prophet

Ok for the women's leadership retreat that I just went on we read this great article by Dan Allender, called Mimicking Our Disruptive Father, and Our Diverse Older Brother. Here is the link if you want to read it .... http://www.leaderu.com/marshill/mhr05/mimick1.html

The first part was fine and interesting but where I got excited was when He starts talking about Jesus as our mediator and the 3 roles rolled up within ... the Prophet, Priest and King. I had heard all these terms thrown around before and understood their meaning, but I had never read an article on it before.

When he started describing the task, process, and calling of the prophet today I thought I might fly through the roof I was so excited to read something that described me so clearly. Especially after feeling so misunderstood earlier in the day.

Here are some quotes that stuck out:

A prophet disrupts denial and exposes the subtle and overt idolatry of the heart, provoking sorrow and shame that lead either to greater hardness or to repentance. But repentance is always offered on the promise of restoration and healing.

The prophet is a poet, an artist, a stranger who is not really part of the community, but stands outside the normal channels of conversation and commerce and invites the comfortable to see themselves in a new, disturbing light.


The prophet may stand outside the community, but he does not do so in a detached fashion. His life becomes the message. He marries a prostitute to reveal the sorrow of God (Hosea), he argues with God on behalf of the people (Habakkuk), and he bears the fury of his hearers (Jeremiah). He steps into the sin and allows it to affect him, and then uses the struggle to further the larger message. He is a radical reformer who may be critical, but he does so not without suffering for the people he exposes.

... and the best!!!

Who is this person? The prophet is anyone who is willing to think deeply about the human condition, speak truth, sorrow deeply, and bear the consequence of being viewed as an enemy of the status quo. Change cannot occur without disruption of deceit and blindness. Disruption will not be immediately appreciated, nor will it be honored. More often, it is met with attack. Therefore, the prophet often is gifted in living with ambiguity, pain, and desperate hope.

He will live in the tension between the horror and hope of the human soul. And he will learn to speak in a way that calls the heart to new vision about both. But in disturbing and energizing the heart, he will always be clear where he leads his hearer-to repentance that leads to worship and to service.


Isn't this so cool... anyone reading this should totally read the article and see where they lean within this paradigm of thought. It has been super helpful to me - to have someone so clearly explain how I feel most of the time.