Image and Metaphor
Seedbeds of Discipleship in Greenhouses of Grace
What if we imagined every congregation, every small group Bible study, every home and neighborhood where Jesus has planted his Word as a seedbed of discipleship? And several of those seedbeds together could then comprise an innovation greenhouse, a greenhouse of grace.
Please Pass the Potatoes
In response to a blog about making room for doubting people at the table, I want to talk about the different ways we experience doubt depending on whether we came of age in a Culture of Certainty or a Culture of Skepticism. Ultimately, I think we have to lead by combining authentic vulnerability, struggle, and doubt with authentic trust, delight, and dependence on Jesus. And there has to be room at the table even for those who are uncomfortable with uncertainty.
The Whole Pie (X)
I got to officiate at the wedding of a college friend this last weekend; what an honor! One of my favorite parts of the service was an image I stole from the groom. He told me the story as we met together to prepare not only for the wedding but for the marriage to follow. […]
Heading in the Right Direction
Metaphors shape the way we think. Metaphors shape how we make decisions. Metaphors allow us to experience one thing in terms of something else. The following is a sermon produced by a student in a course I teach on metaphor theory. The assignment was to put the basic elements of metaphor theory to use in […]
Paul and Lydia
By Justin Rossow Sometimes you preach a metaphor IN the text. And sometimes you preach a metaphor FOR the text. In Acts 16, Paul meets Lydia at a river. A literal river. Nothing metaphorical about it. But the sermon below takes the image of a river–of tubing and whitewater rafting on a river–as a metaphor […]
Focus on the New Creation
The family has gathered. We ride the ups and down of sudden changes in breathing or consciousness. We share stories and pictures. We are waiting for Dad, my father-in-law Jim, to die. As I look out the back door to the lake, I am struck by the beauty of these summer days. The sun shines. […]
Source and Target, Target, Target Domains
If you know even the basics of contemporary metaphor theory, then you know that in the metaphor “Richard is a gorilla,” what we know (or think we know) about gorillas is the “Source domain.” The metaphor works by taking what we know and expect and how we reason about gorillas and mapping those inferences and […]
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