
"Jesus Does Stand-Up," and Other Satires
Parables, Pictures, and Parodies for Today's Church
- 114 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Jesus Does Stand-Up, and Other Satires is a collection of fifty short parables and parodies that highlight the weaknesses of the contemporary Western church and the increasingly secular culture in which its members live out their faith. The satires target an entire herd of sacred cows, making fun of areas of discipleship or Christian living such as prayer, evangelism, worship, mission activity, and social justice issues. Several entries skewer the church's tendency to trivialize our faith or the holiness of God, or our obsession with our culture's emphasis on efficiency and individual fulfillment.The entries range from parodies of familiar hymns, including one that looks at Jesus as our friend on Facebook, to an exploration of the dilemma facing Donald Trump as he decides which member of the Trinity to fire. Others describe a group of cheerleaders rehearsing for Jesus' second coming, explain why Jesus couldn't be hired for a church's child-care job, and record Lazarus' difficulty in convincing his HMO that he was raised from the dead.The result allows Christians to laugh, or sometimes squirm, at these commentaries on the pressures of the consumerist, individualistic, and even narcissistic culture in which Western believers find themselves. Neither Christian conservatives nor progressives are spared. The intent of the entries, however, is never mean spirited. Collectively, these satires offer a corrective or warning, prodding the church and Christians to be the distinctive, counter-cultural presence and witness that God calls us to be.
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Table of contents
- Title Page
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: The Truly Personalized Family Worship Experience
- Chapter 2: A Recently Discovered Fragment from Luke Chapter 11
- Chapter 3: Donald Trump Deals with the Trinity
- Chapter 4: Go Into All the World . . . An Invitation to Missions
- Chapter 5: What a Friend We Have in Jesus
- Chapter 6: Carolâs Busy Day
- Chapter 7: The Jesus Christ Show: The Credits
- Chapter 8: The âGood WUCâ Man
- Chapter 9: Case 1495/94: Simon Peter
- Chapter 10: The Healer
- Chapter 11: The Trial
- Chapter 12: The Demographic Report
- Chapter 13: From the Bench
- Chapter 14: Palestine PoliticsâThe Week in Review
- Chapter 15: The Bracelet
- Chapter 16: Minutes of the Church Governing Council
- Chapter 17: Petrusco vs. Lake City Tabernacle
- Chapter 18: An E-mail on Choosing the Disciples
- Chapter 19: The UpdateâA Phone Call
- Chapter 20: The Radio Spot
- Chapter 21: Bibles R Us, Inc., or, âAnother Week at the Officeâ
- Chapter 22: No-Fault Confessions
- Chapter 23: Our Church is in Good Hands With All State Insurance
- Chapter 24: SpeedyPrayer
- Chapter 25: A Revised Hymnody for Post-Modern Times, No. 259
- Chapter 26: Speed Dating for Spiritual Seekers
- Chapter 27: âIt is Forbidden for God to Work Miracles Here,â Updated
- Chapter 28: An Organic Pastor
- Chapter 29: The Yellow Pages
- Chapter 30: The Communion Plan
- Chapter 31: A Sense of Occasion
- Chapter 32: The Lordâs Prayer
- Chapter 33: The Senior Pastorâs Difficult Phone Call, to the New Pastor of Evangelism and Outreach
- Chapter 34: An Imagined Response to Tony Campoloâs Bad Word
- Chapter 35: The Very Model
- Chapter 36: Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me
- Chapter 37: The Day the Donut Man Didnât Show
- Chapter 38: The Churchâs One Foundation (Updated)
- Chapter 39: The Invoice
- Chapter 40: How Prayers Get Answered
- Chapter 41: Jesus Does Stand-Up
- Chapter 42: An Exciting Time at Our Saviorâs College
- Chapter 43: The âSecond Comingâ Dispute Enters Mediation
- Chapter 44: Death Loses its Sting at Conestoga Chapel by the Lake
- Chapter 45: The Christmas Accommodation Crunch
- Chapter 46: Lazarus and his HMO
- Chapter 47: Todayâs Sunday School Offerings
- Chapter 48: The Jesus Squad
- Chapter 49: Yet Another Rejection
- Chapter 50: A Pastorâs Prayer for a Failing Body