Preaching and imagination

One of the best articles I've seen lately on preaching is in the current edition of Leaven. In "Preaching: The Big Imagination," Dave Fleer gets it right about why we preach:

Preaching's goal is not to create from within the congregation and interested seekers better fathers, mothers, employees and citizens. Preaching's goal is not to improve the Christian's current existence in Egypt. Preaching's goal is to facilitate the radical shift to being Christian. We came to preaching because we sensed its import and the meanings it created; we came to preaching believing that somehow a total immersion in the biblical text could evoke new possibilities of an alternate world, one envisioned in scripture.

Amen. The current issue of Leaven (Volume 12, Issue 4) is not yet on line. When it is, you'll be able to find it here.