I suffered from rejection so severely in my life that I needed practical ways to overcome it. Prayer, healing sessions, prophecy and laying on of hands wasn’t working at the depth I needed — and my “rejected self” was ruining so many relationships and sabotaging friendships left and right.
Category: Ministry Integrity
Denouncing People Worship: Prayer III
Copyright 2019 Theresa Harvard Johnson
I DENOUNCE the parade in the dead center of congregations where PKs are strategically and intentionally made the center attraction.
I denounce any role I have had in that as visiting prophet or leader who was pulled into the circus aware or unaware. I denounce falling prey to the expectation of “the system” that creates an environment where “Golden children” arise and are presented as examples before the congregation as elite, special, set apart and set above.
I renounce my role in cheering on and supporting the system people have created. I repent and I know that you Lord has already forgiven me as there is no condemnation in Christ.
The Circus & Our Mirror Reflection
Copyright 2019 Theresa Harvard Johnson
Being a part of a circus can cause us to form all kinds of unhealthy soul ties with the flesh of our idols (even if the idol is self). Our response to idolatry can be so strong that feelings of guilt, false obligation and this place of “thinking you are betraying someone” (which are all lies) take SEVERE HOLD of your soul when it relates to people or institutions that we idolize. The thought of giving it up is as strong as an addiction to drugs or pornography.
Many of us are experts at choosing which sins are worse — not realizing that some of the people and systems we idolize are equally as wicked.
Signs of a Closet Gossiper
Copyright 2019 Theresa Harvard Johnson Image: Deposit Photos
(This article is a part of an ongoing series entitled, “Denounce the Circus,” based on identifying idolatry in the church.)
Signs of a “Closet” Gossiper:
- Celebrity junkie. Can tell you everything about celebrities and confuse it with “God showing me.”
- Excessive commentator. Weighs in on topics that are COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT to the congregation. Has nothing to do with the Lord’s intention.
- Extremely concerned with what “they believe” the Lord shows them about “others” …and shape that gossip into a “false ministry.” Never in the history of the scriptures has a ministry been built on something like this.
9 Practical Ways Scribes Can Fight Plagiarism in the Church
Image purchased. DepositPhotos.com
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 21st 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:
- 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.
- 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!)
- 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.