The Prophet vs Mercy Fallacy

by Jessica G.

Dave teaches that each person has a motivational gift. He lists 12 in the handout he has created. In his teachings, he emphasizes prophecy and mercy. He often places them on a spectrum and describes them as opposites.

Here are direct quotes from his writings on their description.

Spiritual Gift Handout

Prophecy: to proclaim the mind, heart and will of God by divine unction (Greek word: ‘prophetes’- “pro”=”forth,”phemi”=to speak) Key: may be sharp, edgy, seem critical and/or insensitive, always comparing the Bible to current church and personal practices.

Mercy: to be sensitive toward those who are suffering, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally, so as to feel genuine sympathy with their misery, speaking words of compassion and caring for them with deeds of love to help alleviate their distress. Key: highly sympathetic, even with strangers, comforting and encouraging them perhaps even when problems are self-inflicted due to sin; may take up offenses or try to protect people even from other Christians offering godly counsel.

Dave does not offer any scripture that supports that prophets are sharp, insensitive or lack mercy. I compared Dave’s hand out from 2015 to the description of ‘prophet’ in “My Place in God’s Plan” (copyrighted 2023), a curriculum that Dave heavily contributed to and that is used by CRU and TLM. While there is overlap in the descriptions, the CRU material does not describe prophets as insensitive or unmerciful.

The problem with this teaching is that the Bible does not teach that prophecy and mercy are opposites on a spectrum. Throughout 1 Corinthians 14, when Paul seeks a contrast to prophecy, he uses the gift of tongues rather than the gift of mercy. Paul encourages Christians to seek the greater gifts like prophecy (1 Cor 12:30, 1 Cor 14:1). Paul is also clear that prophecy will one day pass away. (1 Cor 13:9-10). This is why Paul says that the most important thing for a Christian to pursue is love (1 Cor 12:30).

When it comes to mercy, it is a foundational aspect of God’s character.  Romans 12:8 uses the Greek word ELEO (G1656 noun) for mercy. The adjective of the word ELEEMON (G1655 adjective) is the same word God uses to describe himself in Exodus 34:6 (in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament).

Prophets like Jonah knew this about God. Jonah even tells God that the reason he rebelled was because he knew God was merciful. Jonah was afraid Nineveh might repent and then God would relent and not bring judgement on the city. In the book of Matthew, Jesus challenges the Pharisees to go and learn what God desires, which is mercy and not sacrifice.  Jesus invites the Pharisees to learn this lesson twice (Mat 9:13, Mat 12:7) before he rebukes them in Matthew 23:23. When Jesus asks who loved his neighbor, the man in the crowd replied, “the one who had compassion [mercy]” (Luke 10:38). And James 3:17 says, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and food fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy.”

Mercy and prophecy are not opposites. Combining this teaching along with Dave’s self-proclaimed role of prophet enables Dave to justify his harsh and hurtful behavior. He specifically used this argument when I confronted him in 2022. I believe that Dave has created this false pair of opposites, in order to justify his harsh and hurtful behavior.

There is one additional harm that the prophet mercy spectrum creates. Dave has labeled many Friday Night attenders as either prophets or mercies. Most of the prophets are men and most of the mercies are women. There is also a pattern of Dave marrying couples that fit the same pattern as himself and Kathy, with the husband labeled as a prophet and the wife as a mercy. The spectrum enables the prophet to justify harsh and insensitive words or a lack of mercy as a part of their spiritual gift. It also allows a prophet to claim that they cannot understand the thoughts or perspective of their spouse who is a mercy. In a worst case scenario, the prophet can justify verbal abuse as being from God. This dynamic not only perpetuates harmful stereotypes but also creates an environment where emotional and verbal abuse can be justified under the guise of spiritual authority.

We should all look to God’s example and seek to embody His enduring mercy, for he says “Blessed are the merciful, for you shall receive mercy” (Mat 5:7).