When discussing the role of Christians in today’s culture, people often insist that believers should focus on changing hearts rather than on changing politics. But according to the late Donald E. Wildmon, this is a false dichotomy that does not involve an either-or option: “I believe the answer is that [Christians] should be waist-deep in both.”
For more than 40 years, Wildmon demonstrated total commitment to this waist-deep conviction as he founded and led American Family Association (AFA) in the war against indecency.
Recognizing a hero
In honor of this unwavering commitment, American Family Studios (AFS) recently released a feature-length film documenting the life and legacy of AFA’s founder. Titled Culture Warrior: Don Wildmon and the Battle for Decency, this captivating documentary was three years in the making. M.D. Perkins, the film’s director, spoke with The Stand about the process involved in completing this extensive project.
“I like to explain to people,” said Perkins, “that making a movie is a bit like building a house and writing a book … both at the same time.
“You’re working with a lot of other people who are experts in certain aspects of the field, and you’ve got to coordinate across disciplines with other people, but you also do a lot of extremely detailed research.”
Perkins outlined various aspects of AFS’s research into Wildmon’s entire life – through family pictures, newspaper articles, radio spots, television clips, news items written about AFA’s founder, and a myriad of materials written by Wildmon himself.
As Perkins became immersed in this research, his heart – and the hearts of the entire AFS team – were captured by those words of wisdom and truth spoken and written by Wildmon as he “fought the good fight.”
Remembering the past
“We really wanted [this film] to be that legacy piece,” Perkins stated, “the one that would testify to who Don was and what his concern was for generations going forward so that viewers would understand and know where that concern came from.”
Wildmon’s intentional concern for passing the torch to future generations is evidenced best in video clips of his own words, as well as those of family, friends, co-workers, and other ministry leaders. Seamlessly woven throughout the film’s factual storyline, these conversational-style clips artfully trace Wildmon’s legacy from start to finish.
“Culture Warrior covers some of Don’s early life,” explained Perkins, “his childhood in rural Mississippi, his marriage to Lynda, and his pastoral ministry. However, the major focus of the documentary begins on a winter night in December 1976 – the night when Don sat down to watch television with his family and became angry at the moral decline on display in network TV’s programming.”
Even now, almost 50 years later, Wildmon’s children vividly recall that night, and within the film, they document how their father recognized that moment in time as a wake-up call to either accept the God-given burden to battle indecency in the culture or complacently accept the impact of that indecency for his children and others.
For Wildmon, the choice was so clear that he soon left the pastoral ministry and began National Federation for Decency (NFD), which eventually grew into the multi-faceted ministry of American Family Association.
Culture Warrior traces the impact of NFD’s earliest forays into the culture war, beginning in early 1977 with his original boycott campaign called “Turn the TV Off Week.”
“Other major events we discuss in Culture Warrior,” shared Perkins, “are NFD’s network TV monitoring program, key boycotts such as 7-Eleven and Disney, the protest of The Last Temptation of Christ, the controversy surrounding the National Endowment for the Arts, and some of the lawsuits that came from these battles.
“We also show how faithfulness to God’s Word and His call on Don’s life was the central purpose of every effort – not merely an attempt to ‘win’ the culture war.”
Fanning the flame
Wildmon’s oldest child, AFA President Tim Wildmon, echoed that truth: “Dad often said that God did not call us to be successful, but He did call us to be faithful.”
This mandate of faithfulness, exemplified through his father’s active obedience to God’s call, is a scarlet thread that runs throughout Culture Warrior. And for the Wildmon family, that faithful obedience was one of the original purposes of this project.
AFA Vice President Wesley Wildmon believes his grandfather’s unwavering obedience to God was the cornerstone of the legacy he wanted the film to convey – especially for the sake of AFA’s faithful listeners and supporters.
“We hope that viewing this documentary,” Wesley stated, “will help them re-fan the flame to continue doing what we are all called to do.”
But Wesley also hopes the documentary will help birth a new generation of soldiers to join in his grandfather’s ongoing culture war to stand for righteousness as God leads – a far-reaching battle that he admittedly did not fully understand until his college days.
“It was probably my freshman or sophomore year in college,” explained Wesley, “before I began to realize the impact that my papa had on the nation. There, I met students from around the country whose parents loved him, loved American Family Radio, and supported AFA – and even professors who talked about him.”
But it was an impact that started with family first, an influence on full display in Culture Warrior, as family members share lessons inadvertently learned from the humility and determination Wildmon displayed in everyday life.
Wesley recounted three important lessons he garnered from his grandfather: “One, he taught me to be courageous, and two, he taught me to be compassionate – to care about people beyond just the words. So, the third lesson was to express compassion with action.”
Passing the torch
Action might just be the main takeaway from Culture Warrior. It was definitely a key objective for the documentary project for AFA Vice President Walker Wildmon.
“We hope this film achieves two things,” said Walker. “For people who are already supporters of AFA, we want this to really bolster their call to activism, their call to faithfulness to God’s Word, and their call to engage in the culture war.
“And when we talk about engaging in the culture, we are talking about combatting the rise of godlessness and paganism and replacing it with godliness and righteousness.”
Amazingly, Walker’s words sound very similar to the original call-to-action issued by his grandfather almost 50 years ago, when Wildmon first decided to “do something” about the indecency of the culture in which his children lived.
Culture Warrior: Don Wildmon and the Battle for Decency fully documents what Wildmon did throughout his lifetime to strengthen the moral foundations of society.
Viewers beware! The voice of Donald E. Wildmon echoes throughout this film, asking one final question: Who will join the fight?
(Digital Editor's Note: This article was published first in the December 2024 print edition of The Stand. Click HERE for a free six-month subscription.)
