Category: Article History

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Copyright 2019 Theresa Harvard Johnson

In the digital age, entrepreneurs are looking for ways to protect their branding strategies and creative content from theft. This issue not only affects those in book publishing, but people who are releasing content on multiple platforms – whether choreography and music, digital publishing online, learning platforms and blogs.

Technology has simplified the efforts of thieves, making it increasingly difficult to prevent them from violating rights to intellectual property.

This undeniable truth has opened unending ethical conversations in the congregation concerning plagiarism and copyright – especially as it relates to spiritually inspired content in the protestant, charismatic faith. The most obvious way to prevent plagiarism is to educate pastors, leaders and congregants concerning what it is and why it is a problem.

Below are nine additional, practical ways to deter thieves in the fight against plagiarism – the act of taking someone’s work and/or ideas and passing them off as one’s own; and copyright infringement is the illegal reproduction, distribution, performance, and/or publicly displaying work without the permission of the copyright owner.

The two are closely related.

The distinction, however, is that plagiarism is often seen as an academic issue, while copyright infringement is an everyone-else issue. In recent years, however, there has been tremendous effort to raise awareness about the ethical dilemma it presents for the 21^st century, technology driven congregation.

In efforts to help believers whose content is tied to business strategy, here are seven steps they can take to protecting their content:

1. Sign, date and keep originals of critical content. For my books and online articles about the ministry of the scribe, I keep original copies of each file including draft versions that reveal the development process.
2. Obtain copyrights through the U.S. Copyright Office. While this is not necessary for all content, it is necessary for critical content for public distribution. For example, consider placing “copyright and fair use notices” on digital content. Recently, I began including copyright and fair use notices in my PowerPoint presentations at events when I speak – especially when public or private recording is taking place and things are distributed via social media. Contracts may be necessary if those recordings are to be sold, stored, shared or displayed publicly at another date. (People have been known to steal conference material that people have taught and build online schools around that content without their permission!)
3. Obtain a trademark or service mark. Depending on your goals, it may also be affective to obtain ownership of your brand through the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. I trademarked “The Scribal Anointing” over a decade ago. I also had to update that petition to maintain my rights as part of my brand. In a court of law, this could be used to help prevent people from copying the phrase or creating similar phrases in attempts to steal the brand.
   
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   Article History

Every few months, I receive notes, messages or emails stating that “scribal ministry” is a false ministry. One woman was so upset about the thought of “scribes in ministry” that she called me a “false prophet” spreading “false doctrine” and brought an entire “amen” section with her. Seriously.

I actually shouted for joy in that moment. It was an HONOR to be attacked and mocked. Truly, scribal ministry is God’s ministry. I continuously see these attacks as opportunities or fuel to continue to shed light on this powerful and unique calling! Scribal ministry is just as plain in scripture as the ministry of Ephesian’s 11:4 or that of the elders. 

One of the most powerful scriptures in the Word to support scribal ministry and The Scribal Anointing^® can be found in Matthew 13:52. In this passage, Jesus made a profound statement. He said, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” (A teacher of the law in the bible is a scribe. Scribal functions include serving as a teacher, recorder, secretary, treasurer, etc. and a host of other descriptions. Scribes are listed throughout scripture using their functions. For example, Matthew 13:52 is also translated as “Therefore every recorder” or “Therefore every secretary…” The point here is this, whatever word noun is used in this passage STILL DESCRIBES a scribal function.)

Copyright 2012 Theresa Harvard Johnson

Back in 2005 when I finishing my first instruction manual, The Scribal Anointing: Scribes Instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven, I had a powerful visitation from the Lord. I was on the brink of planning a county-wide poetry slam when Father woke me up in the middle of the night and said plainly, “Beloved, I have not called you to do this. Shut it down.”

I had volunteer teams set up; a city permit approved; flyers going out; vendors in place; Christian writers group in the area on board; local news media coverage organized; and a list of poets ready and waiting. I had even invited a famous Georgia writer to join us and perform through storytelling for the children and youth. It was on, until Father turned it off.

I was four weeks from the event, and terrified of the fallout. In counsel with my pastor at the time, he said to me: “Always remember, it’s better to follow God than yourself. Only he knows your destiny Theresa and plan he has for you. Either way, I will support your decision.”

Copyright 2018 Theresa Harvard Johnson
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An apostle I highly respect and have looked to for insight, Apostle Joseph Prude, wrote a book a while back on apostolic metrons. Because I’ve studied so much of Apostle Prude’s material, I must acknowledge him in any advanced discussion I write about this topic. I was given the honor of writing the foreword for this book because of the “apostolic metron” released to me by the Lord.

In the book, however, he explains that a metron refers to one’s measured part, portion or measure of rule (Prude, 2015, p. 1). One extremely simple example is this: When a person is employed by a company, they only have authority or a measure of rule to do what has been assigned to them. A fry cook, for example, is in charge of the fries not the managing of the restaurant.

Copyright 2018 Theresa Harvard Johnson

Some “prophetic” books and scribal projects have shelf lives or expiration dates just like the milk and cheese in our refrigerators. For many prophetic scribes and writers, this is a hard truth to accept. After all, we would like to believe our messages are as eternal and useful as God’s word.

The truth is, some books are for a specific time and that is it.

Back in the day, I had manuals that came with CDs inside and instructions for installing MS Word on my computer. Then, there came a day when those were obsolete and I had new choices – download from the web or use MS Word in a cloud.