“Imagine growing words as crops.” That’s the advice found on page five of Expressing Theology: A Guide to Writing Theology that Readers Want to Read. Why? Because the agriculture metaphor of farming captures two very important aspects of writing (and of using words in any teaching capacity).
1. Words, like crops, need to grow.
“A single word is like a seed, full of potential and possibility. Words need to be planted in the deep soil of human experience so they can send down roots that touch the basic needs of humanity, and bring forth shoots and stems that reach up for the dreams and visions of a better future.”
“But, like a farmer, the writer cannot just drop a seed into the ground and walk away. Words must be carefully nourished. They need to be pruned and shaped. Unnecessary words need to be weeded away. And like the farmer, the theologian needs to provide the right amounts of water, sunlight, and nutrients during the proper season of the year for seed to grow into award-winning, beautiful narratives.”
2. Words, like crops, need to feed.
“Farmed words need to foster hope in the light of feeding readers. We need to grow words with a purpose…Farming reflects the purpose writers of theology need to cultivate in their work. Farming isn’t about growing rows of corn and acres of potatoes and letting the crops rot in the field. We need to do something with the crops. We need to plant words with a purpose to feed the spiritually hungry, to bring people together around a table of fellowship, to nourish.”
Questions: What words are you nourishing? Are your words aimed at feeding others? What is the specific purpose of your words?