Urgently Needed: Prophetic Leaders
We need prophetic leaders who can see through the distractions and noise of the world and speak for God.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the urgent need for prophetic leaders in a time when religious news is abundant yet lacks spiritual depth. He critiques the overwhelming focus on religious activities and publicity, urging that true leadership should discern God's perspective amidst the noise. Tozer calls for leaders who can see beyond the surface and understand the true direction of the church and its mission. He challenges the audience to seek the heart of God rather than merely following popular trends in religion.
Text
There has probably never been another time in the history of the world when so many people knew so much about religious happenings as they do today. The newspapers are eager to print religious news; the secular news magazines devote several pages of each issue to the doings of the church and the synagogue; a number of press associations gather church news and make it available to the religious journals at a small cost. Even the hiring of professional publicity men to plug one or another preacher or religious movement is no longer uncommon; the mail is stuffed with circulars and ?releases,? while radio and television join to tell the listening public what religious people are doing throughout the world.
Greater publicity for religion may be well and I have no fault to find with it. Surely religion should be the most newsworthy thing on earth, and there may be some small encouragement in the thought that vast numbers of persons want to read about it. What disturbs me is that, amidst all the religious hubbub, hardly a voice is raised to tell us what God thinks about the whole thing.
Where is the man who can see through the ticker tape and confetti to discover which way the parade is headed, why it started in the first place and, particularly, who is riding up front in the seat of honor?
Not the fact that the churches are unusually active these days, not what religious people are doing, should engage our attention, but why these things are so. . . .
Sermon Outline
- The Problem of Modern Religious Activity
- The Disturbing Lack of Prophetic Voices
- The Need for Prophetic Leaders
- We need leaders who can see through the noise and distractions
- Prophetic leaders will help us understand God's perspective
Key Quotes
“Where is the man who can see through the ticker tape and confetti to discover which way the parade is headed, why it started in the first place and, particularly, who is riding up front in the seat of honor?” — A.W. Tozer
“Not the fact that the churches are unusually active these days, not what religious people are doing, should engage our attention, but why these things are so.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We should focus on understanding God's perspective and purpose behind religious activity.
- Prophetic leaders are essential for helping us see through the distractions and noise of the world.
- We should not be satisfied with simply knowing what's happening in the church, but also why it's happening.