“Don’t go to Hollywood.”
That was a line the Robertsons of “Duck Dynasty” fame heard time and again when they first told their family and friends they decided to step into the world of reality television.
The Lord, though, gave the now-famous family a response to that well-meaning — if misguided — plea. Korie Robertson, wife to Willie and mother to Sadie and John Luke, recently said on CBN’s “Faith vs. Culture” they turned to the biblical promise found in 2 Timothy 1:7.
Listen to them on the latest episode of “Quick Start” 👇
The New Testament passage reads, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (NLT).
“[God] says He will be with us wherever we go, so we just asked God’s favor on us, His protection [to be] on us,” she said. “God says to go into all the world. So whenever anybody asks me, ‘Should I get into entertainment as a believer?’ I’m like, ‘Yes, we need more people in entertainment. We need more light in that [industry].'”
Newly released data from AllConnect found average internet users spends nearly seven hours a day looking at screens — a 60% increase from before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. And children ages 8-10 are spending about six hours a day staring at screens, while 11- to 14-year-olds are using the internet for upwards of nine hours every day.
All that to say, Robertson realized there is immense power in the media industry. So why not leverage it for good?
“Whenever we started ‘Duck Dynasty,’ it wasn’t necessarily a faith show,” said Robertson, noting there was no way to “get around” talking about their Christian beliefs, though, “because it’s who we are.”
She continued, “The hope is that people might see our story and see our testimony and say, ‘Why is [your life] different? Why do you seem to have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness?’ That’s because we have the [Holy] Spirit living in us and we can tell [people] a little more about what Jesus has done for us. It’s not because we’re so great. It’s because we have the Spirit of God living in us and we try to live our lives that way.”
With people spending one to two hours a week in church and dozens more online, Robertson saw the opportunity to meet people — especially nonbelievers who aren’t regularly attending church — where they are: in front of TVs, smartphones, and tablets.
Over time, more than anything the Robertsons said or did during each episode of “Duck Dynasty,” it was the family’s prayer at the end of each show that left the biggest mark on viewers.
“People would come up to us with tears and say, ‘My husband now goes to church because he saw real men who love Jesus,’ and, ‘Our kids will not let us eat before saying a prayer now, because of your show,'” Robertson reflected. “So we just saw so powerfully how entertainment is shaping people and is changing people and how it can move people.'”
“You look back at Jesus and He told parables, He told stories because stories do move people and people relate in that way,” she continued, noting it was the response to their reality series that led the Robertsons to launch their own production studio, Tread Lively, which is behind “The Blind,” the movie chronicling the faith journeys of Phil and Kay Robertson, the patriarch and matriarch of the “Duck Dynasty” family.
The film debuted in theaters last year and is now streaming on Great American Pure Flix.
Check out our full conversation with Korie Robertson in the “Faith vs. Culture” episode above.
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