The incarnation is the ultimate illustration of crossing the chasm between two groups. God's choosing to become flesh tells us of his nature, love, and desire to redeem humanity. Jesus Christ alone is incarnate; however, in history, there have been individuals who have stepped outside the norm and have encountered those unlike themselves, humbly modeled after Christ’s incarnation. Incarnational encounters are the stories of people, whom society deems to be in opposition, finding the imagination to attempt to follow the incarnation of Jesus. For Christian preservice teachers, the model of incarnation is a biblical foundation that can guide the ways that they choose to interact with their diverse future students. In the teacher education classroom, the telling and retelling of stories of these incarnational encounters can promote deep discussions and lasting implications for teaching. This paper presents the argument that the telling of these stories can be a useful tool in the teacher education classroom for helping future teachers dismantle stories of otherness and better engage, understand, and teach their diverse students. Included are three sample stories of incarnational encounters and the encouragement for teacher educators to use similar stories as an inspired illustration for their future teachers.
Tina Marie Keller (Wed,) studied this question.