Last Man Standing: The Baxters Have a “Church” Problem

All over the United States, young people have stopped attending churches. In my world, in which I was raised middle class, white, and in the church, less and less people my age are engaging with communities of faith. Though not often portrayed in western media, Last Man Standing tackles stories of real issues being encountered all over, and issues to which I can relate.

This week on Last Man Standing: Mike and Vanessa struggle to get their girls to come to church with them, so Mike devises a plan to make the sermons more interesting. When that doesn’t work, he appeals straight to the girls’ strengths. Meanwhile, Kyle is a guest on Ryan’s podcast, and they get to complaining about their wives because they know Kristin isn’t listening.

Struggling with church engagement and complaining about wives are both things I can relate to. Though my wife is beautiful and I love her very much (just covering all my bases, I don’t know if she reads these or not). As a twenty something male, it’s easy for my generation to feel disconnected from the church. Sure, making the sermons more interesting will be helpful, but what the millennial generation is really seeking is genuine connection. So, Mike’s solution to get the girls involved, using their gifts for the good of the church was a spot-on solution. Fortunately, the disconnect still existing in modern day likely has lots of people suffering from not knowing what their gifts are, or how to use them to help a church. That’s something I’ve struggled with myself.

But the results were wonderful. Instead of just getting to hear Eve sing at church, she and Mandy sang a beautiful duet. I was thrilled to see Kaitlyn Dever take the mic again, and even more thrilled to see what Molly Ephraim added to it. They could make some serious cash from this audience if they got those girls singing songs on the show, and then translated them to iTunes. Just sayin’.

Probably the only part of the episode that didn’t fit the rest of it was Kyle and Ryan’s little podcast rebellion. I really enjoyed that story, but I’m not sure that it went together with the rest of the plot. You could’ve put this subplot in any episode and it would’ve held up just fine, even though it was a good opportunity to tell us that Kyle’s church has snakes!

Here are a few other thoughts/funny moments:

• “You know damn well I was asleep!”
• “Snitches get stitches- John 3:16”
• I think my church needs Tito Puente..
• I’m definitely going to start giving to my church in scratch-offs. Definitely.
• “You’re literally going to be preaching to the choir”
• I always love to see Bill Engvall in this role, but I would love for a sermon to include “here’s your sign!”
• “IS ANYONE SITTING HERE!?”
• Ryan’s worst dig at Kristin: She’s pushing 30
• “When they go low, kick ’em in the nuts”- Michelle Obama #alternativefacts

Overall, this was a funny episode with real-world applications, particularly to the target audience. Though the church was used as a prime example, engaging this generation in any situation is as simple as playing to their interests and strengths.

What did you guys think? Did you enjoy the episode? Let us know!

Last Man Standing airs Fridays at 8/7c on ABC