuff from God. The fear of man is a heart that is set on the wrong thing. That is why the Scriptures state that the fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe (Pr 29:25 NKJV). Steve: That alone is a powerful lesson, but you said you learned many things. What else did you learn from the experience?

A Developed PROPHETIC PERSPECTIVE

A fresh look at Prophetic Operations from a Kingdom Viewpoint.

Scott: I also learned that God has designed the Kingdom to be collaborative. That He never intended that pastor to build his congregation Now all by himself. I came in and was able to strengthen him and help their Available> church in their building process by delivering the mind of God and affirming divine direction it really helped stabilize and direct that church and it confirmed the leadership of the pastor in the eyes of the people. And you cannot collaborate if you lack correct identity proximity without personal health and maturity results in competition, fear, intimidation, posturingall sorts of nasty stuff that is not conducive to relationship. Way back when I first started to travel to churches, I prayed that God would send me to places where I could build relationship with the pastor for divine purpose; it was deeply in my heart and it was something I really desired. It was never my desire to have a big ministry or a powerful gift I never prayed for those things. I wanted correct friendships that God could use to leverage His purposes into the earth. Coming into correct identity was an essential implication to that process. It would have been schizophrenic for me to desire and pray for building relationships, and then not do the hard work and personal process of coming to personal wholeness and correct identity. Steve: You and I have talked about the issue of collaboration a lot over the years, and how prophets are called to stand by leaders and help them build (Ezra 6:14). I know you have that desire in your heart isnt that why you started the Nehemiah Project? Scott: There are few things I love more than coming into churches and helping them build. I think its important to have relationship with leaders and also to have a common series of understanding between prophets and pastors that will provide a good foundation on which to help them build; it removes unnecessary tension and diminishes misunderstanding when all of the stakeholders are aware of the context and commit themselves to building together. That is really the heart of the Nehemiah Project. 2778 Cumberland Blvd Suite 163 Symrna GA 30080 Tel: 678.302.3052
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to be continued...

Releasing The New Prophetic Dimension Activating The Capacity To Build Obeying The Command To Finish 2011 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES. Page 4 of 4