Interview with Michael Kelly, author of “The Tough Sayings of Jesus II”

May 25th, 2008 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0) |

I was recently given the opportunity to read and review a new curriculum put out by LifeWay called The Tough Sayings of Jesus II. The ‘Leader Kit’ that I received comes with a CD containing music that accompanies the curriculum, and a DVD with a bunch of great videos as well. I can personally vouch for the quality of the curriculum; not just because I received it as a gift, but because I think highly enough of it to use it next school year with my youth group.

Below you’ll find an unedited interview with the author of the curriculum, Michael Kelly. My questions will appear in italics. Thanks to both Michael and Bill Seaver for the opportunity.

JAKE BOUMA: Thanks for the interview opportunity, Michael. I loved this book, and plan on using it next school year with my own students. Anywho, could you give the readers a bit of background about yourself?

MICHAEL KELLY: Glad to hear it, Jake. Me – I grew up in Texas where my parents still live and I met and married my wife. We moved from Canyon, TX to Birmingham, AL where I went to Beeson Divinity School. After that we moved to Nashville where I am now as a writer and editor. In the meantime, we had 2 kiddos – Joshua, 4, and Andi, 1.

JAKE BOUMA: What was the impetus for this particular curriculum?

MICHAEL KELLY: It’s interesting to me how many times in my church experience that I’ve heard sermon series that skip or gloss over some of the difficult passages of Scripture. Like how many times have I heard that we’re doing a sketch of Romans, and we hear a talk about the victory of Romans 8 and then I turn around and we’re offering our bodies as living sacrifices in Romans 12? What? It’s like Paul didn’t intend to write those 3 chapters in between. Same thing with the gospels I think. We like a picture of Jesus where among other things, He’s “nice.” So we gravitate towards those passages. But that leaves us with an incomplete and mishapen view of Jesus and doesn’t allow us to examine the fullness of what He taught and lived. So I wanted to write something that engaged people at alot of levels – emotionally, intellectually, as well as spiritually.

JAKE BOUMA: I’m currently reading Dallas Willard’s “The Divine Conspiracy”, and in it he says, “Strangely, we seem prepared to learn how to live from almost anyone but him [Jesus]. We are ready to believe that the ‘latest studies’ have more to teach us about love and sex than he does, and that Louis Rukeyser knows more about finances.” What I appreciate about this curriculum is that it doesn’t fall into this trap. What lead you to believe that the sayings of Jesus DO teach us how to live?

MICHAEL KELLY: Kudos to you for reading Dallas – one of my favorites. I appreciate you saying TS doesn’t fall into that category. I think for Jesus, every moment was spiritual. It seems to me that one of the things He continually tried to emphasize was that every moment is truly a “God” moment when you are walking with the Lord. So I think the distinction we draw between “theology” and “application” is laughable to Jesus in some ways – what is theology if it’s not applied? And what can truly be applied that is not theological? So Jesus has much to say about recognizing the “God-ness” of ordinary moments in time.

JAKE BOUMA: Do you think that youth are in some ways more receptive to hearing the message of this book? Why or why not?

MICHAEL KELLY: I think as a whole emerging generations want the unbiased and unapologetic truth, so Jesus is a natural fit, when we indeed embrace everything He has to say. People everywhere, students especially, want a faith that engages their whole person. I believe people will rise to that challenge.

JAKE BOUMA: Did students play any role in the process of writing/editing the curriculum?

MICHAEL KELLY: I do speak at a number of retreats and conferences throughout the year, and one of my favorite and most challenging parts is engaging in discussion with the folks who are there. Listening to people talk you get the sense that they aren’t just looking for behaviorism; they’re really searching for a deeper walk with Christ. That encouraged me a great deal to try and write for that kind of reader.

JAKE BOUMA: I enjoyed your movie metaphor, where you talked about how many leads in contemporary movies are morally ambiguous. Can you unpack this for the readers and its implications in ministry?

MICHAEL KELLY: Sure – I think I mention Superman in the book, and superheroes are a good example of this. The first Superman movies showed a hero without flaws. He always did the right thing; always knew what that was. But since some superhero movies have been relaunched, like Batman or Ironman for example, you see the good and the bad of the hero. They’re still the hero, the protagonist, but you watch them struggle with their actions. You see the humanness to them. Another good example of this is the biopic genre of movies, in which the protagonist is revealed to have flaws just like everyone else. It’s an interesting comment on culture and its leanings I think in both a good and bad way. The good is its more authentic. And in some ways, more biblical. The Bible doesn’t hold up people as perfect; we bear witness to their sin as well as their faith. But it might be bad because it’s reflective of the idea that there really are no good guys any more, because there really is no good or bad any more; it’s all relative.

JAKE BOUMA: Finally, what’s next on your plate? Any forthcoming books or projects you’re working on? Feel free to shamelessly plug anything! Thanks again for taking the time to answer some questions for the readers.

MICHAEL KELLY: Just a few things – Still travel to do speaking gigs, and am working on a deal to take Tough Sayings I and Tough Sayings II and put them together into a tradebook for more wide distribution. Hopefully that’s going to happen soon.