The Prophet in Public Ministry: Exercising the Prophetic Imagination in Troubled Times

Join Jim Webner on Wednesdays from August 20th until September 17th at 7pm Eastern! How are we to live in a world in which those in power attempt to preclude the possibility of God's active involvement in human history? Walter Bureggemann names this the "royal consciousness," and it's nothing new; he sees it at work in Pharaoh's Egypt, Solomon's Israel, and Rome's occupation of Judea. For many of us, it's at work today, across the globe and in our own backyards. How are we to respond?

Brueggemann sees a potentially powerful response in the exercise of the prophetic imagination, which combines a critique rooted in pathos with a new energy fueled by amazement. Learning from the examples of Second Isaiah and Jesus of Nazareth, our prophetic imaginations can meet the ideology, denial, and despair of the oppressor with reality, grief, and ultimately, hope.

In this five-session series, we will explore Brueggemann's…