#15: Elisabeth R. Jones – Midrashic Imagination: Texts and Textures for Pulpit and Pew

What is midrash, and why should Christian preachers care? In this episode of the Working Preacher Books Podcast, hosts Karoline Lewis and Rolf Jacobson sit down with Elisabeth R. Jones, author of Midrashic Imagination: Texts and Textures for Pulpit and Pew (Fortress Press, 2026). Jones unpacks midrash as a participatory, communal practice of biblical interpretation. She explains how naming discomfort with a text opens the door to curiosity and transformation. The conversation covers the Jewish roots of midrash, how Christians can engage it respectfully, and the practice of "following the rabbit" to find what a text is really saying. Jones shares a powerful example from her own congregation, where a hard text collided with a real-world crisis and changed how her community preached. This episode offers preachers a fresh way to approach scripture with honesty, imagination, and communal wisdom.