Dallas Businessman’s Whispered Prayer Becomes a “30-Days” Social Experiment  8/9/06

Michael Shores, founder of publicly traded, high-tech Texas Prototypes, and his family place their faith in action during feature role in FX TV’s hit reality program.

Frisco, TX (PRWEB) August 8, 2006 -- This wasn’t the first time the “token” Christian that Michael Shores watched on a popular reality TV program lacked evidence of love, peace or grace. Grieved, Mike questioned God in a whispered prayer: “Why her, Lord?” Days later, God responded to Shores through a serendipitous phone call from a friend. The result will air Wednesday, Aug. 9 (check local listings for times) on FX TV’s “30 Days” program.

As you may have guessed, the entire Shores family was chosen to participate in creator Morgan Spurlock’s (“Super-size Me”) unique, month-long social experiment, called “30 Days.” Throughout June, the Christian family from Texas hosted a stay-at-home mom from Kansas named Brenda -- who just happened to be an atheist. FX’s video crew traveled to the Shores' home in Frisco and throughout the Dallas Metroplex to capture hundreds of hours of footage of their interaction, which they edited into an hour-long program.

This third “30 Days” episode of the new fall season offers a non-sensational look at Brenda’s immersion into the Shores’ Christian home and community. While the camera records, Brenda attends the Shores’ church and weekly Bible study, a Christian concert in Ft. Worth featuring Third Day (www.thirdday.com) & David Crowder Band (www.davidcrowderband.com) (when her husband and four children visit), and answers hard questions about the roots of her unbelief in God on Christian talk radio. Though the Shores have home-court advantage, FX producers turns the tables while Brenda teaches them a crash-course in atheism and introduces them to an atheistic congregation in the Dallas area, called The Free Thinkers.

“This was a mirror for me, my family and, I feel, the Christian community as a whole to look back at ourselves,” said Mike Shores about the “30 Days” experience. “We [Christians are supposed to be loving the atheist community -- definitely not judging them.”

The Golden Rule -- “Love your neighbor as yourself,” as taken from Matthew 19:19 -- reigns supreme in this example of reality TV at its best. In 2005, “30 Days” debuted as FX’s highest-rated non-scripted program. Approximately 1.4 million U.S. viewers are expected to watch as the Shores and Brenda place faith and faithlessness alike in action -- and as Mike learns another important lesson: Be careful what you pray for.

Michael Shores is founder and president of TXP, Texas Prototypes, (www.texasprototypes.com), a small publicly traded high-tech manufacturing company, located in the “Telecom Corridor” of Texas. He and his wife Tracy have four daughters, and they are active members at McKinney Fellowship Bible Church (www.mcfbc.org) in McKinney, TX.