Mandates

I have adopted Kris Vallotton's and Chip Brogden's mandates as ones that I agree with. I believe they are powerful and voices my own stand. The facts of my life are not the same as their's, but as with many who come here to this blog, the facts of our lives are similar.



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I wasn't born to be a passive pundit, tossed like a tiny ship on the stormy seas of evil schemes. Nor was I conceived to be a weatherman, predicting the next deadly assault on the shores of humanity. NO! I was purposely born behind enemy lines as a force to be reckoned with. I was commissioned with a mandate to destroy the works of the devil. I was given power and authority to set captives free, release prisoners, rebuild ruined cities, and make disciples of all nations.

I have been assaulted, slandered and hated. I have known depression so deep that I've despaired of life itself, and anxiety so horrific that I could scarcely function.

I spent 20 years building businesses, sweating payrolls, scraping and clawing my way through life to compete with ruthless competitors who would stop at nothing to destroy their opponents. I was celebrated as one of the top entrepreneurs in my field. Yet when the dust cleared and the moving vans were gone, I was left sitting in the rubble of a once thriving enterprise with a $1.6 million debt as a memorial to my hard work…my house and most of my possessions gone.

My soul has known the pain of heartbreak and betrayal. I have staggered my way through years of abandonment and abuse. I've experienced the humiliation of poverty, and the intense pain of being the only kid on the field with no one cheering for him. I have pleaded for attention, only to be locked outside all by myself. I have hid for hours while my stepfather was on another drunken violent rampage with my mother, locked in a room as he beat her. I grew up in a culture of intense fear.

I understand what it's like to be unable to read in high school, and to be called stupid by my leaders. I have felt the pain of being the untalented little boy who no one wants to play on their team…standing on the sidelines, raising my hand, hoping to somehow be chosen. Many times I have stood by silently as my peers argued over who had to put me on their team.

Yet I refuse to be crushed by the circumstances of life, or be deterred by the opinions of the "experts". I won't wallow in self-pity, or waste my days hating the people who abused me. I reject the spirit of regret, and I will not drive my life by being fixated on the rearview mirror of the past. I have decided that feeling sorry for myself is taking up valuable time that could be used to rescue cities. My past pain will not dictate my future victories. I was born to win, equipped to shape history, empowered to extend the borders of the Kingdom, and redeemed to display the unreasonable love of my King to a desperate and lost world.

This mandate has become my mission, and with the help of God, I intend to accomplish it!!!!!

Kris's blog

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The Prophetic Mandate
by Chip Brogden


... But the prophetic person does not passively wait for anything. The prophet agonizes over the condition of the world, wrestles with God, sees His Purpose, declares it to others, and rises up daily to pray, fast, and fight to ensure that the Purpose is fulfilled. The prophet watches over the Ekklesia, helps it grow, keeps it from drifting off course, weeps when it does, and endeavors to set it right again. The prophet discerns the spiritual enemy working behind the scenes, warns of its dangers, challenges it, and demands its submission to the preeminence of Christ. The prophet observes the ebb and flow of things in the world and evaluates what impact this could have on the Ekklesia and the Purpose of God: are things moving towards God’s Purpose or away from it? The prophet seeks wisdom and understanding and works in harmony with the Holy Spirit to help, encourage, strengthen, warn, and prepare the Ekklesia for what lies ahead. One need only read the Book of Daniel to find Scriptural support of the life I have just described.


To see and hear clearly, the prophet has to remain “above the fray.” To climb down from the wall and become immersed in the minutia and trivia of the day is to invite disaster: “I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?’” (Neh. 6:3). The prophetic mandate requires the prophet to be on duty, before the Lord, watching and waiting at all times: day and night, holidays and weekends, in every season, in every place, and in every condition. This is not usually possible outwardly; but inwardly, it is an indispensable necessity. ...

Chip's Blog
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