I keep of list of all the books I read in my 4000 books post, but a book I finished yesterday struck a chord with me, and so I wanted to say a few things about it. The book is The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann.
I think that if there is one thing the world needs today, it is prophets. Not the zany kind you get in some Pentecostal and Charismatic churches where apparently the goal is to connect Hotline in the business.
No, Bruggeman paints a portrait of the Biblical prophet as one who contends against the normal order of society and culture which has set itself up at the expense of the marginal, the outcast, the poor, and the weak. Bruggman calls this “the royal consciousness” but I think we could also refer to it as “the Powers that Be” and here in the United States goes by such names as “the multinational corporation” and “politics in Washington D. C.”
Bruggeman argues that the prophet does not contend against such entities with arms and use of force, but with the much more powerful weapon of imagination and creativity.
To make this point, he uses the examples of Moses against Pharaoh, Jeremiah against the Monarchy, and Jesus against the religion of Israel.
One of the things that so struck me about this book is that ever since I was in high school, every time I took one of those odd (and error-prone) “spiritual gift inventory” tests, I always came up with “Prophet” as my top spiritual gift.
When I was a pastor, and because I didn’t believe that prophets (the way I thought of them) were in use today, I interpreted this to mean that I was to proclaim or “forthtell” the Word of God, rather than foretell future events or predict the future.
Bruggeman has given me a window by which to look at the world and current events through the lens of prophetic imagination. Imagining a different world. A different way of doing things. A different order. A way of living and being that creates an alternative community to the methods of Pennsylvania Avenue, the antics of Hollywood Boulevard, and the religion of Main Street. Though this book was hard to read, it is going in my Burning Books list because it set my mind on fire.
The most encouraging element of the book for me was near the end. I have so many doubts, fears, and misgivings about the route in life I am currently traveling. But right at the end, Brueggemann wrote this:
I, like most of the others, am unsure that the royal road is not the best and the royal community the one which governs the real “goodies.” I, like most of the others, am unsure that the alternative community inclusive of the poor, hungry, and grieving is really the wave of God’s future. …There is no unanguished way out of it. It does make clear to us that our ministry will always be practiced through our own conflicted selves. No prophet has ever borne an unconflicted message, even until Jesus (p. 118).
Conflicted and anguished and uncertain about the path I’m on and the future I imagine certainly describes my mental state. But if Brueggemann is right, I will “imagine on,” and see where the rabbit hole leads.
This was one of my favorite reads last year. I was completely mesmerized by it. I felt like someone gave me permission to embrace those aspects of my gifting that did not seem to fit before.
Matt,
Glad I’m not the only one! I felt a little guilty being mesmerized by what he wrote!
Have to go read it now… I also have that prophecy gift show up at the top of the list on any assessment I have taken. Didn’t really know what to do with it, other than the “forth telling.” But the prophetic imagination characteristics do seem to fit. Thanks for the heads up.
Josh,
After you read it, let me know what you think! Just a warning though…some of the writing is “heavy lifting.”
Jeremy,
“Conflicted and anguished and uncertain”, yeah, that pretty much sums up my spiritual walk lately. I can certainly sympathize with those who question whether they are really doing God’s work. I was always taught that God blessed those who obeyed him, and in ministry, blessing is measures in “butts and bucks”. Two things that we have not so far been “blessed with”. Intellectually, I understand that this is not how God measures success, but practically it is difficult to continue to minister to others when your mortgage is 90 days past due.
Again, you reccommend a Book that is intriguing and another one is added to the list I will never finish. I am really interested in the idea of a prophet being someone who is able to imagine a different world. Maybe someone who can see what Kingdom life is really about, who really can see the answer to Jesus’ prayer in Mat 6:10. Maybe if we really listened to these “prophets”, those things that are true in heaven really could be true here on earth, not just in the future kingdom, but maybe in the here and now. Or maybe not, I am conflicted after all.
In Christ,
FedEx,
President,
Men of Praise Motorcycle Ministry
FedEx,
I know what you mean about the book list. It seems for every one book I read, three more get added to my “must buy and read” list. *Sigh*
You are thinking right about God’s definition of success and the kingdom of God being experienced here, not just in the future. That is the starting place, I think, for prophetic imagination.
I knew that you knew that I knew that,.dueling prophets,..
Shalom All,Jeremy,
Read said book. Thoughtful. The office of prophet in ancient Israel, was primarily to give moral conscience to the King.
Their imaginative storytelling approaches,..Nathan to ” King David you stole that man’s only wife(The Case of the Purloined Sheep.) The consequences of David’s behavior on his family demonstrated the veracity of Nathan’s moral authority and lessons to be learned from that. It did not change the situation much. In the case of Elijah and the priests of Baal though he overcame the pagans in the Contest of My God is Bigger than your go(?)he still incurred the wrath of Jezebel and her hen-pecked husband Ahab and had to flee for his life. Their were hundreds of vigilante posse gangs of prophets running around ancient Israel whose false prophecy cost them their lives. Dangerous job,… but many lost to history railed against political and financal corruption. Sound familiar. Good test of a prophet. The more the powers that be are threatened by by proclamations of SIN/ IDOLOTRY/OPPRESSION,
Elias,
I like what you say about the prophet being the conscience of the king. That is kind of how the book presented it too.
COMPUTER GLITCH, CORRUPTION etc. the bigger the the target the prophet becomes.Do we have modern prophets, Billy Graham,Franklin Graham with his fathers mantle,..his inimitable mormonistic Glenn Beck defending Israel. Who comes to mind?
item: greek-didaskalia teachings of a teacher with (moral)authority. Didaskalos- a teacher with said authority. “Jesus spoke as if one with authority.” To proclaim H-s singular road to salvation is prophetic utterence. It will make you enemies and a few friends. Therein lies the rub. SHALOM
Verrrrrrry interesting! Very interesting indeed! Yes, defining prophets as forthtellers and foretellers is probably incomplete. I think describing a prophet as one who sees clearly and lives accordingly, which sometimes may include telling what (s)he sees to others, broadens the definition/understanding somewhat.
Sam,
I thought you might find this interesting. I think you know some prophets.
It must have something to do about secret identities.
assuming you are not a hard core cessationist(self fulfilling prophecy ha ha sorry) we all have all the gifts in different proportions somewhat,..
kind of like a musical chord some notes are more prominent,..if you run into a difficult situation and the exqusitely appropiate scripture just pops into your head like a sudden “WIND” that is a strong indication that the gift of prophecy is working,..but you must give it voice which is usually astonishingly on target, or creates an awkward silence, or is wildly inappropiate, as only an uncomfortable truth can be… it can be cultivated less by memorizing scripture, a single reading is enough,.. it is there. Stop thinking, just listen and concentrate on what you are hearing, the Ruach Hakodesh will do the rest, ask Moses he stuttered,.
Tiffany, could you explain secret identities, just curious,like secret prophets? be blessed in H-s grace.
There is a difference between prophecy and prophet – we can ALL prophecy but not all of us are called prophet.
And unlike you start your post, the prophets of old were probably zany like ones you might find in a charismatic church. They were social rejects and they did & said weird things. They were rejected in their times like evangelicals reject the charismatic church as something that God couldn’t possibly be doing because it’s too weird.
Typically I like Walter Brueggeman, and just last night I had a dream about him, so I’ll have to take note of the book and also add it to my list of books to read. I believe that God speaks to me through dreams (just like he throughout the Bible) and when things are coincidental, I find that is the language of the Spirit.
It’s interesting to read your post and even more so to read the comments. We do have modern day prophets but I would not say Billy Graham is a prophet, he is an Evangelist. John Paul Jackson, Bob Jones and others are modern day prophets, called to the nations.
Andrea,
You are right about the prophets in the OT. They were definitely zany. Sleeping naked in public, breaking pots, digging holes in walls. All very strange behavior.
Of course, they didn’t ask for money or sell handkerchiefs that they had “blessed.”
Franklin Graham’s Warning !
Franklin’s warning of
coming persecution of Christians echoes what his mother Ruth and father
Billy have clearly stated. Re Ruth, see search engines including Google
for “Letter from Mrs. Billy Graham.” To see what Billy has written,
Google “Famous Rapture Watchers – Addendum.”
Since Franklin
blamed the Obama administration for his own National Day of Prayer snub
and persecution, and since he accused “Christian” Obama of “giving Islam
a pass,” readers can get some rare insights into Obama and his fellow
travelers by Yahooing “Obama Supports Public Depravity,” “Obama Avoids
Bible Verses,” “Separation of Raunch and State,” and “The Background
Obama Can’t Cover Up.”
To see some exceptional in-depth studies
of coming persecution, see two unique books by media figure Joe Ortiz
entitled “The End Times Passover” and “Why Christians Will Suffer ‘Great
Tribulation’ ” – both published in the US and UK by AuthorHouse. Also
Google “Margaret Macdonald’s Rapture Chart,” “The Unoriginal John
Darby,” “Pretrib Rapture Secrecy,” “Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty,”
“Pretrib Rapture Pride,” “Pretrib Rapture Politics,” and “Pretrib
Rapture Stealth” – most by the author of “The Rapture Plot” (the most
accurate and comprehensive history of the 183-year-old pretrib rapture
view) available by calling 800.643.4645.
[Thanks, Jeremy. The preceding was found on the web. Any response?]
I am not sure what your comment is even about….