You are a Priest

Track nine is the answer song to track eight, and the pairing is deliberate. I'm a Preacher tore down the false gate. You Are a Priest tells you what you are now that the gate is gone. And it is addressed straight at you. You were not made for the back pew. You were not made to ask permission to talk to the Author of your name.

The doctrine is the priesthood of all believers, and it is not a slogan - it is 1 Peter. You are not lay. You are not lesser. You are royal and named, bought by the blood that named the saint, anointed by the Spirit, not the institution. The same line that ran through Written runs through this one: there is no middleman, no mediator standing between, no collar between you and the Author. Your prayer in the parking lot bypassed every credentialed door. Nothing stood in the way, because nothing was ever supposed to.

And the bridge is the historical fact the hierarchy cannot answer. The Spirit was distributing gifts before the seminary opened its doors, before the council voted on the credential. Wisdom to the housewife, teaching to the carpenter, prayer to the widow, truth to the child. The body has every gift it needs and needs no hierarchy. I gave this one the same warm, anthemic voice I gave Written, because it is the same good news pointed at the same person - you. The Bible on your kitchen table is not on loan from anyone. You are a priest. The Author renders you direct.