Prophet | APEST
By Charley Dever
“My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.” Ezekiel 33:31-32
Biblical Idleness
During my seminary years, I worked for a church in the Chicago suburbs and was invited to sit in on meetings with the teaching team. As an eager seminarian and aspiring teacher, I was excited to bless the team with all the new things I was learning.
During a discussion on what the congregation needed most, I suggested that they could benefit from a deeper dive into the biblical text—exploring books and passages that weren't commonly taught. My feeling was that our biggest problem was a simple lack of knowledge.
Expecting to be applauded for my astute observations, I was instead disappointed by the lead pastor’s blunt response. He looked at me and said, “Our community is not suffering from biblical illiteracy; they are suffering from biblical idleness.”
At the time, I passionately disagreed. But as time has gone on, I’ve grown to appreciate what my pastor (and mentor of two decades) was saying. Though biblical knowledge is good, the primary issue plaguing the church was not a lack of information. It was a lack of action. In the words of the prophet Ezekiel, “they hear [the] words but do not put them into practice.”
The Prophetic Impulse
The sentiment shown by my pastor and Ezekiel is what we call a “prophetic impulse.” Those who carry it possess a unique closeness to the heart and mind of God, and they feel compelled to confront things that do not align with God’s ideal.
The word, prophet, comes from the Greek word, prophetes, meaning “one who speaks forth” or “advocates.” Someone with a prophetic impulse has the ability to discern the spiritual realities and implications of a situation. They often see things from a different perspective than those around them, giving them the ability to call out inconsistencies, oversights, and injustices that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Ultimately, a prophet is a questioner, a truth-seeker, and a challenger who is constantly looking for ways to move people and communities closer to God’s heart.
The Shadow Side
Like every spiritual gift, the prophetic gift has its blind spots. When left unchecked by other voices and perspectives, a prophet’s relentless pursuit of truth and justice can push away or leave behind those who are slower to move toward God’s ideal.
The necessary work of spiritual formation, reconciliation, and sanctification is often slow, and someone with a prophetic voice can easily grow impatient with the pace of others. They may perceive slow progress as no progress at all. At times, a prophetic person can cross the line from redemptive challenge to destructive criticism and fail to celebrate the small, but important wins along the way.
Furthermore, if a prophetic person is stuck in a community where their gift is not valued, they will quickly grow bitter and may abandon the community altogether. Because prophetic challenge can feel like judgment, these voices are often pushed out or silenced.
For the good of themselves and the community, prophets must actively resist the urge to pull away. A community must embrace those with a prophetic voice even when they seem to be overly critical. Prophets are prone to isolation, which is deeply destructive to both them and to the body of Christ, which desperately needs their voice.
Is This You?
Here are some common characteristics of someone with a prophetic impulse. If these traits resonate with you, you may carry this specific spiritual gifting:
Status Quo Disruptor: You naturally question what has become normative, disturbing comfortable thinking and practices.
Catalyst for Change: You intentionally agitate for positive, systemic change rather than settling for what’s comfortable.
Purposeful Learner: You desire deeper knowledge and learning primarily for the purpose of influencing others toward truth.
Spiritual Discernment: You have the ability to discern what’s true and seek to ensure an authentic response to it.
God-Centered Focus: You believe the core issue of any human dilemma is ultimately a person's immediate relationship with God.
Profound Urgency: You feel a constant, in-the-moment urgency that whispers, "This must happen right now."
Deep Compassion: You carry a profound, heavy compassion for the well-being of the people - specifically those who are overlooked or oppressed.
Moving Forward
If you carry a prophetic voice, you are vital to the health and formation of your community. You are the one who calls out the things that don't align with God's heart, keeping the church from falling into apathy or hypocrisy.
Just remember that because your focus is fixed on God's ideal, you will often feel dissatisfied with where the rest of the community stands. Practice patience. Intentionally listen to the pastoral and teaching voices around you because they will often see beautiful progress where you only see stagnation. Those voices can help you speak truth with more understanding and grace.
