Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 01/09/23

Erick Stakelbeck

What lies ahead for America and the Church in 2023? TBN, which has been steadily building its issues and current events content with programming like Centerpoint, Huckabee, The Rosenberg Report, Takeaways with Kirk Cameron and The Watchman, dives deeper still into cable news territory (albeit with a Christian perspective) with State of the Nation: A TBN Town Hall airing tonight (1/9) from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM ET. Recorded before a live audience and Presided over by TBN News Director (and Watchman anchor) Erick Stakelbeck, the program features an all-star panel of Christian analysts including TBN hosts Mike Huckabee, Blynda Lane (Centerpoint) and Sheila Walsh (Praise, Better Together), as well as bestselling author/radio host Eric Metaxas and inspirational speaker Dr. Rick Rigsby offering their forecasts and suggestions for people of faith as they brace for another turbulent year.

JWK: Tell me about what viewers can expect to see on this program.

Erick Stakelbeck: First of all, it’s a unique format for TBN. It’s the first time we’ve done a town hall format. It was filmed in Nashville. Actually it’s the same studio where Governor Mike Huckabee records his weekly TBN show. So, we kinda turned his set – at least for the night – into this town hall set. A few things to expect: Number One…an all-star panel for sure – and also a studio audience who are contributing questions…I mean it’s just folks from all walks of life, all age groups. We tried to have a very diverse demographic in every way and they’re asking our panelists questions. Basically, the theme of the program is…the issues that will impact every American in 2023 but, more specifically, the Body of Christ. What are the hot button pressing issues that believers are concerned about and, most importantly, what can we do about them? As the Body of Christ, how can we be light in the growing darkness?

JWK: When was the event recorded?

ES: We actually recorded it last (Thursday).

JWK: So, according to the participants, what are the top issues facing the country in 2023?

ES: A few issues were really pressing.

Number One, growing crime and lawlessness – not only in the big cities but in small towns, even rural areas. Some of the most unlikely places are seeing crime spike in a major way. Our panelists felt that a lot of that went back to a lack of respect for authority in general that’s been growing throughout the nation. So, that was a big topic on people’s minds. Hey, that’s a topic, obviously, that affects people directly – crime, lawlessness and feeling unsafe. So, that was first.

Secondly, no surprise, inflation and economic issues. Are we headed towards a recession? Is inflation going to get worse? Is the cost of essential household items – food, gas, etc. – going to continue to spike in 2023? Is there any relief in sight there?

That also kind of segued into the issue at America’s southern border which is clearly a crisis. A lot of the audience members said they were very concerned about it. (There was) an interesting wrinkle to this among the panelists. There was agreement on a lot of issues but not agreement on every single issue across the board, other than agreement that Jesus is the answer. On this border issue, a few of the panelists said “Look, this is actually an opportunity. (You have) these desperate people streaming in across the border. It’s an opportunity to share the Gospel with these folks upon their arriving in the US – illegally, obviously – but, hey, share the Gospel. It could actually be a mission field, of sorts. It’s not an ideal situation, clearly, but for the Body of Christ (it’s an opportunity) to try and make the most of this and bring some of these folks to Christ. I thought that was a very interesting framing of the issue.

Another concern, the growing Cancel Culture and, no surprise, the toxic culture in social media and, in particular, people of faith (and) people who hold traditional biblical beliefs and values being targeted. You think of the whole uproar over Roe v. Wade. People who are pro-life were viciously targeted on social media. Not only that, it’s gone a step further than that – (to) people who have views that are not popular with the world or the culture, say about sexuality and gender. Folks who express traditional biblical views on those topics can be canceled, can be marginalized, can be shut down (or) mocked. That was also a concern not only among the panelists but among audience members who feel like they’re increasingly being targeted for their Christian beliefs.

Another topic which links, I think, to the social media toxicity is this growing mental health crisis in America – especially among our youth and especially since Covid and the isolation that caused.

So, these are the big issues, no doubt, that we hit on but the bottom line throughout and the stream running throughout the entire program was – and this was uncompromising – Jesus is the answer. It all points back to the Lord. It all points back to us in that we need to be salt and light and be the hands and feet of Christ in these troubled times in which we’re living.

JWK: When it comes to these issues, was there any distinction made between how people should respond and the appropriate response from the government? I mean you can’t expect the government to go preaching to the immigrants about Jesus.

ES: Right. Well, the government, in a common sense way, should, obviously, secure the border and have a sensible policy at America’s southern border. That’s the easy answer. That’s the common sense answer but, unfortunately, that’s not happening – and, since that’s not happening, we need to deal with the here and now. We need to deal the reality on the ground.

So, ideally, I think our panelists were in agreement – and, certainly, our audience – that you can’t have millions and millions of people streaming across the border. It’s a humanitarian crisis. It’s a human trafficking issue for the folks coming across. You just can’t have that. You can’t really have a functioning country if you don’t have a secure border. By all means, come to America legally – but you can’t have millions of people streaming across the border. It creates a chaotic situation – but one of the points, as I mentioned, was, unfortunately, we do have this crisis. We do have this situation so are there ways where the Gospel can be shared to some of these folks coming over the border. I thought that took the border discussion in an interesting direction that you’re not hearing much elsewhere.

JWK: Regarding the mental health of young people,  beyond how Covid has contributed to the problem is there any sense of other ways the culture has been harsh on our youth. I’m thinking of CRT and the whole idea of shaming some kids and encouraging anger and alienation among others based on things like skin color and the way climate change is discussed. I mean a lot of kids are watching and listening to that and they think the world is about to end. It’s not very hopeful

ES: Yeah, right…Covid is obviously a factor, John, but I think social media no doubt (also intensifies) body shaming and things like that. We’re making kids aspire to unrealistic expectations of what they should look like or what they should be like. I mean the online bullying and all the peer pressure that social media has brought.

Hey, social media can be used for good but many times today – more and more – it’s not being used for good. We’re seeing people piled on. You see the Twitter mobs coming after people who express what they see as an incorrect belief. So, the social media factor I think can be linked. I’m not a mental health expert but I think it just seems to be obvious – and we get into it in the show – that there’s a link there between anxiety, depression (and) unhappiness increasing among young people and their increased time online and on social media where it could be a free-for-all for sure in many ways.

You mention, the climate change issue. These things (and) issues like that are also framed on social media in apocalyptic terms many times and the flipside of that is if you don’t adhere to our view on the issue you’re part of the problem and you’re evil. That’s what people are being told and they’re subsequently being canceled. Many times those beliefs that are being canceled, again, are traditional biblical beliefs.

JWK: It seems there’s something like a Woke religion that lacks a sense of God – and lacks a sense of forgiveness.

ES: Yes. We call it the Woke Movement. The so-called Woke Movement, we talk about it on this program a bunch. It’s very prevalent online, obviously. It’s an ultra-secular movement. God is not involved in this movement at all, as you said. This Wokism – I guess you would say Secular Progressivism (or) Radical Leftism – has pretty much become a religion for these folks. If you don’t adhere to their beliefs, you’re an apostate. They’re gonna kick you out, they’re gonna cancel you and they’re gonna target you.

JWK: While our system is built on the idea of a separation between church and state, it’s also built upon the idea that our rights from from our Creator and not the government. Was there any discussion given to balancing those concepts in a way that moves the issues in the right direction from a Christian perspective? I don’t know if I’m being clear here.

ES: I think you are, John. We didn’t talk too much about the government’s role in religion and faith – other than the current government seems to not be friendly to people of faith, for sure.

Secondly, to speak to your point more largely, we talk a bunch about the decline of faith in general in the United States. Whether it’s the Pew Research Center (or other) reputable polling companies that do these studies, poll after poll has shown in recent years that the amount of people of faith in the US is declining. The professing number of Nones – people who have no religion – is growing dramatically, in particular among young people. Generation Z is probably the most secular generation in American history so far. The Millennials were more secular than Generation X and it goes on an on. Now, Generation Z is ultra secular and getting a lot of their beliefs and worldviews from social media and places like TikTok. They’re going to TikTok. They’re not going to The Bible increasingly. That’s a big problem…We hit on this as well. Governor Huckabee and Eric Metaxas were very eloquent on this issue: The lack of recognition of American Exceptionalism among young people today, a recognition, acknowledgement and realization that America is different. The United States is not like any other country. The freedoms we enjoy here are unique. The Judeo-Christian foundations of this country are unique. They need to be preserved and cherished. You’re not seeing that, increasingly, among younger generations in the country. The torch is not being passed, so to speak. The panelists certainly – and the audience – saw that as a major problem.

Part of that, by the way, is what’s going on in America’s education system. A lot of our viewers and audience members were very, very concerned about this Woke Movement that we’re discussing infiltrating America’s public schools and, essentially, brainwashing kids and indoctrinating them (to believe) that America’s a bad place. Then you have the gender issues, Critical Race Theory and all that kind of stuff, in some of our audience members’ views, being shoved down kids’ throats at school. They believe that’s very inappropriate and it’s harmful.

JWK: So,what is the solution? It does seem that most people don’t understand that, while America stands against the idea of a state religion, it was also founded on a belief in God – and that our rights stem from God, not the government.

ES: Right. Exactly. Talking about solutions, not to sound simplistic but that’s the main one. This was a nation founded by God-fearing men on Christian principles and biblical principles with Judeo-Christian foundations. We’ve gotten away from that. We need to get back to that. That’s easy to say. Okay, how do you get back to it? Because, again, it seems like the trendlines are going in the opposite direction.

Number One, engagement and participation at the civic level among average Americans. We had people in the audience who are joining their school boards. They’re trying to turn things around. I think when we talk about solutions for a lot of these issues, it starts at the grassroots – people getting involved in their neighborhoods, in their school, in their state, in their city and their town and making a difference in that way and affecting change in that way. We’re seeing that at school boards across the United States. During Covid it really came to the forefront what was happening in our schools and the crazy things kids were learning – and parents said “Wait a minute!” They got fed up and they got involved.

Governor Huckabee made the point during our special that that issue really flipped the election in 2021 in Virginia, the governor’s race there. Glenn Youngkin really, at the end of the day, won that race in an upset victory on the education issue and what was happening in the schools and parents involvement in schools and what kids were learning. So, that’s a perfect example, John, of solutions and how the American people – when they get activated and motivated – can make a real difference…Of course, the main solution is turning back to God. The panelists all agreed that this nation needs revival and, absent a revival, we won’t make much progress in turning things around.

JWK: Any sense of optimism about ultimately turning things around?

ES: There’s always hope. It was not a doom and gloom dour conversation at all. Concern, for sure- legitimate and well-justified concern. All is not lost. There is always hope was the theme, I think, among our panelists but there is also the sense that things are spiraling in the wrong direction and, if we don’t get a handle on this now, things are going to go in an even more drastically negative direction…I don’t want to say the hour is late but things are certainly ramping up in the wrong direction. If we don’t get a handle on this now, then it’s going to continue to unravel. The key point there is this younger generation began increasingly secular, increasingly favorable toward socialism – which is something we also discussed – and increasingly ignorant of American Exceptionalism and why the United States is such a unique and special place that needs to be preserved.

JWK: Is there any sense that one political party is preferable to the other? Some people say there’s not a dimes worth of difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Other people say there’s a big difference. Was there general view on that?

ES: Eric Metaxas certainly really talked about that a lot actually, John. He unloaded on the modern Democrat Party. He made the point – and Governor Huckabee did as well – that this is not the Democrat Party of 50 years ago. This is not the Democrat Party of JFK who cut taxes (and) who was a national security hawk. Both made the observation that today’s Democrat Party has moved radically to the left. Because of that fact, the divide has grown between right and left to a really dramatic degree. The belief system in the Democrat Party now – in some in some influential quarters of the Democrat Party, not all – is everything from late-term abortion to transgenderism to Critical Race Theory to all these hot button divisive issues that are really, really kind of on the fringe. Defund the Police, issues like that, have been embraced by some – not all – but some members of the Democrat Party. Eric Metaxas and Governor Huckabee, in particular, said, look, this is a huge, huge issue and a huge problem when we’re trying to improve things in the country and have, at least, some unity.

JWK: Did the audience agree with that viewpoint?

ES: There were 200 people in the audience. I didn’t talk to every single one individually.

JWK: I mean the ones who participated.

ES: There was definitely a general feeling that, yeah, today’s Democrat Party is way to radical and to the left, for sure.

JWK: Nobody would say the Republicans are perfect but there seems to be a general consensus – at least among conservatives – that the Democratic Party is kind of off the charts.

ES: For sure – and, like you said, no one said the Republicans are perfect either. I think there’s a lot of discontent with both parties. The theme of the show wasn’t a partisan political show. We weren’t talking politics to be honest with you. We were talking the issues. We weren’t talking Republican vs. Democrat. Who’s going to run in 2024? What do you think of the Midterms? We didn’t talk about that at all. What we did do was talk about the issues and, inevitably, that does come in. Look, the radical left-wing movement, the Woke Movement, is a major, major problem. So, there was certainly the view that today’s Democrat Party has really gone off the rails on these issues – but, again, it wasn’t a political discussion. It’s kinda hard to avoid. I mean, look, you got a guy in Mike Huckabee who ran for the Republican nomination so, you know, you’re not going to avoid politics altogether but we tried – all the panelists – as best as we could to just keep it to the issues and not make it too much about what’s going on in Washington D.C…It wasn’t a Republican pep rally.

JWK: It seems to me that TBN is doing a lot more news programming in recent years, shows like Centerpoint and others. Is that something that will continue?

ES: TBN covering news and current events is definitely going to continue. That’s the plan to continue that and expand it. TBN, I think, can play  a really unique role in the national conversation in that we’re reporting the news from a Christian perspective. You’re not going to see that really on any other network…So, whether it’s the Centerpoint show, which you mentioned, which is a nightly news program or specials like I hosted with this town hall…there’s definitely a lot more coming down the pike, for sure. TBN believes that Christians are hungry for answers today – and, not only Christians, but Americans of all stripes. We hope everyone tunes into TBN. People are concerned and they have questions (like) what does this all mean? That’s why we did this special and that’s why we’re going to continue doing more news and current events programming.

John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.