“Were going to say a prayer right here. Lord thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to change lives again. We will not let you down. In Jesus’ name – amen.”
“Now let’s go get the motherf—–.”
I had the pleasure of going to hear and see the infamous “Dog the Bounty Hunter” speak the other night at the River Cree Resort (Thanks Suede!). Talk about a cult following. There were people there ranging from the piss ‘n vinegar, wannabe, MMA (mixed martial arts) tattoo freaks to 76 year old grandma and grandpa’s. Not to mention half the crowd who showed up to see Dog’s wife, Beth, who has her own following. About 2000 people gathered to hear the famous Christian bounty hunter share war stories of his exploits hunting down all manner of felons, from rapists to drug dealers.
I knew going in that Dog was Christian. I also knew he lived a rough life, and what I would call, “morally flexible” in some cases. I wasn’t prepared for the depth and the conviction of his sharing in such an obviously secular and public venue. But the Dog didn’t hold a word back. He clearly spoke of his prayer life, his hard times, accounts of God stepping in and saving his bacon. And he spoke honestly of his fallen person – his crime in the 70′s, his swearing and his relationships. And, honestly, as a public and motivational speaker, he wasn’t at all eloquent or even prepared.
And herein lies my point. We live in a world of “perfect Christianity”. A world where you can only comfortably and confidently call yourself a Christian if you’ve “got it figured out” and you’ve “rooted out the sin in your life”. Fact of the matter is, right after Christ left this earth, His church was a church of immoral and fallen people trying to live and love others the way He lived and loved others. We now live a version of camouflage Christianity where you go to church on Sunday, hide all the crap in your life for one hour, and then go home and start living reality again.
Dog is a Christian. Hands down. He’s doing stuff wrong. He’s imperfect. But he’s got something over on 95% of the church-going folk that I know. He’s taking action as God has stirred something in him. He’s doing something with the change God’s affected in his life. He’s in it! He’s engaged! He’s taking risks! Yes, he cusses alot. That’s the world he lives and runs in! That’s the language of the crime culture he’s witnessing to. It’s absolutely both completely forgivable and completely necessary for his mission.
20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
God bless Dog and Beth and all his family. If only we approached our Christian calling with the same “go git ‘em” attitude of the Dog.
Love it? Hate it? Leave me a comment.
Doug
And I thought this guy tamed & trained bad dogs….hahah.
Dog does what he needs to do to survive in his world. Sure he was a criminal crack fiend in his youth, but now he owns a business he runs with his family, has ALL of them involved in trying to change lives like Dog himself had his life changed.
I say God bless him. He is who he is and is proud of it.
Liam
I completely agree with the camouflage Christianity that a lot of us (that may be an understatement) are living. And I think people need to start acting on their beliefs, and their moral ethics rather than having the “It’s not so bad” or “Well I go to church” attitude. Maybe you don’t have to strap on a bulletproof vest and take down the bad guys (although that would be freackin sweet!) but action is action. The smallest deed goes more noticed in the eyes of God than that of the greatest intention.
Sorry – how is he “changing lives?” He “takes ‘em down” and then “gets paid.”
First of all, I don’t believe that Dog is saved for a couple of reasons. He never testifies of Jesus Christ to people who really need i to hear it such as those addicted to drugs. According to the Bible, we are called to live holy lives and as Christians we should walk according to what the bible says. Dog has a loose mouth, he curses people rather than blessing them. Maybe he should try another profession because he’s not leading anyone to Christ.