I’ve always loved nature shows. As a kid, I remember watching Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins. I never missed a Jacque Cousteau special. Of course, now there is an entire network called Animal Planet. Animal shows have come a long way. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to watch much these days, but on my holidays I was able to catch a few of my favourites. From among those, there is one series that roars above the rest — the Crocodile Hunter.

I love the Crocodile Hunter. Steve Irwin is a wonder to behold. If you only watched one or two of his shows, you might just think that he is a nut with a death wish, but that’s not the case. You don’t capture and release as many crocs as he has without having some major knowledge and smarts. Sure, Steve takes chances, but they are calculated chances all the same and that’s what I love about his show.

Steve draws us into the drama. He not only shows us some nice pictures of animals in their natural habitat, he uses risks and a boundless enthusiasm to engage our hearts. You can’t watch Steve without immediately understanding that this man loves what he does. Steve once said, “The things I want to be remembered for are passion and enthusiasm.” I think he’ll have his wish!

His desire is to help us care about conservation. He wants us to see animals as a natural treasure that need to be protected and preserved. Certainly all the nature shows have this common goal, but Steve’s approach is unique. “Share my wildlife with me. If you’re there with me, you’ll care. If I can involve you, you’ll care.”

Think about it. Steve puts himself in dangerous situations, but not to entertain so much as to draw us in. He isn’t a fool with a death wish; he’s a man with enough passion to live a risky life to involve us in his world. Why does it do it? So we’ll care. He does it so we’ll change the way we think about our world. Steve understands that it’s not just about education; it’s also about the heart. You can know all you need to know about animals, but if that knowledge doesn’t touch your heart, it won’t make a lick of difference. It won’t motivate you to action.

I think the Church needs a bunch of Steve Irwins. We already have an important life-changing message to share, but what we need are some people who are so excited about the message that they will take a few chances to engage the world and draw them in and make them care. How many Christians do you know who will be remembered for their passion and enthusiasm? Not a very nice question, is it? How good are we at engaging the hearts of fellow Christians, let alone our world?! Many Christians walk out of their churches every week going, “Thanks for the info, but so what?” What a shame! We should be running out of our churches with the passion and enthusiasm to wrestle with the god of this age.