EDMOND, Okla. — You know those weirdos who seem to stumble backward into success?

Lucas Ross is one of them.

Just ask his boss, Kermit the Frog.

For the past four years, Ross, a member of the Memorial Road Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, has worked as a banjo consultant for the lean, green CEO of the Muppets. Recently, the two shared the stage at the University of Maryland during a celebration of one of the school’s most famous alumni, Jim Henson.

It’s a dream come true — a Rainbow Connection, really — for Ross, 44, who counts among his heroes Steve Martin, “Weird Al” Yankovic and his dad, Jimmy Ross, a beekeeping preacher in the central Oklahoma town of Minco.

At a coffee shop around the corner from Memorial Road’s building, Ross told The Christian Chronicle about the circuitous, God-driven path that led him to the accordion, the banjo, the TV camera and the Muppets.

He first performed in front of an audience at age 9. It was Honey Festival time in Minco, and his parents were busy giving tours.

“There was this lady that was letting people perform on her trailer in the middle of town,” Ross recalled. “I just walked up and said, ‘Can I go next?’”

The lady had a full slate of performers, but there was a five-minute gap. Did he have a band? Did he play an instrument?

“No,” Ross answered “I’m Church of Christ. I can sing a cappella. So, I got to sing a traditional Church of Christ song — Ray Stevens’ ‘The Streak.’ I didn’t act it out, but I had a little penny whistle for the sound effect.”

He can’t remember if the audience laughed or not. He does remember his dad getting a phone call from the then-minister for the Minco Church of Christ.

“Did you know that your son was up on stage singing about naked people to the entire town?” the preacher asked. “What do you think that says about us?”

Jimmy’s response: “Well, I heard it was a cappella.”

Bees, a banjos and an accordion

Like his son, Jimmy Ross stumbled backward into his calling. He served as a fill-in preacher whenever the Minco church was between ministers. Some weren’t a good fit for the town, about 40 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Others used the pulpit to get experience before moving on to a bigger-city congregation.

The church members loved Jimmy’s preaching. Eventually, they decided to stick with him.

Jimmy was no stranger to sticky business. Before he took the pulpit, he bought the family beekeeping and honey business from his father-in-law, Glenn Gibson, who became a lobbyist for Oklahoma farmers, befriending politicians from Dwight Eisenhower to Bob Dole. Today, producers of commercially sold honey must disclose its point of origin, “and that was my grandpa’s doing,” Lucas Ross said.

Ministering for the Minco church was like working with bees, but with more stinging, Jimmy liked to joke. And Lucas loved making his father laugh. Once, he watched Jimmy fall on the floor laughing at the Steve Martin film “The Jerk.” A friend’s mom lent Lucas a banjo, and he learned the notes to “King Tut.”

“Weird Al,” the king of song parodies with his own ties to Churches of Christ, also was an early influence. After repeat listenings of “Eat It” and “Polka Party,” Lucas found a used accordion that was missing a pad and, as a result, constantly played E flat. Lucas learned all of his songs in that key. He practiced accordion in the backyard — way in the backyard, per his father’s request.

‘God’s not gonna waste your brain’

Lucas enrolled at Oklahoma Christian University to study theater. He often shared the stage with Bob Lashley, OC’s longtime recruiter and fundraiser who directed musical events including Freshman Fanfare, First Week Follies and Spring Sing. Lashley, a guitarist who could play the Eagles’ entire catalog, once dreamed of making it big in Nashville, Tenn., but instead found a home and family at OC, where he served for 44 years before his death in April 2024. He was a mentor for Lucas and, in 2006, became his father-in-law when Lucas married Lashley’s daughter, Aubrie.

Perhaps the highlight of Lucas’ college days was opening for “Weird Al” when he performed at OC in 2000. Dean of students Neil Arter tried to arrange a meeting for the two accordionists, but to no avail.

In retrospect, it may have been better that they didn’t meet, Arter told the Chronicle. “Two minds that operate at such creative levels might have been more than the campus could have handled.”

Lucas did eventually meet Yankovic — years later, in California, when he passed the communion tray to the king of polkas during Sunday worship.

Back at Oklahoma Christian, Lucas switched his major to corporate media with an emphasis on television, radio and film. One of the required courses, taught by David Jurney, involved audio editing, something the aspiring performer didn’t think he needed. He said as much to Jurney’s father, Larry “Doc” Jurney, the department’s chair.

“You will use everything you learn here,” Doc Jurney assured him. He told Lucas about his own college experience, which included a print media class. Years later, the church Jurney was serving needed someone to put together its weekly bulletin.

“And he said, ‘God’s not gonna waste your brain,’” Lucas recalled. “‘He might use it differently than you ever planned, but he will use it.’”

Puppets, movies and Emmys

At first, Lucas seemed destined to follow in his father-in-law’s footsteps. After graduation, he worked for Arter in OC’s freshman experience office. On the side, he did video projects with friends including Andrew Patterson, who filmed an audition for Lucas when he entered a contest to serve as a summer stand-in for Oklahoma car commercial king Chad Stevens. His video won, and Lucas used the prize money for Aubrie’s engagement ring and a new accordion. Also, the ad agency hired him.

He later worked for another agency, Insight Creative Group. But it was his work with Memorial Road’s Journeyland ministry, doing Bible-based skits with puppets, that attracted the attention of Ryan Bellgart. The young video producer hired Lucas to be part of a local TV show for children. They became friends and comedic partners.

Bellgart and Lucas produced “2 Movie Guys,” a weekly program loaded with comedy skits, for Oklahoma TV station Freedom 43. The show won a Heartland Emmy Award, the first of seven for Lucas.

Lucas became a fixture on Freedom 43’s morning program, “Rise & Shine.” A clip of him falling, accidentally, on the show while attempting to dance an Irish jig went viral, garnering laughs from Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” and John Oliver, host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight.”

Lucas also appeared in commercials for Mexican fast-food restaurant Taco Mayo and landed a recurring role as Donnie, a bumbling employee of an Oklahoma City car dealership.

At age 30, Lucas rededicated himself to mastering the banjo and began playing it on “Rise & Shine.” That caught the attention of board members of the American Banjo Museum, which happens to be in Oklahoma City.

“So, I’ve just been a mascot for the museum,” Lucas said. He has promoted and performed at events for the museum. He also caught the eyes — the cross-lined pupil eyes — of Kermit the Frog.

Lucas befriended Heather Henson, daughter of the Muppets’ creator, the late Jim Henson. Once, in the middle of Oklahoma’s tornado season, Henson traveled to Oklahoma City to do research on her father. Lucas met her at the banjo museum and helped her set up a severe weather tracking app on her phone. In 2018, the museum inducted Jim Henson into its hall of fame and hosted a special exhibit featuring a banjo from “The Muppet Show” signed by several of the iconic program’s guests: Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Roy Rogers — even Rogers’ horse, Trigger.

“I don’t know how the horse held that pen,” Lucas said, “but he has very good penmanship.”

Steve Martin, Willie Nelson and Kermit

During the pandemic, Lucas got a call from Matt Vogel, Kermit’s personal vocal coach and a consultant for Big Bird and The Count from “Sesame Street.” Vogel had seen a viral video of Lucas’ other banjo hero, Steve Martin, performing in the woods. Could Lucas help Kermit do a similar version of his hit “Rainbow Connection?”

Lucas got right to work, using the audio editing techniques he picked up in David Jurney’s class — the class he didn’t think he needed — to compile music that could easily be cut into 15, 10 and even five-second clips.

Kermit appreciated Lucas’ work and invited him to Austin, Texas, to help him prepare for a show with legendary singer/songwriter Willie Nelson.

As Kermit introduced Lucas to Nelson, “he started throwing shade at me,” Lucas said of his green employer. “He was like, ‘Yeah, this guy thinks he plays a banjo, but he doesn’t sound near as good as me, you know.’”

As giddy as Lucas was to meet Nelson, he couldn’t help but notice how excited Nelson and his entourage were to meet Kermit.

Despite his demanding schedule, Lucas continues to volunteer in the puppet room at the Memorial Road Church of Christ. He and Aubrie have two sons — Henson (appropriately enough) and Simon. Both are musically gifted and active in the church’s youth group.

Lucas’ talent, creativity and work ethic are obvious to everyone, his wife said. “But what continually makes me and our boys proud is how he does not waver on his morals and his faith. He has turned down some enticing, well-paying jobs because they would have compromised his beliefs. Some of those were tough to let go. I believe his worldly successes have come because of who he is just as much, or more so, than what he can do with a banjo.”

Perhaps Lucas’ biggest success was the recent invitation to College Park, Md., where he shared the stage with Kermit for Henson Day.

When Kermit asked Lucas to play “that banjo song,” Lucas immediately went into AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and then Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” before a frustrated and flailing Kermit set him straight. Then Lucas began the famous intro to “Rainbow Connection.” The audience sang along.

Appearing on stage with Kermit was extraordinary, Lucas said. Most of his work for the head Muppet happens behind the stage.

“God has given me this opportunity to do something for the masses,” he said. “But I’m hiding. … And I love it. Kermit is unwavering. Kermit’s not gonna get canceled. He represents this joy.”

That’s why Lucas relates so well to his green, amphibious boss — and has since he was a child.

“Well … growing up I probably related to Gonzo more in the Muppet world,” he said, “for being a weirdo.”

This article was first published in The Christian Chronicle.

Erik Tryggestad is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org. Follow him on X @eriktryggestad.