The practice of giving blood requires knowledge of the body — its symptoms, strengths, vulnerabilities, and idiosyncrasies. As a preacher, you need to know your culture’s and your congregation’s peculiar storyboard and find ways to connect those story lines with the story of Jesus in ways that allow them to participate in and connect with Christ’s powerful and life-changing presence. This is what I refer to as “blood work.” Blood work is the practice of preaching. It is semiotic preaching gone EPIC (experiential, participatory, image-rich, connective).
