Who is the Modern Day Prophet?

I had a fascinating conversation with my pastor the other day, and he posed a challenging question. He asked, "who is the modern day prophet?"

Let's first clarify what he meant and what we're looking for here. We're not looking for the date of the apocalypse. We're not looking for the moment when Jesus will break through the sky. My understanding of the prophetic voice is not so much one who foretells the future but more as one who interprets the current situation (of the church). The Old Testament prophets would operate in this way, confronting the injustices of the people of Israel and calling them back to the way of the Lord. In present day this person would see the injustices of the church and call us back to faithfulness to our God.

So who is this person...is there even one...or does there need to be? The initial question rose out of a conversation dealing with how to awake the church from her slumber and becoming so akin to the cultural norms that there is no longer distinction nor a desire to be a people called apart (a holy nation...a people declaring the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light). This has been a conversation I've had with many different people over the past years. A similar response we've all come to is persecution...that persecution would be what wakes the church out of such a slumber.

I'm not sure. I almost think if we all tended to live a little more prophetically that in and of itself would invite persecution. This is a very broad read, but I think it's a just one. The times of persecution in the prophets and the New Testament were brought about by one of two things: idolatry or boldness. The Old Testament prophets were concerned with the idolatry of Israel...going after other gods, forming alliances with other nations, etc. This literally destroyed them as a nation and sent them into exile...indefinitely. The book of Acts reads like a similar prophetic book, although the suffering and persecution endured by God's people was for a completely different reason: because they were bold in their proclamation.

Boldness or idolatry.

So who is the modern day prophet? Who is calling us away from idolatry and to bold living? Is there anyone? Or perhaps is it a lot of people we don't really hear much about? In some ways I suppose that we are all called to live prophetically. Living boldly I believe is living prophetically. It's calling us to a higher Kingdom with a greater faith in the power of Christ and the Spirit no matter what the cost.

Ah yes...the cost...

Faith Without Rights

A series of questions...

Suppose for a minute you had no rights as a Christian. You could not speak the name of Jesus under penalty of imprisonment and death. What would come of your faith? Would it cease? Could someone take it from you?

So you have to have a right to be a Christian? You have to have a right to pray in school? The 10 Commandments need to be posted on a courthouse? If they are taken away, does that make the 10 Commandments any less valid? If taken away, are they then meaningless because they are not in the public eye? Were they intended to be a placard or a way of life?

What if we had no voice, but all we could do was to live out lives exemplifying Christ? What if the only way we could show Jesus was through service? What if our freedom for Sunday gatherings was taken away? Would our faith diminish because of no place to meet, or is Jesus something bigger than a place or a voice? Does Jesus become less real in you if He can't be talked about around you? Would there be a noticable difference in your actions if the only way you could express your faith was through action?

What did the writer of Ecclesiastes mean when he said "You are God in heaven, and here am I on earth...so I'll let my words be few?" Does reverence toward God mean fewer words and greater action? What would the world think if we willingly gave up talking about our faith and began demonstrating it instead? Would there be less hypocritical accusations toward the church?

My point: Faith is something within...lived out...sometimes without words...heavy in witness through actions...not for self justification but love for others...it doesn't need to have rights...it can survive without them...and it fact, at times, it grows without them too.

How to Navigate this Kingdom

Conviction. I was in conversation today with a friend who was telling me about a hard time they were having. Something didn't turn out the way they wanted or anticipated and the main thing was they were unhappy. However, there were a series of choices that led to that point, all determined by what seemed good.

We live in a conviction-less society. I would pose the challenge is the same for the church. We are guided by culture instead of guiding culture. Culture dictates us rather than Scripture directing us. When we end up in a place where we don't want to be it's often our fault for getting there. We were guided by how we felt, and as you know that changes by the day...or the hour...or minute.

We as people are highly inconsistent and need something besides the head on our shoulders to guide us through a culture which tells us anything goes. But how does this happen? Scripture.

At least one reason for the lack of conviction is the secondary nature Scripture plays in guiding our lives and shaping our beliefs and convictions. Convictions guide you into what you do (helping the poor, being a good steward of what you have, loving enemies, etc) and what you don't do (drunkenness, pre-marital sex, taking advantage of others, etc). The problem is the latter half of what Scripture warns us against is now widely accepted in the church without a second thought. Convictions are not easy to live by because they necessitate sacrifice of what you may want to do, but what is not the best.

Listen to the great words of Paul (1 Cor. 10:23): "Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive." Around me I see a society of people that don't think much of themselves. How do I see this? Because they try to numb their own sense of insecurity with materialism and parasitic relationships that somehow momentarily make them feel better. As a culture we've done plenty to deconstruct ourselves and to make us into nothing more than consumers...and that goes for more than just how we spend our money but also delves into how we view relationships.

Convictions are part of the construct of a person. One with few to no convictions are known for just that. One who holds to their convictions most of the time are seen with respect (that is, unless their forceful and prideful about them). With the dissolution of truth has went the foundation of Scripture, the very basis by which godly conviction is derived. People will hear how the Bible instructs them but then see it as irrelevant because it is so counter-cultural. But for those interested in a guide to help them develop convictions to live by, Scripture is the beginning and the end.

Last word...convictions cannot be held if one only thinks of themselves. Convictions are to guide who you are in relationship to God and others. It's wanting to serve God and serve others. Lack of convictions lead to the entropy of a person...soon it just destroys you from the inside.

Understanding Two Kingdoms

I have been blessed over the last week to sit with some fine thinkers within our denomination (Brethren In Christ). I was in a course required for ordination where we discussed our denominations history and theology of salvation. I must say, I was transformed to say the least. I had never grasped how great our understanding of salvation was. Moving on...

One thing that is important to our heritage is the understanding of two Kingdom theology. In short, you have the Kingdom of this world and then the Kingdom of our God. Over the next series of posts I hope to flesh out a little more what the implications of this are, for there are many and they are important for how we understand this world and how we live in it.

When Jesus says to Pilate that His Kingdom is not of this world He is making a profound statement. With not much time today I just wanted to put up where we'll be moving here in the next series of posts. Oh yea, and I'll get to the Spirit and Holiness soon too!