Befriending the Prophets

Befriending the Prophets

Befriending the Prophets intends to help readers understand and cherish the prophets for who they were and what they said. Over years of teaching, Howard Macy met folk who were both curious and eager to know more about the prophets, and he often met readers who were puzzled or even put off by them. This book reaches out to both groups. It considers lingering questions, misunderstandings, and other barriers to understanding. (Who were these people? Why did they say yes? Why didn’t they quit? How did they know what to say? Why do they seem hard to read? Were they just weird or cranky?) It also explores the prophets’ practical guidance about how to live well in ordinary life. Reading it will invite you to embrace the core of their message and their faithfulness even today. 

Reviews:

Befriending the Prophets is warm, engaging, delightful, and disturbing. To be sure, it challenges many of our most cherished misconceptions of the Hebrew prophets. Most helpful of all, it provides us with a wise understanding of the role of the prophet in our day. I highly recommend Befriending the Prophets to you for your reading, studying, reflecting, and praying.                - Richard J. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline

In this wonderful book, Howard Macy helps us see what we too often miss—that God raises up prophets to teach us when to say “Yes,” when to say “No,” and to whom. If you’re looking for an accessible primer on the prophetic life and role, you’ve found it.                                                         - Phil Gulley, author of If the Church Were Christian

Befriending the Prophets deftly unveils much of the mystery surrounding the biblical prophets but without minimizing their legitimacy and authenticity. By paying attention to call, vision, values and listening, Howard Macy establishes key points that ground the prophetic commitment in the service of God. In the process, he makes a convincing case that there is still prophetic work to be done, perhaps even by the likes of you and me.                                                           - Jay Marshall, author of When the Spirit Calls