A Prophetic People Emerges

Last night our prophet, Stephen Veazey spoke “on-line” to a prophetic people. The church is accelerating in this direction of being the church through a computer, TV or smart phone screen. Our ability to be “with” one another without being physically present is a reality that is already happening in meaningful ways. Small groups, worship services, strategic, teaching and facilitative workshops and meaningful moments all occur frequently through digital connections. Let us embrace this technology to be personal yet global in new sacred expressions of the church.

Community of Christ is in the midst of an exciting time characterized by the term, “prophetic imagination”. In the expectant encounter of the Divine being present within a spiritually prepared and willing people, creativity emerges. The nature of being a prophetic people is such that in becoming awakened and open to spiritual formation we become pioneers of discernment. We become entrepreneurial envisioners of new models, expressions and means of being the church. Being a prophetic people exists in a tension of being both mindful of God’s leadings and exercising autonomy with our gifts, skills and cultural opportunities to reflect the church in relevant ways to society around us. These two factors bless us with empowerment. A reality of our mindsets today is that people do not participate in an idea or an enterprise unless they have ownership in the decision or processes. Perhaps this is a bold statement in relation to “Christ’s Mission, Our Mission” but I believe the “Our” in the statement is the prophetic people response, the grass roots response to the indwelling spirit that magnifies our capacity to be an empowered people, a committed people, even a covenant people. When our hearts and minds encounter the enlivenment of the Spirit, vast capacities of imagination, giftedness, empathy and motivational resolve transform us individually and collectively into a Prophetic People.

A prophetic people embodies unity within a diverse people. We celebrate the immensity of ideas resident within our midst and beyond. We are called to mutually affirm one another with holy reverence, acknowledging “God in us”. We are called into Dialogue as the means to truly and deeply know one another, to bridge differences and build what we envision by capitalizing upon our mutual giftedness. Dialogue is a sacred virtue of our church built into the principle of common consent. A prophetic people engage in dialogue as a spiritual practice that transcends our differences and multiplies new possibilities released through our mutuality. Dialogue enables us to uphold our identity as Community of Christ, for it invites prophetic expression both from the grass roots and our prophet. Dialogue nurtures accord through empathic mutuality; peace-building and reconciling qualities needed in every community. Synergies of collective, cascading creativity erupt from a prophetic people in mindful dialogue, disrupting the ordinary and transforming it into the extraordinary; indeed into a Community of Christ. Discipleship, Discernment and Dialogue are the pillars of prophetic imagination. God is at work in receptive individuals everywhere who are yearning to become a prophetic people led by a prophetic leader.

Submitted by Kerry Richards