Pastor pens children’s parable of a little fish looking for trouble
Pastor Randy Phillips of LifeFamily churches signs a copy of his recently published children’s book, ‘Guppy and the Silvery Hook.’ LifeFamily has six campuses, including LifeFamily Marble Falls at 1901 Mormon Mill Road. Staff photo by Suzanne Freeman
Jesus was a storyteller, answering complex questions with parables to prompt his listeners to think and remember the lessons he taught. Pastor Randy Phillips of LifeFamily churches uses the same technique, with a few modern twists. He livestreams his Sunday morning messages to six church campuses in Central Texas, including Marble Falls, writes and records award-winning Christian music, and, most recently, wrote and published a children’s book, “Guppy and the Silvery Hook.”
“I consider Guppy a parable,” Phillips said. “It’s a really compelling story about a curious little fish in a lake where his parents let him roam free. They have a serious talk with him and tell him, ‘Guppy, we want you to be aware of worms on a silvery hook.’ Immediately, he goes out and tries to find one, because that’s what we do.”
Phillips and his wife, Denise, started LifeFamily about 21 years ago in the auditorium at West Lake High School in Austin. Eight years later, they moved to the Austin City Limits auditorium then bought 20 acres on Texas 71 just outside of Bee Cave. That became the headquarters for a growing nondenominational church.
About eight years ago, the Phillips opened their second campus at 1901 Mormon Mill Road in Marble Falls. Other campuses followed in Bastrop, Dripping Springs, and Leander. A second Austin church opened in the Mueller neighborhood. LifeFamily also offers online streaming of its services for anyone anywhere.
The main campus, LifeFamily Austin at 8901 Texas 71 West, is huge, with multiple buildings, a massive parking lot, and acres of Hill Country landscape.
“We built this building, and very quickly it filled up,” Phillips said. “We went to three services and were at capacity. My choices were to buy more land here and have people drive to us, or we could go to them.”
Technology made it possible to reach and preach to multitudes in different locations on the same Sunday morning without having to drive anywhere.
Campus pastors organize Sunday services at each location, streaming the sermon when they reach that part of the program, no matter what time. Elyse and Andy Sellman are the pastors of the Marble Falls campus, where around 300 people attend each of two Sunday morning sermons held at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Phillips has a bachelor’s degree from Concordia Lutheran College in Austin and a master’s in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary but said he obtained his true passion for preaching at home. His father and grandfather were preachers, his mother a church music director. Mom gets credit for his longtime side gig: writing and recording Christian songs with the group Phillips, Craig and Dean.
Shawn Craig and Dan Dean are also pastors and preachers’ kids. All three have been serving their churches for 30 years each. Since forming in 1991, the group has sold over 3 million albums, earned 23 No. 1 hits, and won multiple Gospel Music Association Dove Awards.
Whether with music or not, the aim is the same, Phillips said.
“Singing and telling a story are similar,” he said. “One has music, one does not, but they are designed to do the same thing: to deliver a message that will better people’s lives. That’s my hope. Will this song, this story, help someone who is listening to it? Two mechanisms to deliver the same message.”
One of his favorite songs, “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again,” came from a story he heard. A pastor friend was allowed to watch a heart surgery of one of his congregants. The doctor removed the heart, repaired it, and put it back, but it would not beat.
“He tried again and again, but it would not beat,” Phillips said. “The doctor bent down to her ear and told her, ‘Your heart has been repaired; it’s ready to do its job. Now, you have to tell your heart to beat again.’ Somewhere in the deep recesses of this lady’s mind, she sent a signal to tell her heart to beat.”
After telling the story in this interview, Phillips began to sing: “Tell your heart to beat again, close your eyes and breathe again.”
“So, to me, I heard a story, I put it to music and made the song memorable,” he said. “And the letters and emails from people who heard that song? That’s the most rewarding thing. They wrote about how they thought their best days were over or that they would never love again or laugh again. ‘I listened to your song, and I told my heart to beat again.’ That’s everything to me.”
Jesus certainly understood the power of stories.
“In terms of Jesus as a storyteller, he was sent from God, God in the flesh,” Phillips said. “Whatever he wanted to speak, it would have been the most profound thing people had ever heard. He chose to tell stories. The Pharisees would ask these profound questions, and he would tell a story.”
The story of Guppy follows that pattern of using a common, relatable situation to deliver a deeper message.
“It’s a cute story on the surface,” Phillips said. “You go one layer down, and it becomes more compelling.”
The story of Guppy addresses issues of listening to and learning from your parents and dealing with bullies.
“It comes down to what voices are speaking to you and where they are taking you,” he said. “Are they taking you closer to where you want to be or further away from where you want to be?”
The picture book grew out of a bedtime story that Phillips told his two daughters as they grew up. They got tired of the books he was reading to them and wanted him to make up a new story. Guppy lives on as an oral tradition among Phillip’s grandchildren, but now, in print, he has a wider audience for his message.
“Guppy was testing his boundaries,” Phillips said. “I don’t want to give away the ending, but he receives the consequences of his decision. He realized this profound thing I wish all kids could: Rules aren’t meant to keep us from having fun; rules are meant to keep us safe. That’s where I’m trying to go with this story of Guppy.”
He included a discussion guide at the end of the book: “Let’s Learn,” “Let’s Talk,” and “Let’s Pray.” His bottom-line message to readers: “Good choices, good life; bad choices, bad life.”
“It’s as simple as that,” he said. “If you make good choices, it puts you on a trajectory in your relationships, your career. Bad choices can derail you for years. Just one choice. If this little book can help any young person, child, or parent make one better choice, I will be happy.”
Phillips already plans to turn Guppy’s story into a song and to write a book sequel or two.
“Guppy is going to get into even more trouble,” he promised.
The story of Guppy applies to all ages, Phillips continued.
“I think a 60-year-old should read ‘Guppy,’” he said. “If we’ve lived long enough, we’ve all had an experience or two with a silvery hook.”
“Guppy and the Silvery Hook” was self-published on Oct. 21, 2025. It is available for purchase on the Guppy website at guppyandthesilveryhook.com or through most online booksellers. To request free books for a church, call LifeFamily at 512-220-6383.