Coached by Jesus: 31 Lifechanging Questions Asked by the Master

by Alan E. Nelson

An analysis of thirty-one questions asked by Jesus that challenged wrong thinking, penetrated the heart, and provided a catalyst for true change.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2005

About the author

Alan E. Nelson, Ed.D., is a social entrepreneur, professor, and young leader expert, who lives near Los Angeles, California. He has a graduate degree in psychology-communication and doctorate in leadership (University of San Diego). As an adjunct professor at USC Marshall School of Business, the Naval Postgraduate School, and Pepperdine University, he teaches leadership, org behavior and change, and related topics.

At midlife, Alan came to the conclusion that the best leadership development is used on adults, after they're set in their ways. He began his pioneering work on identifying and developing 10-18 year olds, gifted in leadership. "The goal is to get to leaders while they're moldable, not moldy," Nelson quips. He is the founder of LeadYoung Training Systems (www.LeadYoungTraining.com) and KidLead Inc. (a non-profit).

Dr. Nelson is the author of 20 books, over 200 articles, and 150 hours of young leader training curricula. He's a corporate trainer and keynoter, focusing on an array of topics, usually related to his writings. He lives with his wife of 36 years, Nancy, in Thousand Oaks, CA.

Reviews

[Kevin Dumcum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a book on discipleship and Christian growth. While it was not promoted this way, "Coached by Jesus" really should be considered a 31-day devotional. Author Nelson suggests in his introduction to read one chapter at a time, and he provides potential application steps and questions for reflection, which I mainly skimmed. I am not really looking for devotional reading (I have plenty already). Still, I had hopes for this book, but it fell flat for me.

For example, Chapter 5 is in reference to feeding the 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish. The lesson from Scripture is to move forward in faith with what you have and let God work out the details. Nelson's summary, however, was more about taking personal inventory, which of course is a necessary first step in moving forward in faith, but Nelson does not extend the lesson quite thsi far.

Ultimately, "Coached by Jesus" is not about discipleship at all, and while not denying Jesus as the Christ, it does emphasize Jesus the Teacher and life-coach. Notably, "Lifechanging Questions Asked by the Master" skips over the most important question Jesus ever asked -- "Who do you say that I am?"

[Allen Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

31 thought provoking questions, well written. It uses multiple versions of the Bible as sources, including the, Message, but I was able to glean quite a bit from this. I'd recommend.

[David Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful questions and answers for those of us who would have loved being coached by Jesus - and the questions actually come for Jesus in the gospels.