Raising Prophets – Affirmations, Clarifications, and Frequently Asked Questions

1: Questions About Raising Prophets

What’s the Aim of Raising Prophets Training Programme?

• Global Prophetic Alliance’s (GPA) Raising Prophets (RP) training programme seeks to train and equip emerging prophetic voices as they begin their journey into the role (or “office”) of prophet.
• Whilst there are many very good training programmes around the gift of prophecy we are not aware of many (if any) other courses that are specifically devoted to the role of the prophet in the new covenant.
• An important feature over the two years of training are the in-person intensives, which enable our leaders and trainers to get to know each student in a face-to-face environment.

What Raising Prophets Is NOT

• Raising Prophets is not a seminary, a theology school, or other such formalised college.
• The teaching is practical, provocative, Biblically-based and is given by mature prophets from within GPA’s leadership and/or teaching team, or by invited guests.
• This means that although the course follows a structured curriculum, the teaching is flexible and often adapts to address current prophetic themes, or issues affecting prophets in real-time scenarios.
• In addition, students are encouraged to practice with one another, in person and online.
• They will prophesy in pairs, in small groups, and in larger settings. Further, online discussion forums are available to the RP students, where they can share, interact and help each other.
• This style of teaching, communication, and learning requires additional effort and critical thinking skills from all students – weighing words, testing spirits, discernment, and extra-curricular Bible studies to enable a greater understanding of the concepts and revelation that are being taught and discussed.

In summary, RP prophets are not spoon-fed what to think and say but are instead discipled to become mature sons and daughters, who are well rooted (well planted), who are capable of hearing from God for themselves without personal prejudice, who will walk in purity, courage, truth, humility and love, and who will seek to replicate and raise up, even as they are released to minister with boldness and authenticity.

2: Comments on Culture

“Cultural Deconstruction”

Sadly there is a great deal of impurity in the worldwide prophetic movement. As well as obvious sin issues (usually rooted in the love of sex, money, or power) we believe that there is too much that purports to be prophecy but is clouded by personal, community, or national prejudices, “backyard opinions”, inherited cultural preferences, ideologies (“isms”), and other biases (political, racial, economic, religious, cultural and so on).

• In addition, much of the modern evangelical church exists in a media, news, and social media “echo chamber”, driven by algorithms that feed us what we (and those who are like us) want to see. The so-called “culture wars” play into this.
• In very recent times, AI, fake news, and social media “bot farms” run by nefarious groups and even governments are influencing western church culture. 
  Whilst none of us can claim to be free from all of this influence (and there is nothing wrong with having preferences and a rich cultural heritage), GPA seeks to raise up prophets who think critically and who are aware that they have blindspots and cultural lenses through which they see the world.
• By being more aware of these potential prejudices there is a greater opportunity for us to be used by God to truly communicate revelation that is from heaven, and not tainted by things of the world.
• A significant amount of time on the RP course is spent on this “cultural deconstruction” and Emma Stark (especially) teaches, explains, pokes at, provokes, and calls out some of our most common inherited prejudices and blindspots.

Examples of Potential “Blindspots” and Prejudices

As a catch-all, anything ending in “ism” can be an indication of an non-Kingdom ideology or even an area of idolatry. “Archy” is an indication of a worldly ruling system. Examples of areas that every prophet should hold very lightly are:

●  Nationalism ● Globalism
● Capitalism ● Socialism
● Monarchy ● Republicanism
● Democracy ● Oligarchy
●  Anarchy ● Religious systems and structures
●  Patriarchy ● And so on… ● Feminism Matriarchy

It’s not that any of these are wrong per se, but that we live in a fallen world, and the systems of man are infiltrated by satan and the demonic. As believers our only Saviour is Christ Jesus and our only allegiance is to Him and His Kingdom – our future hope is His return and the New Heavens and the New Earth.
For more on this, please see Emma’s book, “Prophets, Politics, and Nations”. 
3. FAQs About GPA’s Political Stance (and the USA)

Should Christians Vote?

Sure! If your nation entitles its citizens to vote for candidates in elections, there is no Biblical reason not to do so, prayerfully, and as the Holy Spirit leads.

• In doing so, each of us recognises that the person we are voting for is fallible, sinful, and is likely to be influenced by many forces (and not all of them might be good).

• Nevertheless, the Old and New Testaments place a high value on the importance of good leadership and it is a blessed thing for a community to enable its citizens (especially the littlest and the least – those who usually don’t have a voice) to play a part in how their community is organised, governed, and how issues of responsibility and justice is measured out.

For further thought/discussion: Should believers, given the humility and servant-heartedness urged in the NT, be more concerned that their neighbour gets an opportunity to vote, than their own personal “right” to have a say in how things are governed?

Should Prophets Vote?

• Sure – see the reasons above.
• All believers can hear from God and can prophesy. However, as those who live a lifestyle of prophetic obedience to God and to the leading of His Spirit, prophets should be prepared for God to ask them to do and say unusual things, even things that go against a prophet’s own natural instinct or preferences.
• So, beware! The Lord might ask you to cast a vote that goes against who you would normally elect! (Emma shares a personal testimony of this on the RP course and in her book, “Prophets, Politics, and Nations”.

For further thought/discussion: Have you ever voted, or shared a post on social media, that went against how you would usually think – just because God asked you to? If the answer is “no”, ask God, “Am I holding onto my own opinions and preferences too tightly?”

Should Believers Be Involved in Politics?

• We see no reason why believers should not be active in areas of civil and social justice, government (local, national, international), community action, and so on.

• For many, this will be a natural mandate of Christ’s second commandment to “love your neighbour as yourself”.

• Some believers might be called to work within government or even called to run for political office.

• For some, this is a legitimate call to be a prophetic voice in the midst of Babylon.

For further thought/discussion: As a Kingdom-minded believer working for Party A, do I have more in common with my non-believing colleagues in Party A, than I do with my Kingdom-minded believing opponent in Party B? Should Christians be more involved in bi-partisan politics?

Should Prophets Be Involved in Politics?

For those prophets who are called primarily to be a revelatory voice of the Holy Spirit to the church, an active involvement in politics is probably too compromising a place to exist – as Jesus warned His disciples, “beware the leaven of Herod”.
GPA advises its emerging prophets to not be members or affiliates with a particular political party.

For further thought/discussion: Why do you think that GPA encourages (N.B. not require) its prophets to resign any memberships of political parties?

Does GPA/Emma Stark Dislike the USA?

This question is frequently asked in our video comments but the answer is an emphatic, “No!”

• Emma is a frequent visitor to the USA, as a minister and for vacation, and has a great many dear friends in the USA.
• She loves the land, its people, and many aspects of its culture.
• The majority of our viewers, partners, students, and associate ministers, are American, as are some of our HQ GPA staff team and broadcast team.

So why does the question arise?

• Kingdom believers are all “citizens of heaven” and the Bible describes us as “foreigners”, “exiles”, and “strangers” in the land (Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11).
• We are to be “in the world, not of the world”.
• As well as this, Scripture gives major world powers/nations/empires the metaphorical term “Babylon”.
• Like it or not, British citizens are living in the aftermath of their Babylonian empire that dominated and shaped the world over the last few centuries. Similarly, the USA and its commercial allies are “Babylon” from a Biblical perspective.

For those who are passionate about their own nations this can sound shocking, but we firmly believe that prophets need to get a healthy balance in how they see their home nation. If we are blinded to the sins or potential sins of our city/nation/leaders we hamper our ability to be a pure prophetic voice to the people we are called to serve.

• The majority of GPA’s RPs are from the USA and Canada and so our teachers will provoke those students about how they perceive their nation, its systems and its ways.
• The USA has a history of teaching what is called “American Exceptionalism”, as well as the regular pledging of allegiance, devotion to a Constitution, and quasi-religious decrees of blessing such as, “God Bless America”, and “One Nation Under God”.
• Therefore, GPA’s challenges can sometimes come as a surprise to some patriotic students, especially if they have not travelled much beyond their own borders before. (For other students from countries that perhaps display less of the trappings of Christendom (e.g. China, France, Iran etc) these provocations tend to be less shocking because they tend to be more used to regarding their nation through a critical lens).

For further thought/discussion: God has a purpose for nations (see Emma’s Prophets, Politics & Nations book). Nevertheless, the concept of “sheep and goat nations” is a misinterpretation of Scripture. How much is our nation a “Babylon”? Do we view our own nation through “rose-tinted” spectacles, whilst looking at other countries more critically?

Are GPA/Emma Just Fans of Harris/Biden/Obama?

The world we live in has sadly become highly tribal-and social media has only served to amplify this.

• Tribal thinking assumes that if you are not pro- “our guy” then you must be pro- “the other guy”.
• Some assume that because a GPA video featured a prophetic word to the US church that mentioned President Donald Trump that this means that GPA is politically anti-Trump or the Republican party and therefore pro his opponents.
• The Starks are keen observers of local, national, and international politics and leadership. Emma has a university degree in Politics and Sociology and she and David read widely and extensively on historic and contemporary political issues, especially where they intersect with morality and justice.
• Nevertheless, they are not politically affiliated and have absolutely no vested interest in one political party over another, especially in the USA.
• None of us can claim to be without personal preference or bias but as leaders of a prophetic movement, the Starks seek to be pro-Kingdom of God, and non-partisan (i.e. equally free to issue prophetic words that challenge one party or system, or another).

  However, it is noteworthy that a significant majority of the notable evangelical, pentecostal, prophetic elders in the USA (with the exception of a majority of African American church leaders) are currently very public and vocal in their support, endorsement, and even promotion of the current Republican administration.

• Some have even gone so far as to link the election of this political administration to revival, or to claim that this will progress the USA towards a national salvation (whatever that means), or to demonise those who vote for alternatives.

• GPA’s standpoint is that this level of intermingling with the political spirit is a dangerous place for prophets to stand and, as a natural result, more of GPA’s broadcasts in the last few years have perhaps focused on warnings about this, and the rise of extreme Christian nationalism.

For further thought/discussion: How has tribalism affected me? Are my social media feeds an echo chamber for my “tribe”? How balanced are the news and media sources that I turn to for reporting on local, national, and international events?

What About Civil Law?

(By “Law” this question refers to civil law rather than the Biblical “law” (Torah) of Moses).

• Scripture recognises the importance of civil laws and governing authorities in helping to restrain evil (see Romans 13, for example).
• Nevertheless, we must recognise that laws themselves are powerless to save and, as Emma argues in her book Prophets, Politics & Nations, laws do not make a nation righteous, otherwise we would consider Saudi Arabia (for example) as “righteous”!
• The idea that voting for a particular candidate, President, or Party will somehow bring about true moral transformation is a political thought, not a spiritual or Biblical thought.
• This is a major error in the western evangelical church (especially in the USA but no limited to there) over the last few decades and is being played out across the so-called “culture wars”. (At best it is an error but at worst it is a significant idolatry, where a lust for power and greed has seduced the church into partnering with Herod or where the church is indistinguishable from Babylon).
• The modern prophetic movement has so bought into this error over the last decade that GPA makes an especial effort in its RP programme to address this ideological myth of political or national salvation.
• In order to highlight the problems with the politicisation of the church/prophets, Emma uses the example of abortion laws (see the next question, below).

For further thought/discussion: How much time do the New Testament writers spend addressing the civil laws/injustices the Roman culture they lived in? What can we learn from this?

 
4. Abortion and Life

Is Emma Stark Pro-Life?

Yes, as Emma has repeatedly stated on broadcasts, in the RP programme and in her writing, she is pro-life. In Prophet she writes: “Do I want abortion banned? Yes. For years I labored as a media spokesperson for the pro-life lobby, working on television and radio, putting forward the anti-abortion case.”

• We believe that physical life begins at conception (though God knew us even before this!) and GPA’s ministry has an incredible track record of testimonies from medically barren couples who, after prayer, have conceived and given birth to healthy babies – praise Jesus!
• We believe that all life is sacred, from conception through to our most senior years, including those with severe disabilities.
• We are therefore extremely concerned about the growing number of nations (including the UK) who have – or are considering – policies on ending life.
  However, Emma has repeatedly challenged the church and the prophets that we train to think more critically, even more “heavenly” with regards to life issues, and to not just repeat, parrot fashion, the political phrases of our day that seem to suggest that if a nation could just repeal one law or another (or vote for one party or candidate) it would somehow bring an end to immorality or the murder of the innocent.
• (As we have seen very recently, even some politicians and parties who once campaigned on an anti-abortion platform have now backtracked or compromised.
• And, some data suggests that abortion rates have actually increased since Dobbs v Jackson – we cannot trust politics or our political leaders, they are fallible and corruptible.
• For sure, it is worthwhile for churches and prophets to call our civic leaders and governments to higher standards of Biblical justice (“we absolutely do need lobbyists in the political area who speak a plumbline of righteousness…” -PP&N), but we must not be seduced into believing the political ideology that the law saves.
• Again, quoting from Prophets, Politics & Nations:

“Christianity works in reverse to Islam’s top-down religious control. Because every person responds to Christ’s invitation individually, it is never about a law being thrust upon them; it is a personal heart change. From that response they, guided by the Spirit of Jesus, choose biblical morality. For example, this means that when we’re talking about abortion, any anti-abortion law would become obsolete through no one needing it. Through faith in Jesus, not through legislation, a wave of individuals will choose to reject the murder of innocents and pursue life. Ultimately, that is a sign of a “righteous nation”—that its laws may change in time because they become unnecessary due to a massive change in hearts.”

For further thought/discussion: If your church/friends have thus far only campaigned on pro-life issues from a political standpoint (e.g. vote Republican, overturn Roe v Wade), what new ways might you be able to impact your community, city, state or nation to choose life, or to serve those who are pregnant, new parents, abandoned children, or in similar distress?

5. Mature Prophets & Serving the Church

Are all RP Students/Graduates Prophets?

• Biblically and experientially, it takes many years of growth, practice, and discipling, after the moment of first being “called”, for a believer to emerge as a mature and trusted prophet, fully useful to serve their church, community or nation.
• In fact, based on Ephesians 4, we at GPA do not regard someone as fully walking in their role as a prophet until they are serving the church by raising up other prophets and prophetic ministers.
• During the RP programme, many discover that, whilst the course is helpful, they are not actually called into the role of prophet. Some discover that they are prophetic, or a prophetic minister, others discover that they are actually supposed to be serving in another grace of the Spirit.
• However, over the six+ years of offering RP training, we have witnessed many (hundreds) of believers who are now consistently walking in a mature prophetic call, serving the church, issuing prophetic words, and raising up new prophets and prophetic people.

Does the RP Course Encourage Students to Leave Churches?

No…