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Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

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By Bryan Belknap
9/21/2007

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Conversation

Well, I think it's important to keep up with current movies and music if for the only reason to be aware of what many of the un-churched kids in our communities may be watching or listening to. Not that'd I'd approve watching this movie and others like it WITH our group. I also believe as teachers we should be able to draw questions out of most every film or cd in order to help move our audience into a relationship with God. I spend most of the time teaching our kids how to think for themselves and measure what they watch and listen to by the standard of the Bible and judge accordingly: is it worthwhile or not. We don't live inside a Christian Bubble that's unaffected by the entertainment and amusement (a favorite word)of the post modern world.

Keith Caughlin 4:01:35pm on 1/25/2009

What my kids remember about this movie is that we walked out of it. My core being rose up and there was no way I could watch further. I check pluggedinonline.org now before forking out money at the theaters.

Amanda 2:01:11pm on 1/18/2009

I look at the prayer scenes not as a mockery of God but as a mockery of how Christians can bable on and on in prayer and pray for the siliest things. I have been a Christian for 24 years now and wasn't offended.I was laughing cause I know people that pray like that, maybe not to such an extreme (that's Will Ferrel) but they do. I see no harm in it but I definetaly would not use it in lessons because I don't recommend the movie to teens, even though 99% watched it. If you use it to teach then it should be watchable.

Patrick Ballard 12:10:28pm on 10/07/2008

I'm greatly saddened to read the responses of many of the youth leaders on this page. How can we justify using an unbelievably inappropriate movie to relate to a Bible study? We justify it because we didn't show the whole movie. How does that make it right? Whether or not the youth may have seen this movie themselves is irrelevant. By using a clip from this movie, you are sending them the message that it's okay for them to see the movie. I have not personally seen the movie, but I can tell from the previews on tv that it is not a movie that we should be endorsing by showing clips of it in church. As Christians, aren't we supposed to be avoiding evil and the mere appearance of evil? Are we accomplishing that when, through our actions, we tell our youth that it's okay to see innapropriate movies? We are responsible for the youth that God places in our care. How can we possibly justify leading them into temptation?

jeremy 8:10:43am on 10/01/2008

Humor is important in youth ministry but it must be appropriate and God honoring. Pornography is sinful but no one on this list would ever show a scene of any type from a porno flick. Sin is sin. Disrespect to God is disrespect. When selecting material for Bible study we have to look to Philippians 4:8. In that process, we must also observe Philippians 4:9 as a criterion for ourselves. Yes, kids are exposed to A-Z evil in everyday life. The way to equip youth (and each other) is not by more exposure to sin but by working in the Word. Teach God's word. The world is rife with examples we can see to illustrate His message. Because they see it and live “the real world” everyday, kids can provide dozens more examples that will foster discussion. A youth group is supposed to be a safe haven—on multiple levels. Jesus, through His example and teachings taught us how to “be real” with everyone we meet. Jesus did not replicate sin to teach. Clearly, there is value in the use of examples of sinful behavior but He did so using parables and He never disrespected His Father or Himself. The Lord's Prayer shows us how to pray to God. Prayer is a conversation with our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. It does not have to be formal and can be conversant but it must always be respectful; and when it is not, we must ask for forgiveness. Further, I'm not exactly sure how you can effectively use either scene (Ricky Bobby or Fockers) as a ministry tool. If the kids laugh, part of the lesson must be to rebuke that laughter because the scenes are disrespectful to God. If the point of the lesson is that this abomination to prayer is wrong, you have to confront that. Hopefully, those who laughed feel badly for doing so once they “see”. So you’ve set the kids up for failure and possibly broken some trust. They have been made to feel foolish in front of their peers. If you don’t rebuke the behavior in the film and the response to it, you are not conducting Bible study. Isn’t this the bait-and-switch behavior the Pharisees used when questioning our Lord? Isn’t this the replication of sin? Bible study must force some introspection. We all know it won’t happen every time. Put in another light, would you perform a skit where a clique is being cruel to someone outside the clique? Sure. Some of the taunting could be as witty as Oscar Wilde or Moliere. But would you encourage your kids to laugh along with the “bad guys”? The story of the Good Samaritan happens every day. Do we glorify the first two travelers or otherwise show support for that behavior? If we show a scene from a movie and we wouldn’t show the whole film, haven’t we opened a door that should have remained shut? I love Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller. I think they can be hysterically funny but I would never show any part of any of Ferrell’s films to youth. Suppose some of the kids who laugh don’t “get it”. They walk away thinking the scene was merely goofy. What seed have you—you—planted? Philippians 4:8 must be the guide. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is discernment. Christ lived His life as an example. We are supposed to be set aside for God’s work. That does not mean we don’t get our hands dirty or lock ourselves away in a church. The mission field is a war zone and the enemy whittles away at us every minute of every day. We have to insulate ourselves in the Word, not the world. If you can’t “be real” by leading as a Christian example, please don’t work in youth ministry. They have enough secular reality. You don’t have to be a monk or nun (no disrespect to these Orders) but you do have to do your best to be a good example. We have to be intentional and mindful when we teach and witness. Showing sin in Bible study is not the same as using sin in Bible study. 1 Corinthians 8 and specifically verse 9 gives us very clear instruction in this area. God tells us to show the light of truth on sin not use it as a flashlight to guide the way.

Michael A 11:08:44am on 8/06/2008

Our church is doing a sermon series on, “Making Prayer Powerful.” This past Sunday the sermon was on “Making Prayer Powerful through Alignment.” The alignment here is, being aligned with the will of God. We have 5 Sunday services of which 3 are Contemporary and 2 are Traditional. The prayer video from “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” was shown along with the Prayer video from “Meet the Fockers.” I was quite shocked to see these videos being used in our church as a tool to show people what they should not do when praying. I have read the entries made by others here and understand where you are coming from in your comments and agree that when we are dealt lemons we should make lemonade. However, if a church is trying to appeal to a community and reach out to those who are looking for a new direction in life, don’t you think videos like these would be a stumbling block to those people? I know the videos were to me and my wife and we feel very grounded in our faith, but I have to wonder what a new comer must have felt this past Sunday while watching those videos. Videos such as these are an absolute mockery to our Lord and Savior. They are not humorous and they certainly have no Christian educational value to them! I read one entry, in this Conversation, where the writer was quite proud that he was able to use the video to start his message one evening and how it was a great “hook” and that he had never seen the young people as captivated as they were that evening. I’m sorry but they were not captured by the word of God. They were captured by a secular video that was never intended to be used for the glory of God. It was intended to be used to make fun of our Lord and Savior and if we, as the Body of Christ, continue to allow this type of material to be used in our Youth Groups, in our Contemporary services, and our attempts to win souls for Jesus Christ, we will lose sight of our real job as the Body of Christ…..to be ministers of the Gospel! Believe me, it’s best to start with Jesus and end with Jesus. Jesus did not compromise himself when the Evil one was tempting Him. Jesus stood firm on His belief in the Father and the Holy Word. Just as we should stand firm on our ability to preach the word. When we align ourselves with the Lord and His will he will glorify us!

Rich Garrison 12:07:08am on 7/23/2008

The more we allow movies like this to inch their way into our lives, the more jaded we become to the sin in the world. It's easy for the devil to creep into our lives if he whispers instead of shouts.

Marsha 1:04:25pm on 4/21/2008

Speaking as a 17-year-old who is a worship leader and very involved in working with our church's youth leaders to get the youth group to get active in their faith and come alive, I think that the general idea on this is is not bad - but there are MANY bette, funnier, and less objectionable movies to base a lesson off of. If a movie isn't okay to watch all the way through during youth group, then none of it should be watched there. The decisions us kids make on our own time about movies, music, and other media are up to us, but the church is responsible for trying to influence those decisions for the GOOD, not following the lowest common denominator down in an attempt to relate. I'll admit to watching and laughing at this movie, but it's not something I would watch again or recommend to anyone else, just because of how crude it is. Like I said, kids are free to make their own choices, but we as leaders need to provide better alternatives to the mainstream garbage that prevails most of the time - not fall for it ourselves.

Haley 5:04:25pm on 4/11/2008

I think that when it comes to Christianity and teenagers, we need to realize that being honest and real are more important than being religious and creating the "rules" for teens. I would not recommend showing the whole film at youth group, however, humor has a way of opening doors. Instead of wasting time trying to explain what you mean you can watch and start discussing something they are already familiar with. I don't see how showing a scene of a character with obviously little comprehension of true faith or what prayer real is can become the teens role model. So I don't think you have to worry about that. I think that the dinner prayer scene is a great discussion starter. Prayer can be very confusing to teens and breaking the ice with something familiar and funny will help open the discussion. Teens are not dumb, when you play the clip they will already know the general direction you are about to take. Give them a little credit, they aren't mindless drowns that follow anything you put in front of them. We do need to proceed with caution and wisdom, but we also need to inspire teens to think and learn for themselves and explore their faith so it's their own. When they leave high school they better be able to withstand a clip from a movie and still make good and godly choices.

Elizabeth 12:11:11pm on 11/30/2007

I actually used the "Dinner Prayer" scene with our students about a month and a half ago. Yes, I know that the movie contains objectionable language, crude jokes, makes light of sinful behavior, etc. but this is what our youth are watching. I'm not approving, just taking note so that I remain culturally relevant. I'm the Worship Pastor at our church as well and every once in a while I use popular secular songs (sometimes with a few words changed) to reinforce a message series. When our people hear that song on the radio from then on all they can think of is church and how that song relates to them from a Christian perspective. Movies can be the same way...our youth can't think about that movie now without remembering how their goofy Youth Pastor made it work in a message on prayer...did I mention it was a great hook to start off the message that night?! I had their attention better than I had in quite a while! LOL!

Adam Green 10:11:28pm on 11/06/2007

Whether you like this movie or not, your youth are watching it along with many other. Lemons aren't the greatest thing in the world to eat but watered down they are pretty good to drink. Bring the movie down to a level you can use. I have used the "prayer scene" of this movie to discuss differences in prayer at many events with great results. There is nothing like having the full attention of a hundred+ youth. Remember they are watching them whether you approve of them or not. Now go make lemonaid!

Ben Nicholson 11:11:49am on 11/01/2007

I agree that this movie had some funny parts, but it is humor that makes light of seriously sinful behavior. I thought the cursing (especially of the children!) was unbelievable and the "prayer" scene was so irreverant to Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I know He has a sense of humor since we were made in the likeness of Him but it was way over the top. I would not use this movie in a Bible study.

Gretchen 4:10:43pm on 10/15/2007

I have seen Talladega Nights and found it to be quite inappropriate for a BIBLE STUDY. We focus on minimizing such media in our lives finding more productive ways of utilizing our time. I am not so sure exposing our children to the language and adult situations is a great idea. Do these situations actually happen in reality? Absolutely! But I would not want my children to hold Ricky Bobby as a role model nor would I wish them to recite scenes from this movie on a daily basis. Was it funny? It was hillarious...but there are lots of funny things in life that are simply not so crude. Especially when we are teaching our children the Word of God!

Shelley 9:10:29pm on 10/13/2007

This movie was so funny. The prayer scene at dinner was one of the funniest things i've ever seen.

Kevin 5:09:31pm on 9/21/2007

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