By Sarah Carter

[This is part of a series on John The Baptist as Prophet. You can read the other posts here!]

Dear American Church, here are some Resolutions. Love, John the Baptist.

Ok, I’m a little late for the New Year’s resolutions, but since it’s still relatively early in 2014, I think we can still throw a few out there. Instead of new gym routines and eating better, maybe we can collectively agree on some resolutions for the church in the US as a whole. In line with our John the Baptist series, I’m gonna go out on a hermeneutical limb and try to imagine what John’s suggestions for improvement to the American church might sound like. What he would say to us if we, like the crowd, invited him to tell us what to do? (These are my reflections on Luke 3:1-18).

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[This is part of a series on John The Baptist as Prophet. You can read the other posts here!]

By Sarah Carter

One of the most intriguing windows into John the Baptist’s heart is found in Matthew 11 (or Luke 7) as he sits in jail, his life close to its end. Something about this conversation between Jesus and John speaks deeply to the places of doubt and misunderstanding in my own life, particularly in the prophetic or apostolic risks I have stepped into.

In the story, John sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus an important question: “Are you the one who is to come,or should we expect someone else?” This inquiry seems bold in its skepticism, or perhaps disappointment. Without assuming John’s attitude behind such a question, it’s safe to say he was struggling with some serious uncertainty about Jesus’ identity. Maybe it was the lack of fire baptisms, threshing, and chaff burning…basically any judgment in general (Matt. 3:12).  Maybe it was tinged with a little more self-interest or even entitlement as John rotted in jail (could you help a ‘cuz out?)

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The six weeks leading up to Easter are observed all over the world as a season of preparation and repentance, known as Lent. If observed at all in evangelical circles, often Lent is a time to try and give up sweets, coffee, or TV. Instead of a holier version of New Year’s Resolutions, Lent has the potential to reach deeper into our lives and hearts and, in the words of the wise Christine Sine,

“sweep out the corners in which sin has accumulated”

I believe it is a season to cultivate the prophetic in each of us individually, and in our communities of faith as well.

While this post is not technically in the John the Baptist series, his prophetic ministry worked a lot like Lent. He was preparing the way for the Messiah Jesus in the ancient Jewish community by calling for a baptism of repentance, helping people change the way they lived so they could make way for Jesus. Lent is the season that makes space in our life for Jesus to come into it more fully. As we prepare, sometimes by getting rid of things that block our ability to connect with God, sometimes by diving into things more deeply that bring us closer to him, we make space.

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[This is part of a series on John The Baptist as Prophet. You can read the other posts here!]

My husband and I recently became foster parents of a baby boy. We picked him up from the hospital when he was just 2 days old. His life, very unknown to us, stretches out like a blank manuscript, waiting to be written.

When a smile breaks across his face, I sometimes think about all the things ahead that will make him laugh, bring him joy. When he cries, I know all too well the possible heartbreaks he may face, already having braved a traumatic entry into this world.  His life is one big deposit of potential. He could be an artist, a teacher, a criminal, or a revolutionary.

God has marked us all, built in each of us the DNA that will shape the rest of our lives. Here at this blog we talk a lot about apostles, evangelists and prophets. I believe these are both gifts God gives people at certain times for certain purposes, but also ways that God has hard-wired some of us to be. This “wiring” can be seen throughout our life, if we look closely.  The journey of our lives often shows us marks, or signposts, of what God is calling us into becoming.

The life of John the Baptist reveals such marks, they are the fingerprints of God’s call on his life and also obedient responses from John and his family. The marks  on John’s life as a prophet are clear from the beginning, and stretch throughout his life, giving us a glimpse of what marks may exist in our own lives or in the lives of those around us.

Here are six marks of a prophet in John’s life that pave the way for his life purpose.

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Zechariah prophesying over lil’ John the Baptist. From Jonathan Case

[This is part of a series on John The Baptist as Prophet. You can read the other posts here!]

I love the Advent season. It is a time of collective waiting, contemplating the arrival of Jesus’ birth. Advent is a time to marinate in the early story of Jesus, and I particularly appreciate Luke’s account. In Luke’s gospel alone are we introduced to the family of John the Baptist.

One of my favorite Advent devotionals is called Watch for the Light, and the introduction writes this about Advent: “Mother Teresa once noted that the first person to welcome Christ was John the Baptist, who leaped for joy on recognizing him, though both of them were still within their mother’s wombs. We, in start contrast, are often so dulled by superficial distractions that we are incapable of hearing any voice within, let alone listening to it.” There is something about Advent that calls me to slow down, and listen to the deep longings within me, the things I wait for.

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[This is part of a series on John The Baptist as Prophet. You can read the other posts here!]

We are excited to announce that a new series on John the Baptist will be starting. We are going to look at the life of a prophet through the lens of John! Make sure to subscribe and stay tuned!

One of my favorite characters in the Bible is John the Baptist. Maybe it’s his eclectic lifestyle choices, his struggles with doubt, or his unfailing humility. One thing that’s clear to me is that John the Baptist was an APE. I think he definitely had a Prophet/Evangelist bent, but starting a flourishing baptism of repentance ministry from scratch gives him definite Apostolic points, too.

From birth until death, John’s life made way for the Messiah Jesus. Mark describes John by quoting Isaiah: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way—a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” John paved straight paths in many ways, from rebuking the current religious authorities to calling out everyday believers into a more just life, to literally pointing out Jesus to his followers.

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Reading Beau’s post yesterday on the differences between evangelistic and apostolic gifting compelled me to offer this post about how prophetic gifts fit into the mix. How, or where, do prophets fit in this conversation about APEST giftings, and in the Church for that matter?

I would argue the prophets are the least understood of the five-fold gifts, and most broadly interpreted in different directions. It’s tempting to think of prophets as either doomsday preachers shouting about the end of the world or strange fortune-tellers predicting the future. While some could fit those stereotypes (and you could give examples from scripture), I think the prophetic gifts manifest in ways that are crucial to the present, and actually unlock and build on the work of the evangelists and apostles out there.

Walter Brueggemann articulates the role of the prophet in his book The Prophetic Imagination:

“The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.”

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If you want to find a gathering of prophets within the North American church today, look no farther than the Christian Community Development Association. Founded by John Perkins and others. You can read more about their vision here.

I attended the national CCDA conference this past week in Minneapolis, and it was a rich time of theology, inspiration, and rubbing shoulders with everyday believers that are radically living out the gospel of reconciliation and justice.

There were some fantastic plenary speakers, and one talk in particular given by Chris Rice and Emmanuel Katongole offered some profound insight that applies to the  “Releasing the A.P.E.” context as much as it does to the work of reconciliation, which was the theme of the CCDA conference this year.

Here are their three essentials, taken directly from their talk. Most of the content is theirs, and I have interpreted it within an A.P.E. lens.

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