Prophetic Drama – “Dramatic Acts of Obedience” – Part 1

Imagine having the faith to believe that God would show us or tell us what He is doing in any given moment in order to minister through a drama presentation . . . and moreover, to believe that He would desire us to be involved in what He is doing to bless someone, someplace, or even just something! This is the foundation for what some have been dreaming of, hoping for and wondering about. The working title for this concept has been, “Prophetic Drama”.

A Little History
For several years a small group of church-based drama ministries have gathered annually to enjoy a two day “hands-on” Drama Ministry Convention, (DMC), at my home church, Grace International Church located in Willis, Texas. I had lunch one day in 1999 a couple of months before the convention with one of the DMC founding leaders from our region, Cal Stanley, to discuss an idea that I had been mulling over for some time. We both were in leadership in churches where the prophetic gifts were in operation. Our congregations were familiar with prophetic style worship and words of prophecy being given and received. I asked Cal if he thought that there could be a prophetic approach to drama ministry as well. He was definitely challenged by the idea. We mused over it together as we finished our lunch. We agreed to talk to God and listen for what He may reveal to us about it. A week or so later, Cal called me and told me that he was preparing a seminar syllabus to present at the upcoming DMC. He shared his foundational revelation which we referred to as, “Prophetic Drama” that year and sowed a seed of faith in all who attended. Sadly, two months later my comrade-in-arms passed away suddenly. In subsequent years at the DMC, I redistributed his original syllabus and gathered the leadership over our luncheons to continue to press forward in discussion about the lofty idea that he & I shared that first year.

From theory to reality
Throughout the year 2006, our church drama team had increasingly rich times in His presence as we began our rehearsals just praying in the Spirit and responding to whatever we hear or see as we waited on Him. Sometimes the Lord would speak a word of encouragement through one of us. Many times we would find ourselves merely basking is His peace… and sometimes we’d begin to openly repent for things in our lives. Our rapid growth and spiritual maturing can be attributed to this standard we had committed to uphold.

In January of 2007, I began catching a strategy for implementing this notion of “Prophetic Drama”. A wonderful drama ministry that travels, New Life Drama Company, (www.nldc.com ) had come to our church and I asked them to make time during the day to minister to our church’s young drama ministry team. The team arrived a couple of hours early, so I asked them if they would consider hearing a fresh idea in drama presentation. They agreed. I shared the “Prophetic Drama” concept briefly and asked if they would be willing to believe with me and seek God about it. We began to take it to the Lord in prayer.

As we prayed and allowed the Lord to minister to us, I saw it! It was as clear as day. We needed to apply “Acts of Obedience” to a drama ministry presentation format! Voila! I waited for a confirmation and then proceeded to speak out. I explained to the group what “Acts of Obedience” was and how it related to what I saw. They caught it! So we began seeking God to show us what we ought to do.

Acts of Obedience
Not everyone is familiar with “Acts of Obedience”, so I will try to briefly bring you up to speed. Basically, Acts of Obedience is setting time aside to wait on God’s guidance that will lead to a personal touch on whom or what He chooses to bless. It has been a powerful tool for touching our city for God as we apply this “Prophetic” style of evangelism We’re asking God where He wants us to go and how He wants us to bless. We begin by praying in the Spirit to clear our minds of the cares of the day and to tune in to His Spirit. We will ask God to show us who ought to be together for the outing. We concur with one another and separate into the small groups of 3-5 in a group. Each group then gets together to hear from God. We will note any vision or thought that we begin to see and hear. We will trust that He is speaking and we are hearing and seeing. In the evangelism mode, a group will begin to walk out the “clues” God has given us and stay continually in communication with Him. He always reveals more as we take faith steps toward the purposeful divine appointment(s). The results of these excursions has been very diverse; from blessing someone with prayer over critical situations in their lives . . . to giving a financial blessing . . . speaking a word of kindness or encouragement to a person God just wants to love on at that particular moment in their life. Every encounter renders a unique story revealing how God wants to touch people’s lives and use us to do it. And unlike broad spectrum conventional evangelistic approaches, there is a 100% rate of effectiveness. Also, it is much more palatable for people who usually run the other way when the church engages in evangelism by canvassing the neighborhood going door-to-door, requiring them to speak to strangers.

This idea was introduced to us by an awesome ministry friend, Daren Lindley (www.darenlindley.com) in the late 1990’s. Daren has printed a book detailing his experience from conception to reality with tons of testimonies documented from the years he traveled guiding churches in this new approach to sharing the love of Jesus. I’ve noticed a similar event occurring around the USA that is being called “Treasure Hunting.” It is virtually the same thing.

In my ministry travels, I have been continuing the vision as it has become a bit of a lifestyle and it really helps everyday Christians realize that anyone can hear when God speaks. The following is a segment I use when teaching, “Acts of Obedience” as a form of prophetic evangelism.

HOW DO WE DO ACTS OF OBEDIENCE?

Hearing and Obeying!
But it takes a supernatural ingredient, Faith!
The number one element of the Kingdom of God is FAITH!
Without faith it is impossible to please God!
We are not able to follow God by natural sight.
Faith is a necessary component in our obedience.
Faith is trust!

How can I hear God?
Everyone can hear God. In the book of Revelation, we are reminded, “He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying.” “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” God is speaking and we need to be hearing. Declare it! God’s word says that I can hear His voice. Faith comes by hearing. Sometimes we just need to hear ourselves confess that we can do what the Word says we can do.

How does this apply?
So how do we relate “Acts of Obedience” to Drama Ministry? How are we able to apply this to Drama Ministry? In Acts of Obedience, God leads us toward an encounter with a situation that He is intervening in. Our drama team “goes there” by His leading and we act out the scenario as He constantly guides us.

This article is the first in a three part series. Part 2 can be found Here.