By Eric Rafferty
Of all the gifts in the body of Christ, prophets above all appear to function just fine on their own. The Bible is full of examples of independent prophets who were sent alone with a message or a task from God. They challenged leaders. They rebuked nations and societies. They stood alone in the gap between God and his people. Maybe this is why so many of the prophets of scripture responded to their initial prophetic calling by basically screaming, “NOOOOOOOO!”
Prophets reveal the heart of God in a specific time and place. They have a burden for God himself and for the things that are important to him. They call God’s people back to his heart for justice and righteousness. A lot of the time that means challenging leaders and communities who have strayed away from God. When the leaders of Israel began to oppress the poor, God sent Amos with a message of rebuke and correction. When they worshipped idols, Hosea was sent to turn their hearts back to God. John the Baptist brought a challenging message of repentance to the entire nation. He even had corrective words for the visiting Roman soldiers. At other times in scripture, prophets came communicating affirmation and strengthening believers with encouragement. Silas and Judas brought one such message to the church in Antioch in Acts 15:32.
Prophets are essential to the body of Christ! And it’s easy to see why. Anyone can get so caught up in what they’re doing that they stray from the heart of God. Apostles can build empires for themselves, evangelists can settle for a cheap and easy gospel, shepherds can show compassion without correction, and teachers can teach about God without knowing God. We should all welcome prophets to help our teams, our ministries, and our churches stay close to the heart of God in all that we do. We need prophets!
But what do prophets need? Who’s helping them develop and mature “to the stature of the fullness of Christ”? (Ephesians 4:13) If we really take Ephesians 4 seriously, then we must believe that it takes all of the callings functioning together to reveal the image of Christ in his body. Here’s my take on how prophets are served and equipped by the other callings:
[Forum Topic: Welcoming Prophets…What’s Your Take?]
Apostle – From Moments to Movements
Prophets create moments where people have an encounter with the living God. They bring a word of clarity or a fiery challenge and people are cut to the heart not just by the prophet’s words but by the presence of God himself. Left alone prophets can string together a series of these God moments without turning them into a God movement. Apostles help prophets resist the gravitational pull to one place and instead begin to send people out from the presence of God with the presence of God.
Evangelists – From Conviction to Conversion
As we’ve stated before, the words of prophets call people and nations back to the heart of God. Evangelists can help to connect a prophet’s message to non-believers and allow their words to impact a wider audience. Prophets are powerful in exposing areas of brokenness and corruption in culture. When they’re partnered with evangelists it’s not just about giving words to convict people but actually leading them to salvation and new life.
Shepherds – Staying Rooted in Love
A major shadow-side of the prophetic gift, especially in younger prophetic leaders, can be that they love God with a passion but at times love his people very little. With laser focus they hone in on what is broken or lacking in a community. They see what’s not right in a person’s character and their prophetic correction can be fueled with anger not just zeal for God. Shepherds are ideal partners for prophets. Driven by love for people, shepherds build communities that welcome people in with all of their brokenness. Shepherds help prophets stay rooted in love for people. “The kindness of God leads us to repentance.” (Romans 2:4) It is in love that God corrects and challenges. Shepherds help prophets do likewise.
Teachers – Head and heart, feeling and understanding
One of the real gifts of prophets is that they can help people engage with their hearts. They help us to not just know about God but to know God intimately and personally through first hand experience. They facilitate moments where people are confronted with the living God. In its extreme form, this can look like a whole lot of passion, emotion, and zeal without much understanding or grounding in Holy Scripture. The question that teachers ask in partnership with prophets is, “Is this Biblical?”
Which one of these resonates with you the most? Is there something we are missing? Please share in the comments!
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