There is a staggering and sobering reality at the heart of Ryan Dobson's new mission: only seven out of every hundredAmerican families actually read the Bible. Fourteen own one. It is gathering dust on a shelf somewhere — and an entire generation is growing up without the ancient wisdom that shaped civilization. It was that very hunger to light up a searching world with conversations that transform and point people toward truth that brought Ryan Dobson to the table on The UPside with Marion MacKenzie, Conversations that Light UP the World. Ryan is no ordinary guest. He is an ordained pastor, media leader, speaker, and the son of the legendary Dr. JamesDobson — the man whose voice through Focus on the Family shaped the moral and spiritual landscape of an entire generation. Ryan carries that legacy forward with the same fire and reverence for God's word that defined his father. And the project he unveiled in our conversation is nothing short of breathtaking —and nothing short of a perfect reflection of everything The UPside exists to do: elevate Kingdom voices, shine God's truth into a confused world, and remind people that the most powerful stories are the ones that lift our gaze from what's broken to what's possible.
That project is The Covenant — a multi-season prestige television epic bringing the full sweep of the Old Testament to life on screen. Not as aSunday school retelling, but as cinematic, morally complex, emotionally gripping drama rooted in the oldest and truest stories humanity has ever known.Developed by an extraordinary team including Ron Da (original CFO of The Chosen who raised its first $10 million), award-winning director Cyrus Norouzi (raised in secular Islam in Iran), screenwriter Andrew Klavan (a messianic Jew andDaily Wire commentator), and anchored theologically by Dr. John Walton ofWheaton College — this project is itself a miracle of unlikely collaborators unified by love for truth. Season one launches with Rivers of Babylon, the story of Daniel: his courage in exile, his unshakable faith, and the God who never stopped knocking at the door.
What moved Ryan to say yes before he even heard the pitch — and later to tears reading Klavan's script alone in his basement — was the same thing that moves every parent who has watched The Chosen with their children and heard those four transformative words: "Is that in the Bible?" TheCovenant is being built to ignite that same sacred curiosity about the OldTestament. Abraham's cost of faith. Joseph's long arc of forgiveness. Moses leading the impossible. Ruth's radical loyalty. Esther's hidden courage. David's towering, trembling humanity. These are not distant icons. They are us. And the world is hungry to see itself in them.
The Covenant is coming — and it carries with it the weight of something that doesn't happen often: the right story, the right team, the right moment in history. In a world starving for truth and beauty, this is a project built to feed both. If our conversation with Ryan stirred something in you — curiosity, hope, that quiet hunger to know the ancient stories more deeply — then let it. Follow The Covenant. Share this episode. And stay close to The UPside Conversations, because this is exactly the kind of Kingdom vision we exist to elevate. The most powerful stories ever told are being brought to life — and you are right on time to witness it.
.jpg)
