Ecclesiastes 12:12b, “….Of making many books there is no end…” When the understanding of scribal ministry is limited, people often give prophecy after prophecy about writing books. When the understanding of scribal ministry expands, those prophetic words will expand with it. So, if you received a prophecy about writing books and you have NO CLUE…
Category: Words of Study & Instruction: Scribes & the Arts
This page features Words of Wisdom and Instruction written specifically by Holy Spirit for those in worship arts. They are designed to take you into deeper bible study, revelation and understanding concerning the secrets and mysteries of God's Word.
When Your Prophetic Books Don’t Sell: Some things to consider
The writing life of prophetic people IS DIFFERENT from the lifestyle of mainstream writers. Does this mean we should have less success or give up on marketing? No! Still believe for success. But depending on the call and process, you may need to redefine what "success is" in your life. And as it relates to marketing, still put in the effort if you believe this is what you are supposed to do. This article, however, is for a different level of discussion.
It is focused on the nature of the "prophetic" in our calling, and how our specific calling might come with some different expectations that others might not fully understand.
Remember, the very nature of being being prophetic is to be vessels that release the heart, mind and will of God at whatever level we are called and into varying situations. This includes recognizing that many of God's people are called to much smaller audiences than they are often willing to admit or accept. Smaller doesn't mean less! It just means different (Exodus 18:25). This might also indicate that people place personal or worldly (world-bound) expectations on divine projects…. that might not apply.
Listen, this is a difficult conversation to have, yet we must have it.
Below are five areas of wisdom to consider when you're concerned that your book is not selling even though you've employed multiple strategies. Also note that the intent of this article is not to release any kind of discouragement but to cause us to consider the "prophetic call" of a writer from a different perspective.
9 Practical Ways Scribes Can Fight Plagiarism in the Church
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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 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.
Part II: Training Scribal Prophets
Copyright 2018 Theresa Harvard Johnson
Not for reprint or distribution without the express permission of the author.
Join us inside The Scribal Prophets online group for further discussion.
1 Chronicles 29:29 New International Version (NIV)
29 As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, THEY ARE WRITTEN IN THE RECORDS of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer….
In this post, my focus from this passage of scripture is on “the records” of the prophets mentioned here. Note that this passage of scripture, among others, recognize that it was normal for prophets to keep records. In this case, the records were about King David’s reign but we also know that other prophets kept records as well like Habakkuk, Malachi, etc. In the New Covenant, we see the Apostle Paul make mention of keeping his personal scrolls (books, journals, etc.) with him (2 Tim 4:13). There is tremendous revelation in this realm, but we are going to start here.
Part I: Training Scribal Prophets who write
Copyright 2018 Theresa Harvard Johnson Training Scribal Prophets who write: 1. Insist that they gather their prophetic words in VOLUMES and their dreams. 2. Have them organize their volumes by YEAR. (Date/Time) 3. Have them review their OWN words for biblical soundness and the voice of the present day prophetic guidelines. 4. Have them mark…