Tis the season for emails about the Coronavirus. Yes, my inbox is full of them, too. We figured that since all the cool kids are sending out notices about their extraordinary cleaning standards, the amazing HEPA filters they are using, and all the impressive precautions they are taking to make the world a safer place, that we would do something a bit different. (BTW — if any of you are fascinated to know what cleaning standards we do have at Ellerslie, we’d be happy to let you know.)

Technically, this video of me talking about the Coronavirus wasn’t originally made for all of you to see. It was put together for all the current participants in my Spring 2020 Honorable Manhood training. I was filming my weekly Q&A video for them and the topic was “a unique way to respond to the Coronavirus.” When I finished, Nathan Johnson, one of our executive staff members here at Ellerslie, said, “I think that video needs to go to everyone — not just the Honorable Manhood guys!”

So, please note that this video was originally created for an audience of men. Just keep that in mind, ladies, when I start out the video by saying, “Hey, men!”

I am excited about the possibilities opening up for us as Christians in such a time as this. The opportunities for sharing the Gospel and for imparting the love and the truth of Jesus Christ to the fear-driven culture around us are very real right now. Let’s take advantage of this amazing wide open door.

We may not have much toilet paper at present, but just think about what we do have!

We have Jesus!
– E

Transcript

Hey, men. This is Eric Ludy. We are living in a strange world right now. It seems to be run by the Coronavirus instead of normal operating procedures. It’s probably been pretty interesting for all of us and so that’s the main thing I want to address. As fathers, how do we approach something like this unto triumph? This is our hour. This is what we relish. This is what we live for. Technically, when things become difficult and things get crazy — this is when a Christian maintains his head. A Christian man should be able to stand up and speak lucid thoughts; concrete notions of truth and stability to the world around them.

It’s funny. I know many of us have walked into a store lately, and it’s a form of chaos. Yesterday, Leslie wanted me to get napkins, and I walked into the paper aisle, and there were no paper products in the whole store. It was a little jarring. I have to admit, it’s a little strange, because you recognize the effects of paranoia actually spreading. Because now normal people, if we saw a bit of toilet paper, we’d probably grab it. And you know what happened this morning? We ran out of toilet paper. I don’t care about these things. I’m not moved by them, and if you’re not moved by them, if you’re not anxious, well then you might get caught without toilet paper.

So I was telling my kids today, I said, “Okay, guys, as Ludys, here’s our rule. We are going to make this a grand adventure. This is going to be fun. We are going to look back on this and laugh, and we’re going to enjoy it. That’s our rule, okay? So everyone else can lose their heads. We’re Christians, so we’re going to make all of these challenges into adventures. If we don’t have toilet paper, we’re going to have fun with that. We’ll have to figure out a solution.”

By the way, we did get some toilet paper. Leslie’s parents had a whole bunch, so we do have that. So if you’re thinking of shipping me some, you don’t need to worry about that.

But at the same time, in those moments when you don’t know that you’re going to have toilet paper, you still need to make the choice. How are we going to handle this? So I said, “Hey, guys. If we don’t have any food, guess what we’re going to do. We’re going to make a grand adventure of it, and we’re going to smile. We’re going to laugh at this, and we’re going to look back at these days and say, ‘Do you remember that time? That was fun.’”

This is our hour! I met with our father/son group last Sunday, and we had a great talk. I mean, it was so powerful. We put out the word “Coronavirus” and we answered three questions. We never got past the Coronavirus. We had two hours together. I said, “Okay, guys, here’s what we’re going to do. All you fathers – I don’t care how you’ve been behaving in regards to the coronavirus up to this point. I want you to speak what the Scriptures say. How does a man think, when he faces something like the Coronavirus? What do we say?”

And I tell you what, two hours of this, and then the young men spoke in response. And it was powerful stuff. I mean, it was pithy, and one of the things that we said at the end was, “Okay, what do we do about it, then?” If it’s true that this is our hour. If this is true, that this is actually when the Christian man is supposed to rise up, what can we do, and to turn outward?

So one of our young men this week actually made a proposal, and we are actually wanting to find elderly people in Northern Colorado that are scared, that don’t have the ability to go shopping because of the paranoia around, and they can’t access things — and then we’re going to help them get it. We are going to turn outward and start serving people in need. It just sounds fun! It was a young guy that came up with that idea.

So one of the dads got in touch with me and said, “I like this, Eric. What do you think? Can we do this? Can we stock the stuff at Ellerslie and can we get it out there?” I said, “Absolutely. That sounds fun.” Let’s make this fun, guys! We have one shot at this thing called life, one go at it, and how dare we take this time and curl up into a ball in the fetal position and fear what the enemy’s doing instead of take it to them? I’ve been vulnerable to just mocking this whole thing, but then I realize that there are real people out there who are fearful.

If I’m talking to someone who thinks they’re a giraffe, for instance, it doesn’t do me any good to mock them. That’s not going to help them. You see, I may mock and hold in contempt the ideology behind it, the philosophies, the lies, and those demonic powers that are puppeteering this poor guy. But guess what? I love him, and I want to care for him, and I want to serve him, and I want to wash his feet, and I want to lead him to Truth. The same is true with this world around us that is losing their heads. They’re fearful. They’re anxious. They really are. We, as fathers, set a pace. Our children are going to look at our face, and they’re going to establish their position on this. Smile, laugh, cherish the opportunity to show Jesus in through this! Guys, I’m standing with you and cheering you on.