In Romans 12, Paul writes these words:
Recently I completed reading "The Prophetic Imagination" by Walter Brueggemann (which you can find my Kindle notes here). And in my reading of this book, with the Scriptures as well as what I recall from Seminary, it has awoken an awareness in me that prophecy is something more of a skill that we cultivate than a trait that we possess (or do not possess).
First off let me use Brueggemann's words to clarify what a prophet is:
While the prophets are in a way future-tellers, they are concerned with the future as it impinges upon the present.
The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us
It is the task of the prophet to bring to expression the new realities against the more visible ones of the old order.
As we grow in the faith of Christ and live into the call of God in our lives...
As we understand the message of Jesus and how he rooted his message in a rich tradition of prophets...
As we undertake spiritual disciplines and grow in the fruits of the spirit...
As we mature into the beings God desires us to be...
We grow in the skill of prophecy.
MLK did not just wake up one day and "discover" he was a prophet. No. He cultivated a love of Christ for years before he stepped into that role of the prophet. Even Jesus was 30 years old before he stepped into public ministry! Becoming a prophet takes time. And it is clear in the Biblical witness, it is something that we can all grow into.
"For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching;the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness."
One of the striking phrases to me in this section is the idea of one receives "prophecy, in proportion to faith". It is striking to me because it is often understood that prophecy is either something you have or you do not have. Much like brown eyes - you either have them or you do not.
However, if we are to consider that we are to grow in faith then does that mean that we too can proportionally grow in prophecy? And if we diminish in faith then do we proportionally diminish in prophecy?
Recently I completed reading "The Prophetic Imagination" by Walter Brueggemann (which you can find my Kindle notes here). And in my reading of this book, with the Scriptures as well as what I recall from Seminary, it has awoken an awareness in me that prophecy is something more of a skill that we cultivate than a trait that we possess (or do not possess).
First off let me use Brueggemann's words to clarify what a prophet is:
While the prophets are in a way future-tellers, they are concerned with the future as it impinges upon the present.
The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us
It is the task of the prophet to bring to expression the new realities against the more visible ones of the old order.
As we grow in the faith of Christ and live into the call of God in our lives...
As we understand the message of Jesus and how he rooted his message in a rich tradition of prophets...
As we undertake spiritual disciplines and grow in the fruits of the spirit...
As we mature into the beings God desires us to be...
We grow in the skill of prophecy.
MLK did not just wake up one day and "discover" he was a prophet. No. He cultivated a love of Christ for years before he stepped into that role of the prophet. Even Jesus was 30 years old before he stepped into public ministry! Becoming a prophet takes time. And it is clear in the Biblical witness, it is something that we can all grow into.