New Book Release! Subversive Stories
I’m excited to announce my new book - Subversive Stories: The Parables as Modern Short Stories. The book is exactly what it sounds like - the parables of Jesus retold as modern day short stories. Below I’ve included an excerpt from the introduction as well as two stories that will give you a taste of the book. If you are blessed by it, consider grabbing a copy from Amazon. Enjoy!
An Introduction
Sometimes I get bored of the truth. There, I said it. Overfamiliar with its voice, I yawn and fall asleep. I build up a resistance and become dead to its touch. The people Jesus preached to also had this problem, which was the reason, I believe, he told the parables.
The word parable literally means something “cast alongside.” Parables are not like other truth-telling methods. Preaching aims to proclaim. Teaching aims to clarify and organize. Parables, however, are indirect. Rather than hitting you between the eyes like a good sermon, a parable fights dirty, attacking you from behind when you aren’t looking. It is willing to forego some of its clarity for the sake of creativity. It gives up the right to proclaim and goes undercover as a story about everyday things. But make no mistake, in the hands of Jesus, such “subversive” tactics are used with the most loving and trustworthy intentions. The point of this book is to follow after him in this, interpreting and expanding his parables into modern short stories.
Parables come at us sideways. The truth is still present, but it's shy, having hidden itself in a story, no longer preaching but merely hinting and gesturing, only showing its face when it must. In a parable the truth disguises itself in characters who pull at our sleeves, begging to be heard and understood. The truth sneaks around in the plot of a parable like a child with a guilty smile, and you can’t help but ask, “What are you up to, you little devil?” Camouflaged in drama, parables make us feel, lowering our defenses and making us vulnerable. Thus, while our imagination is distracted with emotions and caught up in the story, without knowing it, the truth slips in the backdoor and makes itself at home in our hearts. Hence the name and theme of this book, “Subversive Stories.”
An Editorial Review
“David does not simply ‘re-tell’ the parables of Jesus, he completely re-imagines them in realistic, lived-in stories of the modern world. While the stories maintain the thrust of the originals, they are distinct enough to catch readers by surprise and make them hear afresh the message of the Kingdom. Highly recommended!”
— Dr. Sean McDonough - Professor of New Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, author of Christ as Creator, co-editor of A Time for Sorrow
