by Pat Centner
(AgapePress) – When a radio shock jock named Moe made it his business to harass and threaten pro-family advocate Vickie Burress on the air, the Lord gave her an opportunity to turn a very frightening situation into a victory for Him.
Moe, a DJ new to Ft. Wayne, Indiana, broadcast malicious statements directed at Burress — director of American Family Association of Indiana — apparently angry because AFA, through its Citizens for a Safe Community (CSC) campaign, was causing trouble for the city's strip bars and sexually-oriented businesses (SOBs). According to Burress, Ft. Wayne has more than its share of strip bars, and CSC's use of billboards and other means to raise public awareness of the problems associated with pornography and SOBs has been very successful in bringing positive change in the city.
As Moe's attacks continued, he became more and more bold, using extremely vulgar language, and finally threatening her life, saying he would “love … Vickie Burress to have a lap dance with a hand grenade” or … “a land mine.” Burress had begun recording the broadcasts and when threatened, contacted Patrick Vaughn, assistant general counsel with AFA's Center for Law & Policy. Vaughn wrote a letter to Connie Kovas, owner and general manager of the radio station, demanding that the “broadcast of extreme and outrageous threats and attacks must stop.”
Kovas immediately called Burress and then wrote a letter to both Vaughn and Burress apologizing for “Moe's blatant misbehavior” and indicating she was not aware of his attacks because she had not listened to his broadcasts. She said the station had taken “immediate action by suspending Moe” and indicated he would be “terminated without further warning” if he continued the same behavior. She also offered to make an on-air apology.
After Kovas' phone call, Burress says, “I felt the Lord telling me that [the Kovases] were good people who were trying to be fair and honest in dealing with an unfortunate situation. I felt led to see if Connie would be willing to meet with me, and asked her out for lunch. We met and had a very enjoyable 2-1/2 hour conversation.”
“I told her about AFA, and shared the stories of some former strip bar dancers,” Burress continued. “And when I told her how the easy accessibility to pornography in SOBs nationwide has contributed to the devastation of thousands of families, she said she wanted to help.”
“We came up with a plan to broadcast on her radio station Public Service Announcements that target men who are addicted to pornography and offer them help through Citizens for a Safe Community,” she said. “I'm working with her husband, Frank, right now in putting those together.” There was also progress made in program changes and possible removal of the ads for the strip bars.
The fact that Burress dealt with a frightening situation in a Christ-like manner gave her the opportunity to honor God, not only by making an impact on the promotion of pornography in Ft. Wayne, but also by opening the door to a relationship through which the Lord can be honored.
(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)
