Coach Jesus

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!

Jesus would be too nice of a coach. He would not care about winning and losing. He would not care if you were a good or bad player. He probably would not cut anyone. He would not know how to be aggressive. He would not do miracles to win, even if you were down 100 points. He would not argue with the refs. I think he would be a better coach for golf or tennis because they do not have as much physical contact.
Joshua M.

I honestly believe Jesus would be an amazing coach! Not everyone agrees with that reasoning because we have different perceptions about Him. Some people think Jesus is just nice and sweet and super caring while others think He is powerful and mean and scary. I believe people forget that Jesus was a regular human being. So compared to the Christian coaches at WCS, how would Jesus act? He would be the same- train His athletes and make them work hard!
Roseline


I think Jesus would be a special coach. He would know what to do at the right time. When Jesus saw the widow crying in Nain, He consoled her and told her to stop crying as she was mourning her son's death. But, when He saw the merchants selling in the temple, He became angry and drove all of them away. He would know when to act tough and harsh and when to be calm and understanding. Coaching a team is like having children- sometimes you have to discipline when they do something wrong. Sometimes, you need to praise them when they do the right things. Jesus would be like that as a coach- he would always know what to do in making decisions.
Danita

Jesus might be the worst coach in the world. Jesus is kind and friendly, the Son of Man. He would think everyone is equal and help people with kindness but those aren't the kind of actions coaches use. A coach must be strict with everybody and a coach cannot think everyone is equal. Sometimes, coaches aren't patient and shout at players. Jesus would not be a good coach because he would not do those things.
David Z.

Jesus would be an excellent coach. His infinite wisdom would inspire His players to reach their full potential. He would install a sense of courage and faith in His team- He was able to instill major faith in people throughout the Bible. He would be a good coach because He would teach morals that go beyond sports. In the Scriptures, he put much faith in His disciples. He would use those same teachings with His team members to instill a sense of worth, thus making them better players.
Jack 


Applicable quote of the day:
Lovie Smith and I are not only the first two African-Americans but Christian coaches showing that you can win doing it the Lord's way and we're more proud of that.

Tony Dungy

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

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E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com