Wednesday, February 20, 2013

A Story Worth Following

     Dallas-Forth Worth has a new Christian radio station on the air and I could not be happier. It's not that I will no longer tune in to KLTY, but it's nice to have a choice with Air-1 now on the radio dial. They have more of an alternative Christian edge and play songs you won't hear on KLTY. And every time I flip back and forth between the two stations, Air-1 seems to be playing more music than commercials (which is, of course, a nice thing).
     What struck me today an Air-1 had nothing to do with music, though. They are tracking the storyline on Saeed Abedini, an American Christian pastor who returned to his homeland of Iran to plant churches or otherwise preach the Gospel. Abedini was recently sentenced to eight years in an Iranian prison, and musicians like Toby Mac and the guy from Mercy Me (Bart something) are pleading with us to track Abedini's story. They are advocating for him, encouraging us to lift him in personal prayer and to plead for justice.
     This is a storyline worth following. It's not a soundbite highlighting the latest escapades of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, the Bachelorette, or Lindsey Lohan. It's not a sports storyline about the upcoming NFL combines or the NCAA basketball tournament. It's not talking heads on CNN or Fox News revisiting the same news story from 100 different angles. In other words, it's a storyline worth following.
     Entertainment Tonight and ESPN's Sports Center all have their place, I guess; they distract us from stressful days and they give us something to laugh about after a long day at work. But we need more storylines in the news that are truly significant, storylines that can actually edify us.
     I don't know all of the in's and out's regarding Saeed Abedini. There are many other storylines out there to track, but this seems to be one worth following. You can sign an online petition at http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-iranian-abuse-imprisonment. More than 200,000 (including yours truly) have now signed it.

   
   

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