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Firing Jesus



I have had the opportunity to hear Greg Stier speak on several occasions now. And at almost every opportunity he has shared his belief that Jesus was a youth pastor.

The proof comes in the story where Jesus and Peter pay a temple tax. It's a miracle as Peter pulls the money out of the mouth of a fish. But lost in the miracle is that only Jesus and Peter pay the tax. All the disciples were with Jesus. It seems unlikely that Jesus would leave the rest of the disciples to fend for themselves.

I suppose Jesus could have dropped more coins in the mouth of the fish, but then the fish might have choked. That changes the entire story. The clue comes in the Old Testament Law which tells us that only those 20 years and older needed to pay the temple tax. Voila! Jesus was a youth pastor. As Greg likes to say, He had 11 teens and 1 adult sponsor. And, of course, one of those teens was a problem teen (Judas).

With that as a background, Greg writes Firing Jesus, asking what kind of youth pastor Jesus would make. Clearly, not a great one, since the entire story revolves around a Pastor's Cabinet deciding the fate of their youth pastor, aptly named JC. Get it?

 As with other stories written by Greg, I enjoyed this. It's a great reminder of how ministry should be done, but also of the great way to convey truth; through story.

I did not offer any spoiler alerts, so I will not write any spoiler. I'm a good guy in that way. Besides, I think you should read this. It is written with a bent towards youth ministry, but if you are in any kind of ministry this is worth your time.

You can find this at dare2share.org or anywhere else you care to buy books.
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