In Crazy Talk: Stories Jesus Told, you’ll find pastors doing what pastors do, which is trying to get congregations to laugh. Only professors are thirstier for giggly affirmation from students than clergy from churchgoers. No, but seriously, folks. The excellent sermons collected here walk the reader through the unrelenting message of the gospel parables: that Jesus Christ the Risen Lord is here and in charge. We, humans, are here, too, but we mess everything up. Not to mention, we cannot understand Jesus to save our lives.Praise for Crazy Talk: Stories Jesus Told Jesus got killed for the outrageous, irresponsible, and offensive stories he told. Read Crazy Talk from the posse at the Crackers and Grape Juice podcast and you will be reminded of what it’s like to want to kill somebody because of his preaching. - Rev. Dr. Will Willimon, United Methodist Bishop, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity Like the parables of Jesus, the sermons collected here are earthy, humorous, and connect with our most hidden, secret self. Like the preaching of the prophets, they manage to afflict the comfortable, comfort the afflicted, and never sound preachy. Not since Balaam’s ass has the Word of the Lord been delivered in such an entertaining package! -The Rev. Dr. Ruben Rosario Rodriguez, Professor of Systematic Theology, Saint Louis University The Church has done more damage to the power of the parables than any other category of scripture. We have moralized them and purposed them for our own agendas. We have foisted them onto children and told them to be good. We have called ourselves Good Samaritans and Eldest Brothers like a Biblically uneducated clown parade. They were never intended for any of that nonsense. The Parables are intended to be void of morality and only consumed with the agenda of Jesus, who came only to save us. Buy this book. Jason, Teer, and the other yahoos at Crackers and Grape Juice will remind you just how bizarre, compelling, and truly unfair the parables really are. Thank God. - Rev. Sarah Condon, Churchy: The Real Life Adventures of a Wife, Mom, and Priest