When in Doubt, Make It a Song

Randall Goodgame admits that as a young father, he was intimidated by the idea of leading his family in family devotions, leading them spiritually. The Lord, I feel like, revealed that I was afraid of the hypocrisy that I was feeling. And what he helped me to see was not to be afraid of it, but to acknowledge it.

So, I could walk to my kids and not say, you need Jesus and here's why, but to say, I need Jesus, you need Jesus, let's lock arms and need him together because we're going to prove how much we need him to each other for the rest of our lives. This is Family Life Today. Our hosts are Dave and Anne Wilson. I'm Bob Lapine. You can find us online at familylifetoday.com.

We'll hear today how Randall Goodgame ultimately started putting scripture to music as a way to communicate spiritual truth to his children. And the rest, as they say, is history. Stay with us. And welcome to Family Life Today.

Thanks for joining us. So, I got a quiz to start off with today. Oh, no, here we go. You ready for a quiz?

You know how this works, we never know what he's going to do. And I'll probably fail. Here comes the quiz.

Okay, so I just want to see how far back you go. I will give you a, I'll give you a cue. And the subject is kids TV, okay? Oh.

Or kids video. Talk to my wife. All right, so do you recognize this? I see Bobby, I see Nancy, I see Susan, I see Lucy. Does that ring a bell for you?

Well, it's the readers that we did in like first grade. Is that what you mean? No, no, no, no. This is a TV show. This is Romper Room. Miss Nancy on Romper Room. Oh. Bob, we're not that old.

Sorry. I knew this would come back. No, I did watch Romper Room, but I was really little. She'd hold up the magic mirror. Here, yes. And she would see the kids. Yes.

And she would call them out by name. Uh-huh. I do remember that.

Right? Okay, see if you got, I bet you'll get this one, Dave. Oh. Ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching, ching. Does that bring a bell? Does it?

No, it does not. For you? I recognize the tune. Okay, let me ask our guest who is joining us.

Okay. Randall Goodgame is here with us. Randall, do you recognize that?

I do not. Okay, so that would just be me. That's Captain Kangaroo. I was going to say the other show is Captain Gatoroom.

That was my favorite show. He would come in, that's the music that was playing, he'd have his keys, and the music would keep playing until he hung his keys on the rack. And as soon as he hung it, the music would stop like that. And the reason I remember it is because there was one show when they must have gotten a little punchy because he decided to ring toss his keys. And that music just kept playing because he was not hitting the ring at all, it was just over and over.

And they left it in for the final show. Okay, let's go, let's jump to a new category. We're 0 for 2 right now, Bob. Do you remember Colby the Singing Computer?

Songbook. No, no, that's Salty. Oh, no, that's Salty. You remember Salty? Yes. Do you remember Colby the Computer?

Yes. Do you remember, you don't remember Colby? I don't.

You remember Salty? Yeah, a little bit for my kids. Okay. Do you remember Anselvania? Yes.

Okay. See, these were a part of first my childhood and then with our kids. Our kids.

There is something remarkable about music and the imagination that captures a kid's mind and their creativity. And the reason we're talking about that is because of the guest who we've got with us today, Randall Goodgame, who I just didn't introduce, but we said hi to you. Welcome to Family Life Today. Thank you so much, Bob. I first heard about what you're doing. This was more than a decade ago. I was at an Andrew Peterson concert, and I think you must have been, were you in the band back then? Did you play with him on some shows? You know, I toured with him for a couple of years just as an opening artist, and I might have played piano with him at the show you went to. I think you and Ben Shive and Andrew, I think the three of you were performing together, but he had your?

Randall, just say yes. Yeah, we were. It was epic. I bought a copy of the Slugs and Bugs lullaby CD. Again, is that more than a decade old? Oh, yeah, that came out in 2007.

Okay. So I bought that because I needed help going to sleep at night, and I wanted to – no, it's because I had kids, and I thought that would be something that they would enjoy, and they did. And that was the first time I was aware of the Slugs and the Bugs and what God has put on your heart as a burden for music and kids for many years. Since that time, our listeners ought to know, there are – feels like there are scores of Slugs and Bugs CDs that have come out. There are books that have now come out, and I watched this year some of the first episodes of the new Slugs and Bugs video series, 13 episodes that you've done in season one, right? That's right, that's right.

And it's fun, amazing stuff, and we want our listeners to know about what you're doing. You brought – is this a slug or a bug you brought with it? Oh, I'm going to just call her my daughter and keep it safe. This is Livvy, good game. Livvy, welcome to Family Life Today.

Thank you so much. And you have been a part of the entourage with your dad really since – first time on stage, you were like 14? First time on stage, I was nine at an official concert. And what did you do when you were nine? I played the fiddle because I first started learning how to play when I was around seven or eight, and it was a show – I remember the venue.

It was a small church in Georgia, and I remember the song I played was Golden Slippers, a really simple kind of country fiddle tune. Were you nervous? Oh, yes. Oh, yes, I was so nervous.

She got the biggest applause of the night. Oh, I bet. And dad, it had to be fun to take your daughter on a – Oh, it's just the best, you know, to get your kids to come with you and see what you do, but also watch them to flourish and shine and use God's gifts, you know. Every time I've seen you anywhere, you have a bow tie on, so we just got to ask about the bow tie to start off with. Okay.

Well, I'm going to ask Livvy, does he wear a bow tie like around the house or when you go swimming out of the backyard? Oh, my goodness. No, this is actually – it's actually a newer thing, I'm sure he can tell you more, but back when Suggs and Bugs wasn't as big, his kind of go-to show outfit was a Target superhero T-shirt.

Okay. And when kids started showing up to the concerts wearing like the Target Captain America T-shirt, he was like, maybe you should find something else so Marvel doesn't come at me. Yeah, that's right. I actually did a TV show one time and I had my Captain America shirt on and I walked in and they said, oh, yeah, you're going to have to turn that inside out or something. So, I learned quick and, you know, something friendly and fun about a bow tie.

Now, do kids show up at your shows now with bow ties on? Oh, totally. They do. That's so fun.

They really do. Yeah, for sure. Oh, that's fun. You got a pink one today, so you got every color in the book, I'm guessing. Oh, yeah.

I'm always looking for more, you know, cute ones, fun ones. People have often made the comparison between you and Fred Rogers. You've heard that over and over and over again. I have, which, of course, I got to always stop them and say, there is only one Fred Rogers. I'm just an enormous fan and appreciator of him. I'm sure by now lots of your listeners have seen, you know, him on YouTube doing things and speaking up for children's television programming. We watched the movies, both the documentary and just me and everyone else in the theater, not a dry eye in the place, but certainly an amazing mentor and someone to look to and admire and learn from for this opportunity the Lord's given me. Was he a subtle influence or like, did you look at him and go, I want to pattern what I'm doing after what I see him doing? Certain things.

His unflinching commitment to the thing he was called to, for sure. He wanted to help kids understand their feelings. And there are certain things that I feel like the Lord has specifically called me to and his unflinching commitment to his call has influenced me. And, you know, sometimes there's something I want to do or want to say that sometimes my team, as incredible and supportive as they are, but they're thinking about different things than I am. They'll sort of try to guide me one way or the other. And having Fred Rogers, sometimes I'll use him as an example to say, look, if Fred Rogers was called to this aspect of, you know, he was a believer. He didn't talk about Jesus, but if he was called to this, we use his commitment to his calling as a litmus test for us too. And Randall, take us back to your call.

Like you're talking about Fred Rogers call. Did you always think this is what you'd be doing? Oh, goodness, no.

And no way. In fact, even a year before I started doing Slugs and Bugs, if you had told me I will be doing children's concerts, I would have just laughed and thought you were crazy. Andrew and I had made the Slugs and Bugs and Lullaby CD just as a side project. And why Slugs and Bugs? That just came from a song lyric. There's a song called God Made Me that starts off, God made slugs and bugs and rats and bats and nasty bees that don't say please, they'll sting your elbows and your knees if you chase them.

Clap, clap, clap. And so, just like you do when you're looking for a title for your record, we titled it after a song lyric that seemed fun, Slugs and Bugs. And then fast forward three years, I had been the worship pastor at our church for a couple years and thought for a while I might go to seminary and the Lord just kind of led me out of that. I realized I didn't need to be doing that anymore. I was really on the hunt for what the Lord was calling me to. And I did a concert at Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, my old buddy Brian Long was driving me back to the airport and said, hey, when are you and Andrew going to do another one of those kids CDs with the slugs and the bugs?

And my kids love it. And I told him then, you know, I actually really enjoyed parts of that and maybe could do another one, but I just know I couldn't see myself as a clown. And I think if I was going to do children's music, I would just have to be a clown and I just don't think I could do it. And he said, you wouldn't have to be a clown. You could just get my buddy Scott to make you some fun videos.

You could just be the fun, folky host of the Randall Goodgame show with some kids songs. And literally, I got his buddy Scott's number. It was like getting hit by a bat in the face, but like a gentle bat, a nice bat in the car on the way to the airport began this vision because I thought I could do that. And the joke is on me because 10 years later, through the process of becoming a full-time children's musician, artist, I wear the red shoes and I am a clown for Jesus. So, the Lord, I can look back and see all the different ways he was preparing me, but it started right then. And then also just having my own kids realizing that there are aspects of parenting that were just a particular struggle for me. Specifically, one thing I talk about a lot is so often parenting my kids, whenever I wanted to talk to them about the gospel and talk about Jesus, I would just feel this discomfort in my spirit about it. And I would pray and seek the Lord and talk to my wife. Like, I don't feel comfortable talking to them about the gospel.

What is the problem? Because it made you feel what? I didn't know. And eventually, the Lord, I feel like revealed that I was afraid of the hypocrisy that I was feeling. And what he helped me to see was not to be afraid of it, but to acknowledge it so I could walk to my kids and not say, you need Jesus and here's why. But to say, I have lived so long and I know how bad I need Jesus.

And part of my job is to help you to get to know him because you need him too. So that instead of it being, go learn about Jesus because you need to know this stuff from your children's director and church, it's I need Jesus, you need Jesus, let's lock arms and need him together because we're going to prove how much we need him to each other for the rest of our lives. When we were working on the Art of Parenting video series, one of the people we interviewed for that series was a mom in California who said kind of on repeat at our house is parents saying to their kids, I'm a sinner just like you. In the correction process, in the disciplining process, just to remind, look, I'm in the same boat you're in rather than I'm the parent, you're the kid, I do it right, you do it wrong. I think there is something powerful about moms and dads, all of us saying to one another, look, I mess up like you mess up.

I need Jesus just like you do. Right. Yeah, there's something that's, it resonates with me in all the passages of scripture about freedom just start to jump out where that discomfort that I was feeling is bondage.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free, I can be fully myself in front of anyone because whatever I sin, I reveal the Lord has taken care of and whatever light that I shine, he gets the credit for. So, I am free then to just be his in front of you guys or in front of my kids with my wife. Well, the good thing is we have one of your kids here.

Yeah, that's right. So, we can ask her. She's going to say, he is.

Well, let's find out. I mean, Ann and I just finished our parenting book and our three sons are commenting at the end of each chapter. And this is a book that's still in process. It's going to come out next year. Next year.

So, we don't even know what they're going to write yet, but they're going to read it and comment. So, we've got Olivia here. Yes. So, did you see that, your mom and dad, and we've obviously got your dad here, in terms of like he actually talked about being a little awkward sharing the gospel. Did you feel any of that or did you see him being a sinner? Let's talk about your dad's sins. Let me just dish out all the dirt.

No. Well, when I was in sixth grade and my brother Jonah was in fourth grade, we homeschooled for a year because dad would, he would always be out of town on the weekends and then we'd always be at school during the week so we didn't get to spend much time with him. So, then we decided to homeschool for a year. And mom kind of took over the reading and history part of it. We did the math part online on a program and then dad did like little music lessons and Bible teachings and stuff like that. And he would get us to memorize verses and that was kind of his way to talk about the Bible with us or, you know, to get us into verse memorization. The way he would get us to memorize them was to create little melodies for the songs and some of the melodies for the verses that he created are now slugs and mug socks, which is cool. Do you remember one of the songs, Lippy? Could you sing one right now? Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path. That's pretty good. That is really impressive. And you said that was the first? That was the first one. That you wrote? Mm-hmm. Oh, really? And that was like at home?

Right, to help them learn it. Wow. It wasn't until about three or four weeks of completely unsuccessful scripture memorization, except for Lippy would remember, but three or four weeks later they was gone. That's when I started writing melodies and then they stuck. There is something, I've heard you talk about this, there's something about music that there's a relational component to music being shared. There's something that happens in relationships when we gather around music. Can you explain what that is all about?

I doubt it. But, you know, I mean, if you think about just being called to worship, for sure in this time of quarantine and, you know, my family gets together and watches our service online every Sunday. And I want to turn up the TV so I can hear the congregation that's there, you know, socially distanced, singing along with us because there is something that's super valuable about affirming the truth that we believe together. I mean, that's scripture singing, but of course there is something that is out of reach to completely define about what is so valuable about just singing songs together while we go to music concerts and sing along to the songs that we love. There is something wondrous and the little bit that we know about heaven, there's a lot of singing. Some people are singing and that's all they ever do. And I remember talking with our old friend Andrew Peterson about this, wouldn't it get boring to just sing the same song over and over?

And what we know is that we're human, they're not, we can only presume that it's not. So, how incredible must it be to be able to never stop singing to the Lord? I don't know that we understand it, but there's something about the gift of music and the fact that there's a mystical something to music and what it does to connect head and heart, what it does to connect people as we sing together. It's like we're joining together in a common activity that unites us. We can share a meal and there's great social interaction there, but there's something when both of our voices are aligned and we're singing together. I don't know that I understand the mystery of it, but what a gift of God to give us music.

Right. Yeah, and it's a beautiful mystery, I think, because in some ways, even as a preacher and teacher, you know that if you can get your audience engaged in what you're teaching, the memory and the action is going to go up. If I just preach and they sit and listen, good, but if I have them participate, Q&A, have them stand up even and do something, everybody knows. You know, I put stuff on the screen. Same thing for music. The more senses involved, the better memory, which you've obviously tapped into.

If you say it, one thing, you sing it, now you've got a whole other thing going on. Brain's engaged, maybe there's a stand up and you clap. All those extra senses, right? Is that what's going on? Oh, sure.

Because it stuck, right? And then if you compound it with children learning these things with what I'm doing and how so many things that I experienced as a kid, songs, let's say, I still remember at 46 years old. So, the opportunity that the Lord has presented to me, kind of going back to what we talked about at the beginning, to be called to something that it just feels, I just feel like there's nothing more important I could be doing with my time when it's contributing to children engaging with Scripture.

Engaging with stories from the Bible that in a way that will help them remember it so that when the Holy Spirit is in time, when it's the right time for him to bring it to mind, it's there. In the last year, you have transitioned from writing songs and doing CDs. You've added to your repertoire a 13 episode video series and storybooks for kids. So, you're bringing video and visual into the whole mix. Talk about what that's been like for you in the creative process and how you've had to think differently about what it is you're trying to communicate. Well, it's funny to hear you say it.

It sounds exhausting. And also just what a, just I'm delighted because I never could have even a couple of years ago have foreseen all that the Lord has brought about. But it was amazing getting to start to write books. Some of my favorite books, just period, are children's books. I just read one a few minutes ago. I just read Jesus and the Very Big Surprise and it's amazing.

Like every parent should buy this book and it's just one of five. Is that correct? That's right.

Thank you, Ann. Yeah, that book, for example, is a paraphrase of a parable where Jesus says to his disciples, it'll be good for the servants who are waiting for the master when he returns from his banquet, it'll be good for them who are found waiting when he returns. Because when he returns, the master opens the door, he will tell them to go recline at his table. He will dress himself to serve and he will come and wait on them. And I always love that because it paints this amazing picture of Jesus is saying, this is what God is like. He's like the last person you'd ever think would ever put on a robe and come serve you.

That's the person that is going to come serve us. So, getting into writing books was such a joy because I just love having fun. That book doesn't rhyme, but the four other books are Doug and Sparky books. Doug the Slug and Sparky the Lightning Bug are the kind of stars of the slugs and bugs universe. They're best friends and they're rhyming books like Dr. Seuss type books. Once upon a sunny day, Doug the Slug came out to play, that kind of thing.

And what I tried to do is, and it's the same thing that I've been trying to do with the music and the TV show, frankly, is paint a picture of a situation for children to where they can see a situation in life that they could maybe see themselves in. And what difference does it make that Jesus is real? What is Jesus' existence and truth in our life? How does it really matter? Why would I do anything differently than somebody else?

Because Jesus is real. And that's not just a kid question. No.

Every single adult has the same question. Keep going. That's right. That's good.

Well, that's why it's easy to stay engaged and be excited about it all the time. Because as I am studying and wrestling with these questions, it's hitting me right in the heart all the time. So, writing the books and then getting into the TV show, it just felt like more different sources, different kinds of media to get to ask that question and present that question for all of us to wrestle with. We've got on our website at familylifetoday.com a link to the Slugs and Bugs website where people can hear and see and find out more about the books and the videos and the CDs that you put together. In fact, Randall's team is making a special offer for Family Life Today listeners this week. You can go to their website and whatever you'd like to purchase, if you enter the code familylife25, all is one word, you'll save 25% on anything you order from their site. So, again, go to familylifetoday.com and the link is located there.

And we are making available this week three episodes from the Slugs and Bugs video series. We're sending this out to Family Life Today listeners who can join us as new legacy partners. Those of you who are long-time listeners to Family Life Today, you may know that it's our monthly legacy partners who provide the financial underpinning so that this program can reach hundreds of thousands of people every day on radio, on the web, even on your Alexa device, lots of people who are connecting with us. You make that possible when you become a monthly legacy partner, make a monthly donation to Family Life Today. We've had some friends of the ministry who have come to us recently and they have agreed that here in the last week in August, any new legacy partner who joins with us, these friends are going to match your donation for the next 12 months, dollar for dollar, up to a total of $25,000.

So we're excited about that. We're hoping that you will consider becoming a new legacy partner. In addition to your donations being doubled, we'll send you the three episodes of the Slugs and Bugs video series. We'll send you a copy of my new book, which is called Love Like You Mean It, all about marriage and how to strengthen your marriage relationship. And we'll send you a gift card so that you and your spouse or another couple you know can attend as our guests a Weekend to Remember marriage getaway. As soon as we get the all-clear to start those getaways again, you will be welcome to attend as one of our guests. Find out more about becoming a legacy partner or sign up online at familylifetoday.com or call 1-800-FL-TODAY and say, tell me more about being a legacy partner.

I want to join the team. Again, the number is 1-800-358-6329, 1-800-F as in family, L as in life, and then the word TODAY. Now, tomorrow we're going to hear more about the power of music to connect with a child's heart around spiritual issues. And maybe we'll even get Randall Goodgame and his daughter to sing a song for us tomorrow. I hope you can tune in for all of that. I want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our hosts, Dave and Ann Wilson, I'm Bob Lapine. We'll see you back next time for another edition of Family Life Today. Family Life Today is a production of Family Life of Little Rock, Arkansas, a crew ministry. Help for today. Hope for tomorrow.