Throughout Jesus’ time on earth, he was often faced with crowds of people. Though he was used to talking on the scholarly level of the Pharisees and Sadducees, he was more likely to be speaking to a crowd of simpler folk. These short stories, known as parables, portrayed truth in a way that could be understood because they were stories about people’s neighbors or about their job.
Even though we still love the parables, they are hard for 21st century common folk to understand. So on Thursday, Feb 10, Corban’s students flooded into the Psalm Center to hear Chuck Neighbors and associates shed some light on the stories many people don’t fully understand.
For 35 years Neighbors has been presenting the parables in theaters, churches and gyms. However, they are not the old tales we know from Sunday school. Keeping the same moral lesson, Neighbors modernized the parables to fit today’s culture.
With three chairs, one table and a coat rack of simple costumes, Neighbors captured the audience and challenged them think once again about the meaning behind the parables. He turned the prodigal son into a drug addicted, runaway teen; the sowing of the seeds to a tale about a grandfather’s children and how they grew up differently, even though they were all raised the same; and so much more.
“I thought it was very entertaining,” said Heather Valentine, one of the students who attended the presentation. “It is always fun to relearn things you grew up knowing in a different way but his take on a modernized version of the parables was very intriguing.”
This Salem man has been all over the world including Kenya, Australia, New Zealand and Japan but “it’s great to be here presenting so close to home,” Neighbors said.
If you missed out on his Corban presentation, Neighbors wanted to make sure that no one was left out. Visit his website to see past performances and discussions.