Coached by Jesus (31 Life-Changing Questions Asked by the Master)
Alan Nelson, Howard Publishing, 2005, ISBN 158229464X, 184 pages, $14.99, hardcover.
By Glen H. Jones

Jesus makes the best coach in the world for believers. Much of Jesus’ teaching was direct commands. However, many of His discourses were questions that struck to the heart of the problem under discussion.

Alan Nelson has selected 31 of the questions that Jesus presented to those who came to Him. Instead of giving an exposition of the selected text, the author uses the Scripture as a springboard to focus on problems that Christians face every day.

Each of the essays follow a similar format: the essay title, a Scripture selection, the essay, three questions in the section entitled, “Let’s Get Personal,” and the last part (“Let’s Get Going”) that asks for a self-evaluation.

Nelson’s essays cover a wide variety of human problems: worry, personal responsibility, personal goals, detecting one’s weaknesses, handling crises, kindness to others, and facing fear.

As the title suggests, these essays are to “coach” individuals to discover the spiritual power within that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. The author believes that “coaching” is preferable to having the “coach” solve all the problems.

An example of Nelson’s style is found in Session 25 (pp. 139-143). The Scripture passage (Matthew 18:12) recounts the one of a hundred sheep that had wandered off. After his essay the author asks: “Who are the lost sheep around you?” “What are the indicators of being lost?” “What are you doing to intentionally connect with these individuals?”
Target: All
Type: Spiritual Growth
Take: Recommended