Making Messages More Powerful with Images
Here at Midnight Oil we talk a lot about metaphor. More than just a gimmick or a shiny hook on which to hang some thoughts, when it comes to communicating visually in worship, visual metaphors aren’t just the a hook for the message, they are the message itself. When creating images in a worship setting, good use of metaphor is key to making images work and the message stick with your congregation.
Here is how one of our graduate students put it in a class we recently finished teaching:
“Metaphors seem like they are much more “all-encompassing” than anecdotes. In fact, even a metaphor can have a few relative anecdotes within it to help drive the point home. I think the major point is that metaphors aren’t things that you just add to a sermon to help people pay attention as if they need to be attached to the truth of the message as an attractive advertisement. Metaphors aren’t a way of “dumbing down” the real message. Metaphor is the real message being shared in such a way that it relates to a new group of individuals in a powerful and meaningful way. While anecdotes can have this effect by making one of the stories memorable, metaphor has the capability to allow the hearer to connect to the truth of the message through various points of entry and to take that truth with him/her even when they leave the service.”
- From Nathan Hand, NNU class fall 09
To see some visual metaphors for worship, check out our comprehensive list here.
