What a season premiere! We were on the edge of our seats all night and we knew what was coming!
Today we write to share our feelings regarding several issues important to our walk as Christians. How do we connect with the broken and the needy and still maintain personal integrity? How do we love someone whose lifestyle and behavior are in conflict with the way that we think they should live? Will we “catch” something from being around a person who violates our beliefs?
We are really passionate about this blog post because of our long-standing walks with Jesus. All of our stories have some very painful moments – but in some ways we are thankful for those moments. Experiencing grace when we need it most makes it all that much sweeter.
Trust us when we say that we have NEVER heard so much judgment, both from the inside and the outside for this season of Marriage Boot Camp. If you watched on Friday night you know that Sean and Catherine were NOT HAPPY about the behavior of their fellow boot campers and wanted to leave. This is understandable if you believe in guilt by association. It is also understandable to want to protect innocent people from PG14 material. We are also hearing from some in the TV audience who say that we should not be associating with the likes of this cast. We even had one of the supporters of our non-profit ministry cancel their support because they believe we’ve gone bad by association.
There’s a story that we love where Jesus is having dinner with the top religious leaders of the day and a prostitute walks into the house and starts washing Jesus’ feet with her tears. She feels like there is no other way to express her gratitude for his love for her – talk about humility! The people watching believe that she is so disgusting that just letting her touch his feet must mean that Jesus is a bad guy too. They mock him for not pushing her away.
We’ve all been in situations like that and sometimes we are like the woman -unworthy of kindness for having done unspeakable things; like Jesus - loving people that are seemingly “below” us, or like the observers who judge them both. All we have to do is look at the current political process to see camaraderie with the “loser”, judgment of the “winner”, and people sitting on the sidelines making snide remarks about everyone. It seems nearly every social issue that comes up in the news is filled with one side shaming the other for their idiocy. It’s human nature. But Jesus doesn’t meet us there. At the end of the story Jesus embraces the prostitute and tells the crowd that those who have been forgiven much, love much (Luke 7:36-50) – and that reminds us of what God is really after: our love, not our perfection.
Think about it. If the King of the Universe came to earth and joined a poor carpenter’s family – and chose to make his grand entrance surrounded by donkeys and cows – it was a rude awakening for sure. Jesus went from perfect luxury and power to a tiny body that gets tired, hungry, sick, stinky and dirty in order to show us love. Doesn’t it make sense that sometimes we get dirty and sick and stinky trying to love other people too?
The crazy part? Jesus was heavily persecuted (that’s how he died) for his association with those considered beneath the religious folks of the day – the LORD was called nasty for who he ate dinner with. Jesus knew the infinite worth of those he reached out to despite the haters of the day – he could see the diamonds that lay just beneath the surface of every creation of His – the LORD does not make mistakes.
Different from Christ, we do not believe we “descend” anywhere to love on people in Marriage Boot Camp – we are just answering our call. While there are hard times, there is nothing more satisfying. Do we hear from the faith haters? All the time. Is our faith and morality questioned by religious people? Absolutely. Is it messy and do we make mistakes? For sure. But nothing is worth more than following Christ’s call to reach his children wherever they may be and with whatever judgments may come upon us.
Last night’s episode was a whirlwind of different personalities coming together – nothing we haven’t seen before. In every single boot camp, we walk in knowing the victory of the Lord is on our side and there is NO ONE too far gone. We resonate with boot campers who have felt “too far gone” because that is part of my mom’s, Jim’s, David’s, and my story.
We love our work on both the Marriage Boot Camp TV show and the Marriage Boot Camp not-for-profit. We hear A LOT of stories from people of every walk of life, from billionaires to criminals. Every time – we are blessed. Every time – we grow. Every time we see pieces of Jesus in others that we want to emulate. What a rich and unique experience is each Marriage Boot Camp.
And so we too have questions that need answers. Why do we do this? I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt – it’s NOT for the money. Our remuneration is a pittance compared to the cast and the majority of our compensation goes to the Marriage Boot Camp foundation. This gives us the ability to give scholarships to those in need of help. It’s not for the fame, or to “remain relevant”, whatever that means. I can tell you that we do pursue influence and if celebrity gives us the opportunity to spread the good news of the healing power of Jesus then we say bring it!
This season of Marriage Boot Camp Celebrity Stars has been by far the most challenging season that we have filmed followed closely by season two of Marriage Boot Camp Bridezillas. It has also been one of the most rewarding. We had the privilege of being in the midst of the fire and seeing growth and healing, as we’ve never seen it before. We also had the privilege of sharing Jesus with every single cast member and we have no idea what sowing those seeds might birth. But we know also without a shadow of a doubt the Word does not go out without fruit. And frankly the harvest is irrelevant. We were not called to harvest. We were called to plant seeds. The only disappointing thing about this season was that our fellow Christians did not join us in the work.
Don’t be surprised when you’re put in a position thinking you’re going to get help and finding that you are THE HELP. I am reminded of a beautiful moment on MBCRS Season One where Ryan Sutter, with fear and trepidation, ran to Tanisha and Clive’s aid during a very heated fight. He had no idea what to expect, but like the fireman that he is, he ran into the burning building wanting to help. Ryan does not profess a Christian faith, but we saw so much of Jesus in him that it made us weep.
The message is this: serve where you’re sent.