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Spirituality
Feb. 20 - March 4, 2016
www.SanTanSun.com
Following his ‘calling’
Jep Robertson to talk about faith Feb. 20 in Chandler BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
Calling from the humid swamplands of Louisiana, “Duck Dynasty’s” Jep Robertson is anticipating his visit to Cornerstone Chandler Campus on Saturday, Feb. 20. “I’m looking forward to the weather,” said Robertson who, along with wife, Jessica, just adopted a baby boy nicknamed Gus. “It’s chilly down here. In Louisiana, even though the temperature is 30, it’s really humid so it feels really cold.” Robertson is appearing at Cornerstone as part of the men’s conference called Legacy. (For more information, visit https://www.legacycon.com.) At the event, he’ll speak about “Duck Dynasty,” his new show, “Jep and Jessica: Growing the Dynasty” and a story or two. “The most-asked question I get wherever I go is if my uncle Si is that crazy,” he said with a laugh. “Yes, he’s really that crazy.” The most important topic, however, is his faith, something with which he struggled earlier. “When I got to high school and figured out that girls existed and took that first drink of alcohol, I definitely did some experimenting,” Robertson said. “I ended up doing a lot of drugs and was in a bad way. That’s what I talk about a lot—the intervention my parents had. There’s a bad path you can take where
you can end up dead or in a bad, bad place or in jail. Luckily, I have a good family who looked out for me and saved me, really.” His parents were tough on him, but, Robertson said, he now sees that it was necessary. “My dad said, ‘You keep living like this and we can’t be around you because you’re bringing bad stuff to this family,’” he said. “He made me choose. It took me about 2 seconds to say, ‘I choose you guys and I can do whatever it takes to get it right.” He said, half-jokingly, that he lived under “house arrest,” for a few months to get over his problems. “I laid around, went hunting and got rid of those bad friends,” he said. “They were good guys. They just had the same thing—they lost their way. Most have come out of all of that stuff. That was 20 years ago.” Robertson came out of it a better person, he said; someone who was able to help work toward and eventually enjoy the success of his family’s duck call company, Duck Commander. “We spent many years struggling, really,” he said. “My dad just started this little old business on the river. He was a school teacher and a coach. He told my mom, ‘I think this could do well. I don’t
Jep Robertson, a member of the Robertson family best known as the star of “Duck Dynasty,” will make an appearance in Chandler on Feb. 20. He is shown here with wife, Jessica. Photo by Steven Palowsky know how well.’ Never in his wildest dreams did he think it would blow up and be as big as it has been.” He attributes the TV show to fans, however. “I think people were wanting to see something that was a little more lighthearted and good natured,” he said. “A lot of reality shows have a lot of drama. People get mad at each other. We just wanted to take the opposite—be nice and be a normal family. We disagree about things, but we always make up in the end.” Robertson has his own TV show now, “Jep and Jessica: Growing the Dynasty.” It follows the life of the couple and their family, which includes five children. He said that this project is challenging. “It’s tough because with ‘Duck Dynasty,’ there was such a big cast,” he
said. “Each individual person doesn’t have to work so much. “My immediate family, we have some long days. The crew is part of my family now, though. It’s the same crew that we have with ‘Duck Dynasty.’ Hollywood says that kids and animals are the hardest groups of people to work with. The kids, at times, they get tired. They were like, ‘I just want to go to school. We’re tired of being on set.’” He said that with a laugh, but so far, Robertson added, the experience has been great. “There are long hours and having a new baby, it’s tough,” he said. “We’ve had some sleepless nights. But so many people tell me, ‘Thank you so much for talking about adoption. We’ve been thinking about it.’ It’s so awesome. It’s been cool.”
Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.
Chandler United Methodist Church
Celebrating more than 100 Years in Chandler. Making and Deploying Disciples Who Put God First, Since 1913.
SUNDAY WORSHIP Traditional Worship.................. 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. SUNDAY SCHOOL For Children ............................. 8:40 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR ADULTS ..................................................... 8:30 a.m. Adult Study “Healing Where It Hurts” Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Wednesday Night Adult Study “The Renegade Gospel” at 7 p.m.
480-963-3360 • www.chandlermethodist.org • 450 E. Chandler Heights Rd.
First Baptist Church of Sun Lakes A Church of Joy Committed to the perfect Word of God, living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and worshiping with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Dr. Marc Drake, Senior Pastor invites you to join in our traditional worship service at 9535 E. Riggs Road Sun Lakes, Arizona 85248
480-895-1088 www.fbcsl.org Sundays:
Bible Study: 8:30 am | Worship: 10:00 am Wednesday: Prayer & Bible Study: 6:30 pm