One day in 2019 someone called me a prophet and I had such a visceral reaction I nearly ripped their head off. Up until that point “the prophet” was a white man who leads a religion that has no use for my sinful ways.
So I started doing some research, and asked for the signs if this was true and the signs came by the dozens. I learned a lot about what it means to be a prophet and I realized that the many people who had called me so were probably correct.
Here is the proof that I needed to believe:
Prophets call bullshit when they see it. Here is my prophecy. It is time to disrupt social norms that call for polarization. We are being called to build relationships based on commonalities so that our differences move to the periphery of our conversations. By seeing others in their shared humanity we focus on each other not as enemies but as friends.
Prophets shed light in the dark spaces. I have a tattoo on my back that says, “Forward out of darkness, forward into light.” Breathing into rebellion means that we must risk shedding the light on the darkest recesses of tyranny. Prophets take the risk to speak the truth even when facing death or silencing.
Prophets cannot live at the center of any social structure but they do live on the edges of it. Richard Rohr suggests that prophets live “on the edge of the inside.” Further, Rohr writes that prophets are educated inside the system (hello PhD) and must know and live the rules in order to critique what is non-essential.
I am a rule breaker who infiltrates the membranes of power to disrupt the dehumanization that is rampant in our current political environment.
I am a truth teller who believes that if we tell the stories of our lived experiences then change will take place in America and around the world.
I read and preach the Gospel not from the perspective of Empire Christianity, nor from the refrain of protecting the patriarchy.
I read and preach the Gospel from the lens of the oppressed, the chalice of the matriarchy, and the language of the rebel.
I am indeed a prophet and the Graceful Revolution is the prophecy I have been given by the divine. Join me for a new brand of thinking in 2020. Get on my schedule and let’s talk today!
I love you,
Dr. Melissa Bird