NBC released Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors last Thursday and delivered an audience of over 13 million viewers. It was the most watched film on broadcast television in almost five years. The movie is the first in a series of movies based on Dolly's songs.
Alyvia Alyn Lind was cast as the young, 9-year-old ball of fire, Dolly. We watched a 2015 rendition of Little House on the Prairie and cheered for the squirt as she fought, spat, kicked and sang her way through her struggles. She connected.
This movie brought a discussion of faith and family values back into the living rooms of a hurting America. We are desperate for an end to killings and the bad news that flows like a flooded river from our television sets.
To step back into a simpler time and place was therapeutic and encouraging.
The movie spoke often of faith. The message was soft but clearly spoken. I thought about it as a morning devotional. It reminded me of how I want to represent my faith to others. Dolly as a 9-year-old was already a leader in her family and in the classroom. She took stands even if it meant a trip to the woodshed with her father. She was a model of love and acceptance.
The faith of a leader is shown as much by what we won't do as it shows in what we will do.
We need more faith-based movies. More War Rooms and movies like God's Not Dead. The large viewing audience made it clear that we want Christian values in our homes.
The Coat of Many Colors is a welcome nudge into the reason for the season.
Today's Scripture
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb 11:1). 
Dr. Steve Greene is the publisher and executive vice president—Media Group, Charisma Media. Sign up here for Dr. Greene's leadership e-newsletter.
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