Parables from the Back Side Volume 1: Bible Stories with a Twist (Behind the Pages)

Offers a new understanding of twelve of Jesus' parables by viewing them through the eyes of a minor or unsympathetic character. Chapter titles: When the Good Samaritan Is Bad News; God Called a Party, but Nobody Came; The Timid Soul; The Seasons of the Soil; The Sad Story of the Embarrassed Farmers; Love Always Wins...Sometimes; Why Doesn't God Like Religious People?; Pardon My Insistence; The Prodigal Who Stayed at Home; A Case for the Un-hired Hand; Moses and the Fig Tree; I Wish I Could Sell You More. 12 Sessions, with a leader's guide.

J. Ellsworth Kalas (1923-2015) was the author of over 35 books, including the popular Back Side series, A Faith of Her Own: Women of the Old Testament, Strong Was Her Faith: Women of the New Testament, I Bought a House on Gratitude Street, and the Christian Believer study, and was a presenter on DISCIPLE videos. He was part of the faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary since 1993, formerly serving as president and then as senior professor of homiletics. He was a United Methodist pastor for 38 years and also served five years in evangelism with the World Methodist Council.