Perfect Shots

Our abilities are wrapped up in the identity that has been crafted by our Creator.  He is described in
James chapter 1:
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

I believe that God intends to use us in unique ways, and He has provided the capacity to accomplish great things for Him.  The Bible, in several places, talks about spiritual gifts, and I believe that each person has at least one.  We also know that He has a purpose for each of us and gives us special abilities so that we may fulfill what He has called us to do.  We may not recognize what He wants us to do or may even be reticent to attempt to walk in our calling, but we can be confident that He desires to use us.

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The first chapter of the book of James has much to say about seeing life through eyes of faith.  We
can be attuned to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and appropriate Godly wisdom. The chapter says:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Five college friends from Texas A&M discovered a hobby - they would make videos of themselves making trick shots, and Faithwire has done an article on their story.  After graduation, some of this group of five guys - Tyler Toney, Garrett Hilbert, Cory Cotton, Coby Cotton, and Cody Jones - pursued so-called "real" jobs, but they continued to make these videos of them making shots of various items.

Their alma mater's Marketing and Communications website tells more of the story:

After brainstorming and spending one afternoon at Toney’s ranch, Dude Perfect produced a ranch edition of basketball trick shots. With two of the members spending the summer as counselors at the Christian-based camp Sky Ranch, a summer camp edition was born. Posted on Youtube, the videos skyrocketed to success.

Their videos have made a splash, raised the roof, and gone the distance — literally.

The tricks include goals scored while wakeboarding on Styrofoam behind a four-wheeler, baskets made up and over rooftops, and swishing the world’s longest basketball shot from the third deck of Kyle Field.

Now, they are known as Dude Perfect, and they began to see how popular their videos were becoming, but once they went all in on the video route, things took off. The Faithwire article relates:

“The minute we all went all in, the thing just exploded,” Cody said.

“The Lord just took it to new levels,” Garrett added. “Deals just started flooding in. … It was like, ‘Boom, quit [your other job]. This is what you were called to do. Do it.’”

Yes, Dude Perfect is sold out to not only making videos, but doing what they do for the glory of God. The article says that "...they give God all the glory for their success."

“Faith is really the underlying principle and theme behind everything Dude Perfect does,” Tyler said in the group’s recently released documentary, “Dude Perfect: Backstage Pass.”

They have 50 million subscribers on YouTube now, and they want to keep it family-friendly and give back.  The article says:

While they don’t share the Gospel in every video they post, it’s not difficult to learn about their faith. In the “about” section of the Dude Perfect website, it says their “ultimate goal is to glorify Jesus Christ in everything that we do.”

They also have the Dude Perfect Foundation and have worked with the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

The Faithwire story says:

And to think it all started because Tyler “was looking for some other Christian guys to really develop a friendship with.”

“I was about to live with a different group of guys,” Cody recalled, “and I thought, ‘You know what, if I’m going to take this Jesus thing seriously, I need to surround myself with guys that love the Lord, and can push me as iron sharpens iron, and mold me into the man that I know I can be.’”

“God had a way bigger plan for Dude Perfect than we could have ever imagined,” Garrett added.

So, here are a couple of takeaways:

For one, do you have a skill, even a quirky one, maybe an insignificant one?  God can use that for His glory.  Sometimes, out of fear, or lack of confidence, we don't take action.  The Lord will give us the direction and the power by His Spirit to do what may seem improbable or even impossible.

Also, we can allow our Christian faith principles to inform what we do. James tells us that God is the giver of all good gifts and the source of wisdom.  The way we live should be determined by who we are on the inside, who Christ has made us to be.  We don't have to go through life haphazardly, just trying to make it to the next day - He has an incredible life in store for us, if we are willing to make His Word a priority and renew our minds by His truth.