{"id":31898,"date":"2023-09-18T11:20:12","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T15:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?p=31898"},"modified":"2023-09-18T11:39:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T15:39:00","slug":"a-pastor-issues-an-urgent-cultural-call-to-people-of-faith-opportunity-at-abc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2023\/09\/a-pastor-issues-an-urgent-cultural-call-to-people-of-faith-opportunity-at-abc.html","title":{"rendered":"A pastor issues an “Urgent” cultural call to people of faith + Opportunity at ABC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 09\/18\/23<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Silence is compliance.<\/strong> So suggests Atlanta-based Worship with Wonders Church<\/a> Pastor Myles Rutherford<\/strong>. In his new book Raise Your Voice<\/i><\/b>: An Urgent Call to Speak Out in a Collapsing Culture<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/strong>, due out tomorrow, he sounds the alarm over silence and complacency in the face of what he sees as an ongoing assault on traditional values. As the pastor said to me “While everyone is entitled to have free speech, we do not tolerate our children being the recipients of those ideologies.” I think that’s reasonable, particularly amid the current push for clearly inappropriate sexual materials in the classrooms and dangerous life-altering gender-denying therapies on minors in the culture at large.<\/p>\n

Now, a small window of opportunity may be opening at Disney<\/strong>. The crumbling company which has seen its stock price collapse<\/a> since its utter embrace of the brand-destroying cult of Wokism<\/a> has become apparent to almost everyone would be wise to just put itself on the auction block because, IMHO<\/strong>, the only way to restore its tarnished brand (as well those of its Marvel<\/strong>, Star Wars<\/strong><\/em> and ESPN<\/strong> divisions) is to be taken over by some person or group that clearly has the intent of pushing back and fixing things.<\/p>\n

That’s not happening yet but, as has been reported last week, there have apparently been talks about Nexstar<\/strong> (owner of NewsNation<\/strong> and The CW<\/strong>) buying Disney’s broadcast network ABC<\/strong><\/a> – causing entertainment entrepreneur Byron Allen<\/strong> to jump in with an $11-billion bid for the network<\/a> (with a proposal that would also include Disney’s FX<\/strong> and NatGeo<\/strong> cable outlets).<\/p>\n

While, due to Disney’s own mismanagement, ABC is a shadow of what it once was – with smart leadership – it could be restored to its previous luster and, in fact, become a media juggernaut (and leader) again. I, in fact, think there is a huge public appetite across generations and party lines (whether realized or not) for traditional four-quadrant network programming that doesn’t try to convert anybody to any particular religion or political affiliation but, broadly speaking, is pro-faith, pro-family, pro-optimism and pro-America. And, BTW, happens to be free.<\/p>\n

As a traditional TV fan, I know ABC has a great heritage of such programming. Creating new line-ups (albeit with more diverse casts) that draw on some abandoned genres and themes offers great potential for both financial success and restoring and building up goodwill across the country. Plus, people are tired for paying cable operators and streamers for dark, pretentious and, frankly, mostly crappy shows.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I’m going to geek out here and present what I call an Ultimate ABC Schedule. I’m not saying all these shows should be rebooted but there’s a huge market for new shows that capture their spirit and reflect similar values. Here goes.<\/p>\n

SUNDAY<\/strong>
\n7:00 – The Young Rebels <\/strong><\/em>(1970)<\/strong><\/a>
\nThe literally revolutionary take on a successful ABC series of the era called The Mod Squad<\/strong><\/em> was actually not a hit and may indeed seems a bit hokey by today’s standards. Still, I think the time is a ripe for a youth-oriented idealistic series that would present the founding of our country in a positive light.<\/p>\n