Is there anything GOOD about PROSPERITY MINISTRY? (Part 3)

My second mistake was telling Yusef what I thought the Spirit was saying to me.  (A word of advice to those practicing hearing the Spirit's voice, or prophetic ministry, or following the Spirit's leading:  If you believe you are hearing a message from the Spirit for you, about you, and exclusively dealing with you, keep it to yourself.  It's about you, after all.  So just wait.  If it is from the Spirit, it will come to pass, and Christ will be glorified.  If not, then lesson learned--and it will only affect you.)

Yusef was ecstatic, and encouraged me to make mistake number 3:  tell James-Michael and the gang!  Which I foolishly did...and "the message" grew and grew and grew until it became a message about a ministry money messenger making millionaire ministers out of me and my brothers...culminating in us sitting one night and waiting for the promised messenger...who never came.

So now, I'm a false prophet...not just for the three mistakes I clearly made, but for many others I made during that time...but the three money mistakes I just mentioned are relevant to our discussion on prosperity ministers.  Before I outline the other mistakes I made in this situation, I will point out some that I did not make, not to excuse myself, but because they are very relevant:

• I did not ask JM or the brothers for money, or anyone else for money.
• I didn't want money for bling:  for jets, cars, mansions or suits.  (I think we joked around about some of these, but these weren't my focus, or our focus.)
• I actually wanted to do ministry.  I wanted that more than anything else in the world.  And I still do.

Yet I did make these mistakes:

• I violated the scriptural principles outlined by Paul concerning ministry--the principles of working to provide for yourself as a minister.
• I violated the scriptural principles outlined by Jesus concerning ministry--if I had indeed been called to street ministry/prophetic ministry, and the body affirmed that calling, and felt called to support me, then that would have happened by the Spirit's leading in their lives.  Until it did, I needed to work.

So...I got a job.  I worked at Chilli's, then at the Movies.  I was miserable, devastated because I wasn't doing what I'd hoped I'd been called to do--"full time ministry."  I felt lost.  I doubted whether I knew how to follow the Spirit at all.  Yusef seemed to know how to do that better than me (so did Bobby, one of the gang.)  So I figured if I follow them, then I'll vicariously be following the Spirit.  I decided to follow them...to Key West Florida, which leads to example number two from my life, and to the answer to the questions:  Is there anything GOOD about PROSPERITY MINISTRY?

(Click here for part 4)