Derek Morris (DM): In recent years there has been a growing interest in prophetic preaching. Let’s start with a definition.
Hyveth Williams (HW): Prophetic preaching is a biblically based form of proclamation in which the preacher exercises the divine authority to be a spokesperson for God invested in them. When I speak of authority, I mean that which Jesus had. It caused “the crowds to be amazed at His teaching for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (see Matt. 7:28, 29). While power is a natural derivative of authority, exercising it out of self-will is always dangerous and oppressive. But when power comes from the divine gift of authority, it becomes liberating and redemptive.
DM: Isn’t that what is supposed to happen in all anointed biblical preaching? What makes prophetic preaching unique?
HW: Yes, all biblical preachers are to exercise this authority, but prophetic preaching speaks up for God’s justice in a way that is different and relevant to the needs or plight of hearers. Prophetic preaching critically challenges the status quo. Prophetic preachers are not preoccupied with being politically correct. Unlike so-called “patriot pastors,”1 prophetic preachers are willing to confront injustice in the nation as well as in their local communities with divine authority. Jesus gave it to His disciples (Luke 9:1, 2). Listeners can identify this in the delivery of messages because the messenger displays the holy boldness of a lion’s heart empowered by the Holy Spirit. I take my cue to preach prophetically from Ellen White who addressed the controversial issue of racism in a powerful prophetic sermon delivered on March 21, 1891, to a group of General Conference leaders.
DM: Can you share something with us from that sermon?
HW: Of course. She said: “There has been much perplexity as to how our laborers in the South shall deal with the ‘color line.’ It has been a question to some how far to concede to the prevailing prejudice against the colored people. The Lord has given us light concerning all such matters. There are principles laid down in His Word that should guide us in dealing with these perplexing questions. The Lord Jesus came to our world to save men and women of all nationalities. He died just as much for the colored people as for the white race.”2 Believe me, she rankled the brethren and paid a price for her forthrightness.
DM: That is what Leonora Tubbs Tisdale talks about in her book Prophetic Preaching: A Pastoral Approach, when she says, “Prophetic preaching is counter cultural and challenges the status quo.” 3
HW: Exactly. Prophetic preaching not only challenges the status quo but offers theological and biblical insights into the current human situation from an individual’s enslavement to sin to current cries for freedom echoed around the world in massive protests. It provides divinely orchestrated strategies on how to move out of despair with determination and hope.
DM: Tisdale also asserts that “Prophetic preaching is concerned with the evils and shortcomings of the present social order and is often more focused on corporate and public issues than on individual and personal concerns.”4 So how does prophetic preaching connect with the life of the individual hearer and does not simply address broad social concerns?
HW: Corporate sin is intimately connected to personal transgression. In fact, corporate sin begins in the head of an individual long before it gets into the system to pollute or pervert it. That’s why it’s important to confront individual sin before it becomes the root of corporate evil. For example, there’s a definite connection between adultery and corporate corruption because a person who is unfaithful to a spouse will more likely be deceptive in their dealings in the marketplace. Prophetic preachers need to speak clearly and powerfully about where we have gone wrong, personally, and then show how to get back on track with God both individually and corporately.
DM: Share with us some specific steps in the preparation of a prophetic sermon.
HW: The first step is to study and integrate the Word of God into one’s mind and soul. This precedes any specific sermon preparation because the prophetic preacher must speak of a God who is known personally to them and can be loved by all. Recently, I was studying the passage in 2 Timothy 2:15 where the apostle Paul encourages the young preacher Timothy to “be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (NKJV). The Greek word spoudazo (diligent), also translated as “study,” means “to be very active,” implying more than being acquainted with information but possessing the noble trait which distinguishes productive servants of God.
DM: So the first step is to be filled with the Word of God, not just theoretically but in an active life-changing way. What’s the second step in prophetic preaching?
HW: The prophetic preacher needs to carefully examine the present cultural, social, or religious situation and then put that situation into a theological and biblical perspective. This is accomplished by asking some pertinent questions: Where have the people gone wrong? How have they turned away from God’s ideal? What role did their leaders play in this error? In 2006, Dr. Calvin Butts of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York,5 preached a sermon at Oakwood University entitled “Of Towers and Lights.”6 He compared the falling of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City to the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. He showed how the activity of leaders had destroyed honor and diminished beauty. He noted that the language of the financial community had become confused. Then he spoke a word from the Lord, calling people to reinstate the language of holiness in all of their activities. That sermon was a wonderful example of prophetic preaching.
DM: So prophetic preaching goes beyond simply pointing out what is wrong either with the social order or in individual lives. Tisdale notes, “Prophetic preaching requires the preacher to name both what is not of God in the world (criticizing) and the new reality God will bring to pass in the future (energizing).”7 Talk to us about proclaiming that new reality.
HW: We have a special message to proclaim in these last days of earth’s history. God created our human family to live with Him eternally. We have turned away from God’s ideal, but God has made a plan for us to be restored to fellowship with Him. Rather than to simply inform, prophetic preaching aims to redeem and transform, to bring people back to a saving relationship with God. We don’t have much time to return. That is why prophetic preaching has a sense of urgency. Here is an illustration that I share with my students. If you come across a house that is on fire and you see a mother and children trapped inside, would you stand outside and say to yourself, “Maybe I should call the fire department”? No! You would shout out with authority and spring into action no matter what the personal cost might be. The world is on fire, morally if not spiritually. It’s time for prophetic preachers to step up and warn earth’s inhabitants how to escape before the final conflagration and show them where to find refuge in Jesus Christ, before He comes again.
DM: What appeals to you personally about prophetic preaching?
HW: The Bible says that Jesus taught “as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22, NKJV). Prophetic preaching appeals to me because it challenges me—in fact, it challenges all of us—to speak with authority. Jesus said to His disciples, “ ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth’ ” (Matt. 28:18, NKJV), and then He gave His disciples authority to “ ‘go therefore and make disciples of all the nations’ ” (Matt. 28:19). Many preachers seem to have lost that authority. Many preachers look more like entertainers rather than Spirit-filled leaders who speak with authority. A few generations ago, people looked up to preachers, viewing them as important figures of authority. Today, we are ignored and presented in the media largely as caricatures or greedy sycophants. The time has come for us to reclaim the gift of prophetic preaching. We need to step forward into the marketplace and declare, “Thus saith the Lord” so that people will once again stop in their tracks and listen to what we have to say. Then they will have no option but to respond to the One who called us to declare righteousness and speak boldly against sin.
DM: Let’s talk about the personal life of the prophetic preacher. An individual in Scripture, who comes to mind as an example of a powerful prophetic preacher, is John the Baptist. He confronted the evils of his day and called people to repent and turn to God and His ideal for their lives. He also lived with such holiness that some even wondered if he was the Messiah. How important is the personal example of the prophetic preacher in giving credibility to the message that is proclaimed?
HW: Not everyone called to preach prophetically will be a John the Baptist of whom Jesus Himself said, “ ‘Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!’ ” (Matt. 11:11, NASB). However, a consistent personal witness by the prophetic preacher is essential. I can also say, from personal experience, that God chooses some of the most unlikely, even broken, vessels to be His prophetic preachers, but they must demonstrate a personal surrender to Christ as Savior and Lord. This means that when they are tempted to compromise a little in some area, they don’t, and this means that when they speak a word, there aren’t members of their family sitting in the congregation saying, “Oh, you should see this person at home.” And this means they are consistently truthful to the high calling God has placed on their lives.
DM: When you look at prophetic preachers both in the Scriptures and in history, it seems that there is a price to pay when you confront a culture that has departed from God’s ideal.
HW: You’re right. Many of those who spoke for God ended up being stoned, imprisoned, mocked, tortured, and crucified (Heb. 11). That’s even true in our day. A twentieth century prophetic preacher who comes to mind is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Others who have paid the price are unsung heroes and heroines whose identities we will not know until Jesus comes. On one occasion Ellen White also said, as any true prophetic preacher would: “I know that which I now speak will bring me into conflict. This I do not covet, for the conflict has seemed to be continuous of late years; but I do not mean to live a coward or die a coward, leaving my work undone. I must follow in my Master’s footsteps.”8 These are my sentiments also. Some people will isolate you and say, “Don’t listen to that crazy preacher!” But Jesus said, “ ‘Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you’ ” (Matt. 5:11, 12, NKJV).
DM: It’s certainly important to remember that we’re not taking this path as prophetic preachers because it’s the smooth road or the popular path. What books would you recommend for pastors who want to learn more about prophetic preaching?
HW: You have already mentioned the excellent book by Leonora Tubbs Tisdale, Prophetic Preaching: A Pastoral Approach. That’s one of the best volumes that I’ve read on prophetic preaching. There is also a little volume by Marvin McMickle titled Where Have All the Prophets Gone? 9 Some other helpful books include Voicing the Vision: Imagination and Prophetic Preaching by Linda L. Clader10 and Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann.11
DM: What words of encouragement would you give to a preacher who is impacted by this interview but feels afraid of what the personal cost might be?
HW: I would say, “Praise God that you don’t feel adequate for the task.” The one who is not scared is the one who scares me. Run from the preacher who is self-confident and self-promoting. That person is a false prophet. When you sense the awesomeness of the task of prophetic preaching, you have something in common with great prophetic preachers like Jeremiah and Isaiah, who trembled in the presence of God but went forward to preach anyway, depending wholly on the power of God
REFERENCES
1. Marvin A. McMickle, Where Have All The Prophets Gone? Reclaiming Prophetic Preaching in America (Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press, 2006).
2. Ellen G. White, The Southern Work (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1966), 9.
3. Leonora Tubbs Tisdale, Prophetic Preaching: A Pastoral Approach (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 10.
4. Ibid.
5. http://www.abyssinian.org/about-us/pastors-bio/.
6. http://www.videosurf.com/video/of-towers-and-lightsbutts-calvin-61656480.
7. Ibid.
8. White, 11.
9. (Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press, 2006).
10. (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2003).
11. (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2001).