THE PROPHET-SHEPHERD

Leading as both a prophet and a shepherd/senior leader is a very different dynamic.

As a prophet, the responsibility extends beyond releasing a word, blessing someone into it, and moving on.

As a shepherd, you carry a responsibility to stay and walk with people in the space between what God revealed and the process of formation and fulfillment.

On one hand, you see people according to what God has said about them and His plans for their lives. You speak into identity, capacity, calling, and destiny.

But you are now walking closely enough to also see what God still desires to form in them.

Moses understood this tension. He walked as both a prophet and a shepherd.

He carried both what God said about a people and where they actually were in their development.

This dynamic has its advantages because there is faith and expectation that accompany seeing by the Spirit what God wants to do in and through someone, but there are also some challenges that come with it:

1. Prophet–Shepherds Are Often Misunderstood

Many people are used to prophets who release promises and are never seen again.

But what about the prophet who prophesies over you and then stays and holds you accountable to the process?

• The one who sees the whole but also recognizes what is still missing?
• The one who calls out destiny while also seeing where development is still needed?

Many become offended because it can seem like the prophet is all of a sudden in opposition to what God has spoken.

But what many don’t realize is that they are often their greatest advocates—because they HAVE seen what God desires for them when most others have not.

2. Prophet–Shepherds Will Sometimes Question Themselves

The tension of standing in the assignment of a prophet–shepherd can at times make you question whether you missed God.

It will make you wonder if you spoke too soon or misinterpreted.

You will be tempted to reinterpret the word based on what you are seeing in the present.