Sticks and Stones

Bart Rathbone is in a panic: Matthew Peterson, the boy he once tormented as "Matt the Fat" in middle school, may be opening a giant electronics store right in Odyssey. Certain that Matthew has come back to crush the Electric Palace in revenge, Bart schemes to make the town look unlivable - a phony realtor, a fake radio broadcast trashing Odyssey, and Rodney sent to bully Matthew's son Rick with the very insults Bart used years ago. But the taunts bounce right off Rick, who knows that name-calling can't change who he is. Matthew learned that lesson the hard way... fleeing school in tears one day, he met a friend who showed him that only God gets to say what a person is worth. And as it turns out, Matthew never wanted revenge - he didn't even know Bart still lived in Odyssey, and he doesn't want the store site anyway. The Electric Palace is safe, but Bart isn't: the townspeople figure out who insulted them on the radio, and the old name-caller suddenly gets a taste of his own medicine.

Found on No Album Album NA · 11 episodes

The run See every episode

0438b The Telltale Cat When Mandy's new cat makes David Straussberg's life miserable, his desperate scheme to get rid of it comes back to haunt him.

0439 B-TV: Grace A free downtown lunch giveaway sparks a B-TV broadcast about grace - God's undeserved favor - told through Scripture, comedy, and the story of a farmer's son who trades his inheritance for Hollywood dreams.

0440 I Slap Floor When two kids ask why Whit is home recovering from Odyssey's strangest week ever, Bernard spins a tale of a mysterious returning visitor and a town where everyone suddenly starts acting like their opposite.

0441a What Do You Think? Desperate to know what people really think of her, a girl uses one of Whit's inventions to hear the private thoughts behind everyone's polite words.

0441b Idol Minds While Whit is away for two weeks, the kids of Odyssey turn to Eugene's technology to fill the void - with results no one anticipates.

0442a Two Roads Two boys from the same neighborhood face the same spilled-candy temptation in a school cafeteria - and Whit follows the very different roads their choices set them on.

0442b Sticks and Stones When a former classmate he once tormented returns to Odyssey as a potential business rival, Bart Rathbone launches a scheme to drive him out of town before old scores can be settled.

0443 Changing Rodney A gifted young student sets out to reform the school bully with relentless kindness - and learns that changing a heart is harder than acing any test.

0444a Career Moves A middle schooler's career-fair internship at the Electric Palace teaches him Bart Rathbone's sales tricks - until a customer's return puts his conscience to the test.

0444b The Bad Guy When a notorious troublemaker from his past arrives in Odyssey claiming to be a changed man, a skeptical Nick Mulligan sets out to prove the transformation is too good to be true.

0444c Bethany's Flood When a flooded bathroom coincides with the story of Noah's ark, young Bethany's imagination sets sail on a wildly mixed-up voyage that teaches her about trust and obedience.

0445 No Boundaries Tired of his parents' rules, a boy gets the chance to experience a life with no limits at all - and learns what freedom without boundaries really costs.

0446a A Matter of Manners When two boys banished from Whit's End for rudeness reinvent themselves as the school's manners experts, their newfound politeness becomes a weapon nobody can defend against.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 3 more roles

3 supporting roles

Matthew Peterson Phil Lollar Matthew Peterson Adam Pavlakovich Rick Peterson Adam Pavlakovich

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Marshal Younger Writer Phil Lollar Director · Producer Rob Jorgensen Sound Designer · Producer Al Janssen Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Whit tells Bart Rathbone that Matthew Peterson may open a large electronics store in Odyssey. Bart immediately fears that the newcomer intends to destroy the Electric Palace. He and Matthew attended middle school together, where Bart repeatedly mocked Matthew’s weight, invented cruel nicknames, and once drove him away in tears with a new speed record.

Believing Matthew has returned for revenge, Bart plans to make Odyssey seem like a terrible place to live. One of his helpers poses as an ill-mannered realtor and interrupts Matthew’s dinner with his son, Rick. She claims that Odyssey has no electricity, modern appliances, or accurate clocks, while Bart supplies a fake radio broadcast insulting the town’s economy, safety, and intelligence.

Bart then sends Rodney to bully Rick as he once bullied Matthew. Rodney calls the thin boy fat and warns that everyone in town will use the same insults. Rick remains calm. He knows the words cannot change his actual size or determine who he is, leaving Rodney baffled that the attack has failed.

Matthew explains that he once allowed Bart’s words to define him. On the day he fled school, he met Tom Riley, who had avoided high-school sports because other children had convinced him that he would always be small and weak. After becoming a Christian, Tom learned that height, weight, and other people’s opinions did not determine his worth. Only God had the right to define him.

Tom’s counsel enabled Matthew to stop being the boy Bart called Matt the Fat and recognize himself as Matthew Peterson, a child of God. He has taught that truth to Rick. Matthew also assures Bart that revenge had nothing to do with his visit; he did not even know Bart still lived in Odyssey, and he has already decided that the available location is unsuitable for his store.

Bart celebrates the safety of his business until angry townspeople identify him as the man who insulted them on the radio. As the crowd turns its own harsh words on him, Whit hopes Bart will learn to withstand name-calling as wisely as Matthew has.