Coach Jesus..... Second Quarter

I'm trying to get my students to flesh out how they perceive Jesus as a person based on what they see in our readings or what they believe about what they have heard concerning the Messiah. I try to make Jesus, who was a carpenter , real as it relates to their society. This past week, as I did last year, I had all of my classes answer this question: 
What kind of coach would Jesus be?
Here are some responses. All are used by permission and I allowed the students, if they chose, to pick a specific sport. These are a combination of eighth grade and high school students, with girls in pink and boys in blue. We will post more of these for several days! I do think it is fascinating how some of the kids consider what believers see as attributes in Jesus to be liabilities as a coach!

I think Jesus would make a perfect basketball coach because He would know who to put into the game at the right time. He would set up plays for His team to win every game. He would know who to guard and shut down on the other team so they would not score. But if the referee made a bad call, Jesus would forgive them, even if it cost them the state championship.
Kase

Personally, I think Jesus would not be the best coach. A coach needs to be loud, maybe even mean, as well as knowing how to discipline people. Some teenagers on some teams are complete brats so the coach has to know how to control that. On the other hand, a coach should also know how to be kind and caring. Although He needs to be kind, He would also have to be harsh- both of those should come at the appropriate times. Jesus would be great for the first part but as a whole, Jesus would not be fit to be a coach unless it is for a sport that is not very competitive.
Sydney V.

I think Jesus would be a terrible coach because He would never be harsh or criticize the players. Plus, good coaches push their players in a tough but loving way. If Jesus was a basketball coach, He would be too humble about winning. Also, He would not expose the other team's weaknesses as good coaches do.
Lyanne

Jesus would be a bad coach. He wouldn't cut anyone and everyone would get to play. He would never yell at a player so they would not take Him seriously. He would never be mad at a loss- He would already know the outcome of the game. He could tell you what your whole season was going to be. He would also be talking about His ministry instead of the team and He would explain everything in parables. I would not want Him as a coach.
Matt H.

I feel like Jesus would be a good coach at any sport. He would encourage you to do better and teach us good sportsmanship. He would show us that being the bigger man, being mature about the game is the right thing to do. I think He would let things flow, showing He does not have control over the game, to show we can win or lose with what we have learned. He would pray to His Father to let us have a fair game and help us understand the meaning of our faith, no matter if our faith is big or little.
Ngozi

I believe Jesus would be an OKAY coach. I think He would be one of those coaches who uses the sport to teach life lessons. If His team was down at half time, He would tell a parable which would not be understood at first but would later inspire His players during the game. He would use the game situations to teach never giving up/always staying positive. He would be very spiritual as a coach. Since He is the Son of God, He is perfect and would know what to do in any situation. He would give holy advice to His players for the long run.
Miles

Applicable quote of the day:
Look, coaching is about human interaction and trying to know your players. Any coach would tell you that. I'm no different.

Bill Parcells

God bless,
Steve/Coach
Luke 18:1
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E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com