Bigger Than the Boogie Man

“God is bigger than the boogie man, and he’s watching out for you and me!” So sang Junior Asparagus in 1993’s debut video in the VeggieTales animated series—the brainchild of Phil Vischer. In 1994, Vischer’s company, Big Idea Productions, sold seven million videos and had revenues of $44 million. The company grew to 210 employees, many of whom worked furiously to release its first feature film, Jonah.

But Big Idea was in trouble. Costs began spiraling out of control and revenues flattened. When an $11 million lawsuit was filed and ruled against Big Idea, Vischer’s company had to declare bankruptcy ten years after the release of the first video.

Yet Vischer was strangely happy. Profoundly affected by his dad leaving home when he was nine, Vischer had driven himself to create a company whose positive messages strengthened families. The self-imposed stress led to pericarditis, an infection of the tissues around the heart, then strep, and then shingles. And that was before the Big Idea business took a downturn and Vischer had to start laying-off employees who he considered family. 

Just after the trial ended, Vischer heard a Bible conference session that posed this question: What does it mean when God gives you a dream, and the dream comes to life, and then the dream dies? The answer: God wants to see if you can live without the dream and depend only on him for meaning. Vischer realized that he had pursued cultural influence instead of pursuing God. 

Today, Vischer does voices for the VeggieTales characters in exchange for a small percentage of royalties from the VeggieTales videos created by Big Idea. Those royalties have given Vischer the freedom to pursue a range of creative ventures—all in service to God.[1]

God is not just great and powerful but also all-knowing. He is bigger than the boogie man … the failed business … the failed marriage … the devastating loss … the dream that flourishes and then dies. And he’s watching out for you and me.

Questions for Reflection and Application

• Why did God allow Vischer to fall? What did Vischer learn?
• When has God allowed you to fall or fail? What did you learn? How did you respond?
• What experiences have left you frustrated with God because you still don’t know why you had to go through them? Write down a prayer to God for those experiences. Make it one that you can pray consistently until God brings insight and peace.
• Who are the “boogie men” in your life right now? How should you enlist God’s help with them?

[1] Bob Smietana, “Running out of Miracles”, Christianity Today, May 1, 2004, and Phil Vischer’s speech at Moody Founder’s Week, February 4, 2015.