I have a spiritual gift I wish I didn’t have.
The gift of prophecy.
I wish the Lord had given me the gift of exhortation, or giving, or healing instead. But I wasn’t consulted in the matter, because the Lord distributes the gifts as He wills (1 Cor. 12:11, 18).
I’ve taken many spiritual gift tests … and asked others to take those same tests with me in mind. In fact, I took a class called “Discerning Your Ministry Identity” for my doctoral program, and the results always come out the same.
Teaching is my top gift. Prophecy is second.
I can’t foretell the future, so please don’t ask me who’s going to win the World Series or the election in November!
But I do sense the freedom to speak openly and candidly about cultural and personal issues from a biblical standpoint.
Here’s how this gift – featured in 1 Corinthians 14 – manifests itself in the life of a modern-day prophet:
First, prophets are drawn to controversy. I first discovered this at age 19. When I taught publicly, I wanted to talk about issues that others wouldn’t talk about.
Stephen Brown, author, pastor, and radio preacher, lived by this motto whenever he preached:
WHEN IN DOUBT, SAY IT.
Brown believed that whenever a pastor said something unplanned, those words would be more memorable and impactful to a congregation.
Maybe so … maybe not.
Some of the best things I’ve ever said … and some of the stupidest … occurred when I practiced that motto.
But like the prophets of old, sometimes I have to say things … because God’s word is like a fire in my bones.
Second, prophets feel free to talk about any subject.
Over the years, while having conversations with pastor friends, I’ve discovered that many of them are uncomfortable talking about certain issues from the pulpit.
Examples?
Giving to God’s work. Sex … even inside marriage. Homosexuality. Couples who live together outside marriage. Hell. The wrath of God. Intelligent design and creationism.
And you don’t know how many times I wanted to wade into politics … but didn’t.
But a pastor with the gift of prophecy says to himself, “If I don’t speak about these issues from Scripture, how will people know God’s mind on these topics?”
This is why I’m drawn to people who do talk about these issues.
It’s why I thought the late Chuck Colson was the best Christian speaker I’ve ever heard. When the Jim Bakker scandal broke in the late 1980s, I heard Colson publicly critique the prosperity gospel in a biblical, succinct, and devastating way. He was a modern-day prophet.
It’s why I’ve appreciated Bill Hybels’ ministry over the years. I used to become quite upset when Christians would criticize Hybels for watering down the gospel because I never found it to be true. He gave the best messages I’ve ever heard on substitutionary atonement … and hell … and abortion … and homosexuality … and he never pulled punches in the process.
I’m currently writing and talking about the devastating effects that the forced termination of pastors has on Christians, churches, and pastors and their families. This is not a topic most believers want to hear about, but this problem is becoming an epidemic in our country … and people are leaving their churches … and even their faith … because of the way these situations are being handled in local churches.
Someone has to speak up … and pray that God’s people will pay attention.
As a wise man once told me, some practices inside Christian churches can only be changed by people who are angry enough to speak out.
Third, the prophetic gift can go against one’s personality.
My two favorite Bible characters are Jeremiah and Timothy.
They both shrank from their calls to ministry.
They both felt unsuccessful.
They both felt like quitting at times.
And they were both sensitive men.
God took a sensitive man like Jeremiah … called him to be a prophet … told him in advance that his ministry would fail … and then insured that he was always alone!
That’s how it feels at time to have this gift.
If God gives someone the gift of prophecy, shouldn’t He give it to a person with an iron will and nerves of steel?
But sometimes He gives this gift to a person with a tender, bleeding heart.
You feel like a spiritual schizophrenic.
Prophets may feel fear before they speak … but they go out and speak anyway … with the authority of God Almighty behind them. As Paul said to the church at Corinth: “I came to you in weakness and fear, and much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3).
But he still preached Christ to them … in the power of God’s Spirit.
Finally, prophets always pay a price when they use their gift.
Some prophets are abrasive and obnoxious when they exercise their gift. Keith Green … whose music I love … believed God had given him the prophetic gift, but he had a habit of slamming people when he used it. Before he died, he apologized for the way he used his gift.
Prophets are free to speak the mind of God to the people of God … they just have to do it in love.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:2, “If I have the gift of prophecy … but have not love, I am nothing.”
Four years ago, the state of California was getting ready to vote on the definition of marriage … that marriage was between one man and one woman.
I have pastor friends who chose not to speak on that topic, stating that they weren’t going to change anybody’s mind about it.
But I believed … and still do … that we preachers had the opportunity to clearly delineate what God’s Word says on this issue. But as Paul says about prophecy, we needed to do it for people’s “strengthening, encouragement and comfort” (1 Cor. 14:3).
So I talked on “Defending Biblical Marriage.” Gay marriage proponents loudly proclaim their position … and if we Christians are silent, don’t they win the argument by default?
When I gave the message, I knew some people would applaud me … some would attack me … and some would abandon me.
But I had to do it … and would do it again in a heartbeat … even though I believe that message angered the enemy … and that he gradually began to cause damage from that moment on.
The church of Jesus needs prophets who proclaim the whole counsel of God.
And when they do, we need to pray for them, encourage them, and stand behind them … even when they say something that others don’t like … or even we don’t like.
The alternative is for the church of Jesus Christ to be biblically illiterate, culturally irrelevant, and spiritually impotent.
I am not the body. You are not the body.
I need your gifts … and you need mine.
Even the gift of prophecy.
Follow the way of love, and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 1 Corinthians 14:1
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Restoring Kingdom Builders 
“Lord, I Don’t Want to be a Prophet!”
Posted in Church Conflict, Church Health and Conflict, Conflict with the Pastor, Fighting Evil, Pastoral Termination, Personal Stories, Please Comment!, tagged 1 Corinthians 14:1, gift of prophecy, prophets and controversy, prophets and suffering on August 22, 2012| 15 Comments »
I have a spiritual gift I wish I didn’t have.
The gift of prophecy.
I wish the Lord had given me the gift of exhortation, or giving, or healing instead. But I wasn’t consulted in the matter, because the Lord distributes the gifts as He wills (1 Cor. 12:11, 18).
I’ve taken many spiritual gift tests … and asked others to take those same tests with me in mind. In fact, I took a class called “Discerning Your Ministry Identity” for my doctoral program, and the results always come out the same.
Teaching is my top gift. Prophecy is second.
I can’t foretell the future, so please don’t ask me who’s going to win the World Series or the election in November!
But I do sense the freedom to speak openly and candidly about cultural and personal issues from a biblical standpoint.
Here’s how this gift – featured in 1 Corinthians 14 – manifests itself in the life of a modern-day prophet:
First, prophets are drawn to controversy. I first discovered this at age 19. When I taught publicly, I wanted to talk about issues that others wouldn’t talk about.
Stephen Brown, author, pastor, and radio preacher, lived by this motto whenever he preached:
WHEN IN DOUBT, SAY IT.
Brown believed that whenever a pastor said something unplanned, those words would be more memorable and impactful to a congregation.
Maybe so … maybe not.
Some of the best things I’ve ever said … and some of the stupidest … occurred when I practiced that motto.
But like the prophets of old, sometimes I have to say things … because God’s word is like a fire in my bones.
Second, prophets feel free to talk about any subject.
Over the years, while having conversations with pastor friends, I’ve discovered that many of them are uncomfortable talking about certain issues from the pulpit.
Examples?
Giving to God’s work. Sex … even inside marriage. Homosexuality. Couples who live together outside marriage. Hell. The wrath of God. Intelligent design and creationism.
And you don’t know how many times I wanted to wade into politics … but didn’t.
But a pastor with the gift of prophecy says to himself, “If I don’t speak about these issues from Scripture, how will people know God’s mind on these topics?”
This is why I’m drawn to people who do talk about these issues.
It’s why I thought the late Chuck Colson was the best Christian speaker I’ve ever heard. When the Jim Bakker scandal broke in the late 1980s, I heard Colson publicly critique the prosperity gospel in a biblical, succinct, and devastating way. He was a modern-day prophet.
It’s why I’ve appreciated Bill Hybels’ ministry over the years. I used to become quite upset when Christians would criticize Hybels for watering down the gospel because I never found it to be true. He gave the best messages I’ve ever heard on substitutionary atonement … and hell … and abortion … and homosexuality … and he never pulled punches in the process.
I’m currently writing and talking about the devastating effects that the forced termination of pastors has on Christians, churches, and pastors and their families. This is not a topic most believers want to hear about, but this problem is becoming an epidemic in our country … and people are leaving their churches … and even their faith … because of the way these situations are being handled in local churches.
Someone has to speak up … and pray that God’s people will pay attention.
As a wise man once told me, some practices inside Christian churches can only be changed by people who are angry enough to speak out.
Third, the prophetic gift can go against one’s personality.
My two favorite Bible characters are Jeremiah and Timothy.
They both shrank from their calls to ministry.
They both felt unsuccessful.
They both felt like quitting at times.
And they were both sensitive men.
God took a sensitive man like Jeremiah … called him to be a prophet … told him in advance that his ministry would fail … and then insured that he was always alone!
That’s how it feels at time to have this gift.
If God gives someone the gift of prophecy, shouldn’t He give it to a person with an iron will and nerves of steel?
But sometimes He gives this gift to a person with a tender, bleeding heart.
You feel like a spiritual schizophrenic.
Prophets may feel fear before they speak … but they go out and speak anyway … with the authority of God Almighty behind them. As Paul said to the church at Corinth: “I came to you in weakness and fear, and much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3).
But he still preached Christ to them … in the power of God’s Spirit.
Finally, prophets always pay a price when they use their gift.
Some prophets are abrasive and obnoxious when they exercise their gift. Keith Green … whose music I love … believed God had given him the prophetic gift, but he had a habit of slamming people when he used it. Before he died, he apologized for the way he used his gift.
Prophets are free to speak the mind of God to the people of God … they just have to do it in love.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:2, “If I have the gift of prophecy … but have not love, I am nothing.”
Four years ago, the state of California was getting ready to vote on the definition of marriage … that marriage was between one man and one woman.
I have pastor friends who chose not to speak on that topic, stating that they weren’t going to change anybody’s mind about it.
But I believed … and still do … that we preachers had the opportunity to clearly delineate what God’s Word says on this issue. But as Paul says about prophecy, we needed to do it for people’s “strengthening, encouragement and comfort” (1 Cor. 14:3).
So I talked on “Defending Biblical Marriage.” Gay marriage proponents loudly proclaim their position … and if we Christians are silent, don’t they win the argument by default?
When I gave the message, I knew some people would applaud me … some would attack me … and some would abandon me.
But I had to do it … and would do it again in a heartbeat … even though I believe that message angered the enemy … and that he gradually began to cause damage from that moment on.
The church of Jesus needs prophets who proclaim the whole counsel of God.
And when they do, we need to pray for them, encourage them, and stand behind them … even when they say something that others don’t like … or even we don’t like.
The alternative is for the church of Jesus Christ to be biblically illiterate, culturally irrelevant, and spiritually impotent.
I am not the body. You are not the body.
I need your gifts … and you need mine.
Even the gift of prophecy.
Follow the way of love, and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 1 Corinthians 14:1
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