The Kodiak and its animated skipper Wild Bill were finishing up a great season. Although he was not completely happy with his crew, the stuffed pots of red crab calmed him down for a minute. The crew seemed to come together near the end, but a reckless mistake almost cost one deckhand his life. A pot flipped over and nearly crushed a guy at the sorting table. That incident gave Bill a reason to get mad and mood on deck soured. For the last pot, Bill again forced his son to the rail to throw the hook. Zach couldn’t do it right away despite his dad mocking him over the loud speaker. Wild Bill was very disappointed in his Son’s skills under pressure. Once into harbor Bill again lashed out at Zach about him not doing the prep work for next season right. Bill called Zach to the wheelhouse for a talk and there was nothing loving about it. If Zach talks back to Bill one more time he may be going into the Bearing Sea.  Each crewman received 20 thousand bucks for their short season.

The Time bandit also saw great red crab fishing this season. Maybe the quota reduction of red crab was premature. The last trip went super fast and captain Johnathan Hillstrand allowed each of his deck guys play captain for 5 pots of their choosing. All the deckhands had to do was place 5 pots and the one who caught the most crab won 5 thousand bucks. All the guys pretended like they had a strategy, but Josh Harris actually did. He remembered that his late father said look for fart bubbles. Josh set 5 pots on some fart bubbles and won the competition and filled the boat with the last crab of the season. It was a nice moment for the kid. Of course the Time bandit crew had to duct tape Josh to the boat to congratulate him. On the way home to Homer, Alaska the Hillstrand brothers visited the final resting spot of their dad on a hillside by the harbor. Johnathan threw a bomb into the water to wake his dad’s spirit up. The Hillstrands have had more than their fair share of losses recently, but they continue to fish. In the end the boat caught 92 thousand pounds of crab and each deckhand got 42 thousand bucks.

Scenes from the Opilio crab season were very gnarly and I think someone gets their entire finger chopped off. I can’t wait.

Intro: Morale is bad on the Ramblin’ Rose, and the crew feels overworked and grumbling. One deckhand carries the crew’s concerns to the Captain.

Lesson Points:
2nd Samuel 12:1-7 “So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story…” King David’s actions had angered and de-moralized the people to the point his kingdom could fall apart. For the king’s own sake, Nathan must risk the king’s anger and deliver the bad news.

Jeremiah 38:4-6 “So the officials took Jeremiah form his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard.” Jeremiah almost pays the ultimate price for angering the powerful, he is left for dead, sinking in mud.

Discussion:
On the Ramblin’ Rose, one deckhand must risk the wrath of the king, er.. I mean captain, to inform him of the complaints of the crew. It is a risky task, but not bringing it to the captain’s attention could lead to worse consequences.

Prophets have different roles. Sometimes it is to predict or comfort, but more often, prophets had the role of confronting the powerful. Nathan must confront King David about the fact that his deeds, his affair with Bathsheba and arranging the death of her husband, have not stayed secret. His does it very gently, by first telling the king a story of injustice. The prophet knows that the king, deep down, is a righteous man, and will be angered by it. Then, he tells the king that he is the bad guy.
How might you approach someone with a complaint, or with bad news?

If you were the deckhand that had to inform the captain of the bad morale on deck, how might you do it?
Sometimes there is a cost for being the bearer of bad news. Jeremiah angered many people with his warnings. They felt it was treason. He was left for dead sinking in the mud of a cistern, basically a cave or pit used to store water. An employee or a deckhand could be fired and kicked off the boat for bringing bad news. But, what could be the cost of not delivering the news?

In the end, King David comes around, repents, and changes his ways, and possibly saved his kingdom from falling apart. An unnamed hero in the story of Jeremiah lowers ropes and pulls Jeremiah from the cistern. And on the Ramblin’ Rose, the captain, although angered, relents and calls the crew in for a break. Those that risk the wrath of the powerful, and act as a prophet, are indeed proved right in the end.

Intro: On the Northwestern, Jake has been going to school, he aims to be a Captain of a boat one day, but he still has duties in the galley (1:05).
On the Ramblin’ Rose, Captain Elliot Neese leaves the wheelhouse to help the deckhands unchain some pots (1:50).

Lesson Points:
Luke 22:24-27 or Mark 10:41-45 “…whoever wishes to become great among you, must be your servant…” True leadership is found not in authority or power, but in service.

Philippians 2:4-8 “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” We are called to imitate Christ’s humility.

Discussion Points: Worldly ways of leadership often involve people either gaining or being given position over others. They rise to a certain level, then they consider tasks and even people as being “beneath” them. Yet, Jesus tells the Disciples that the leader is the one who serves. Indeed, Jesus himself, the One we call Lord, is the one who gives completely of himself.

From the series, we have two illustrations of how we are called to lead. Jake who looks forward to the day he commands a boat, but in this scene has a more mundane task, cooking for the crew. An extremely important task when you consider that the crew will need a hot meal when they are finished on the deck. The Captain of the Ramblin’ Rose, comes out of the comfort of the wheelhouse to help deckhands with a mundane task of unchaining pots. He is showing his involvement in every level of the boat’s operation.

What kind of leader would you rather work for? One who stays in their office, and tells everyone else what there job is, or one who is involved in the same task you are? Would you rather work for someone was given a leadership role, or one who has worked their way up? What is the role of a leader, to simply order people around?

For Jesus, achievement is measured by what is done for others. In Philippians we are urged to practice the same humility that Jesus had, putting the interest of others first. A true leader wants everyone to succeed, just as a good boat Captain may want the trip to be a success not just for himself, but for all those on board. In these brief scenes we have illustrations how this can be lived out. How might you live out such values of Servant-Leadership where you live and work?