by Dale Reeves
Story Pastor
Last Sunday night I went to see a movie that was initially released in 2023, but then rereleased for a short run this past week. The Blind tells the backstory of Phil Robertson and his lifelong love Miss Kay, of Duck Dynasty fame. Set in the backwoods of 1960s Louisiana, the movie vividly shows Phil’s past demons that almost tore their marriage and his life apart. As a boy, Phil had a tough upbringing in a dysfunctional home where his mother suffered with a violent mental illness, but his escape was hunting and fishing in the Louisiana swamp. He became an athlete in high school, and went to Louisiana Tech on a scholarship, where he was the first-string quarterback, starting in front of Terry Bradshaw, who went on to have a stellar career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Robertson left football before his senior season to pursue hunting, and his relationship with his high school sweetheart Marsha “Kay” Carroway. After having several boys together, Phil went down a very dark path of drinking, partying, and carousing with his friend “Big Al.” Eventually, after Kay took off with their three boys, and Phil hit rock bottom, at the age of 28 he came to his redemptive moment, and saw his need for Jesus in his life. His faithful sister Jan sent a preacher to a bar to share Jesus with him. Before Phil was immersed in baptism by Billy Joe Daugherty, the preacher said in the movie, “Phil, you have to die to yourself.”
Later in the movie, when Phil led his friend Big Al to Jesus, he told him, “You don’t have to be good enough. Jesus is good enough for us!” At the age of 79, the “Duck Commander,” Phil Robertson died this past May, and now is enjoying eternity with his Lord. In his obituary are these words:
“Above all else, Phil cared most about helping lost souls find Jesus. He baptized thousands and inspired millions more. . . . Phil never missed a moment to share the great hope he had for life beyond the grave through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.”
Dying to Live
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity” (John 12:24, 25, NLT).
The apostle Paul proclaimed, “I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:19, 20, NIV).
This past month our lead pastor at Christ’s Church, Brad Wilson, has been teaching on what it means to be ALL IN. You can view any of those messages here. To be ALL IN with Jesus means we have to die to ourselves, our own selfish desires, our own pride, our own ego, so that we might live for God and for his purposes above all else.
Living to Serve
To be ALL IN with Jesus means a lot more than just coming to a church building and sitting through a one-hour worship service. It means not just coming to church—but BEING THE CHURCH! All throughout the New Testament, the church is spoken of as a body of believers, a living organism, whose head is our Lord Jesus Christ. We take our marching orders from him. And one of the commands we are given multiple places in Scripture is to care for the needs of the poor, to feed the hungry, and care for those less fortunate than ourselves (see Matthew 25:31-46 for Jesus’ most convicting message about this topic).
This past Sunday, as a church family, we decided to dismiss our normal worship service and head to our gym instead, where all generations of our folks, from young to old, packed 51,252 nutritional meals that will be shipped to Guatemala to help church planters and missionaries share the hope of Jesus. In just about 45 minutes, nearly 450 people filled the gym and exceeded our goal of 45,000 meals—what an incredible moment of serving together!
One of the young boys at my packing station, who operated the heat sealer for the bags, said this, “This was the most fun I’ve had!” Our #14 assembly line, and those of the other 23 teams in the gym Sunday became lines of ministry in which every scoop of rice, vegetables, and nutrition will be enjoyed by those from another country. Because of our church being ALL IN on Sunday, many children in Guatemala will not only receive food but will also hear about the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. If you are interested in learning more about our missions partner in this venture, please check out lifeline.org
Jesus calls us all to follow after him: “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45, NLT).
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink’” (Matthew 25:34, 35, NLT).