March 4, 2015
MARSHALL, Texas (2/27/15) - After weeks of speculation on who was the special guest to speak in Chapel at East Texas Baptist University the students, faculty, and staff welcomed Jep Robertson of A&E's Duck Dynasty to campus. Robertson spoke Friday morning before a capacity crowd in Baker Auditorium of the Ornelas Spiritual Life Center.
A&E's Duck Dynasty is a reality television show about the lives of the Robertson family of West Monroe, La. The family-operated business, Duck Commander, is known for its signature duck call and other hunting and outdoor supplies. The show is about the Robertson family, including brothers Phil and Si, and Phil's sons Willie, Jase, and Jep, who are known for their Christian views and long beards.
ETBU University Chaplain and Vice President for Spiritual Development Dr. Scott Bryant did a question and answer dialog with Jep. One of the questions asked is what Jep thought when he first heard of the idea of doing a television show?
"I thought it was going to be cool. I have been telling friends all my life that if you could ever spend time with my Uncle Si, he is the funniest person in the world," answered Jep. "Soon as the show came out my friends said, 'you are so right, dude.' "
Jep shared with the Chapel audience that at first his dad could not believe that a show showing the life of a redneck family would be watched by anybody. The family agreed to do the show because it was an opportunity to share their faith in Christ and how important family is to God.
"The question I get asked every day of my life is your Uncle Si really that crazy? Yes, even more. They tone him down for TV," said Jep, which brought laughter from most of the crowd.
The youngest son of Phil and Kay Robertson also took the time to share about his faith in Jesus Christ. "When I became a Christian it was the best decision that I have made in my life," testified Jep. "Living for Christ has been the most filling and most awesome thing in the world to me."
"I'm just a normal guy and have struggles like everyone else. But I come back to the realization that my life is about living for Christ, telling others about Christ and what he has done for me," said Jep.
"It is a joy to bring Jep to campus for him to share his story of faith and to discuss the wild journey his family has enjoyed the last few years," said Dr. Bryant. "He's a down to earth guy that easily connected with our students and they appreciated his honesty regarding his own story of faith."
Junior Levi Malone of Pilot Point said after the Chapel session, "One of the things I took away from listening to him was how real he was with his walk with Christ and how important that was to him. He portrayed to me that his family is doing the show for the Lord."
"I was impressed that he was rooted in God being first in his life and how that is the basis for living," said junior Ashley Pollard of Hallsville. "He showed me how much he loves his family and how family oriented they are."
Jep's visit was made possible by a gift from the Rosa May Griffin Foundation. The gift was given to support chapel programming and was in honor of former ETBU President, Howard Bennett. Students, staff and faculty were informed of Jep being the special guest to speak via a mass email sent Thursday morning.
"The Robertson's story is a great reminder to students that we are called to be representatives of Christ no matter where in the world life takes us. Jep and his family continue to be a bright light for Christ in our world and we are grateful that he came to campus to share with our community," remarked Dr. Bryant.