Do metaphors have meaning?

I have heard it said often in the political rhetoric that words have meaning. If that is the case, then the use of words to form metaphorical images must also have meaning. I have been thinking about one of those "churchy" metaphors and something is troubling me about it.
Now don't get out the "tar and feathers" until you have heard me out. The metaphor that is troubling me is "The Family of God" as a metaphor for church. I have heard and said myself uncountable times, "We are the family of God" "I'm so glad I'm a parrrrr..." Oh, excuse me I just automatically broke into song there.
But here is the deal. The New Testament does not use that metaphor for the church. Yes, I did go back and check it out again just to make sure before I said it. The most common metaphor is the "body of Christ." Does it really matter? After all we like the word family. It is a safe, secure word. But the metaphorical picture has conjured up a model that has redirected our path. A family has definable lines that separate us from "other" families. Families are all about self preservation and self propagation. The end purpose of the family is the family. It calls for "kin-ness" and "like-ness".
You say, "So what is wrong with any of that?" Simply, it raises up an imagery that is surreal and in most cases not attainable in the faith community. Families can not tolerate much variance in any area. Churches who have followed the family model find themselves in the same boat.
In truth we have only two things that we share in complete commonness in the faith community. One, we are a follower of Jesus having been brought into relationship with Him through a salvation experience. Two, we are always in the process of inviting others into a relationship with Jesus. That is far closer to the metaphor of a body.
Each piece of a family must be like the other pieces or they will be labeled "non-family". Few pieces of the body have much in "likeness" with the rest of the body other than a shared DNA and a shared purpose.
The disciples of Jesus look much more like a body than they ever do a family. Do you think that if we just stopped giving all the energy that we give into making ourselves "one big happy family" and just allowed ourselves to be a body with the DNA of Jesus running in our essence and the purpose of obeying those Jesus DNA instructions that we might actually begin to "bear the fruit"?
A family adds few additions in it's generation life time, a body adds millions of new cells daily. If our goal ceased being "family-ness" and became "faithfulness"? Hm mm, it is a metaphor and it has the power to shape our activity.

A discovery of worship

I have had a quest in my life for many years that has until recently gone unfulfilled. I have desired to discover what seemed to be missing from my worship experiences. In my honest moments I would have to say that I have been in the middle of Church on more occasions than I want to count and sensed a drought of the presence of Jesus and a response to His God-ness.
I have heard some of the very best music, some of the top preaching, watched the most inspiring videos and still felt that worship of Jesus was not happening. At first thought it was "their" fault. Then I thought it was my fault because I am pretty good at being self focused and was pretty sure that I was just not able to get beyond my self interests to really release the worship of Jesus.
Then God allowed me to meet the pastor of a church that meets in a mud stick hut in the back bush of Africa who taught me the art of worshipping Jesus. In simple submissive adoration, I saw a group of people embrace and love Jesus in ways I have never witnessed or experienced prior. This pastor taught me that I have been so incredibly loved by the eternal God of the universe who came to earth just so that I could fully experience His love. He taught me that worship is receiving that love and responding to the response of God who is loving me. I may use tools of music and words, maybe even a walk or a dance to show to God how much His love has affected me. But those tools do not create or cause worship. Worship is the connection of a loving God and the object of His love. It is not me that is supposed to enjoy worship, it is God who is supposed to enjoy worship and it can never happen by anything I can do. God enjoys the connection of His love.
So have learned to just be the found lamb, the found coin and the returned son of Luke's story and worship happens.