RobbyMac brings up some good ideas about the need for metaphors that are actually catalysts for change. Simply seeking new ways of describing the same reality of church or leadership won’t help us to redefine what the church “is” or “does.” Instead, new metaphors should invite us into a new Reality, to change stories, to repent.
One of the startling revelations I’ve had while reading N.T. Wright is Jesus’ remarkable ability to do this very thing. He retells Israel’s story in fresh ways and with a surprising and unexpected ending. He redefines old symbols and plants new symbols that are extremely transformative, raising eyebrows, generating questions, and evoking confrontations. As his people, implementing his work on earth, we need to wisely seek the appropriate stories, symbols and praxis that plant the kingdom in our faith-communities, lives and world.
