Episode 80 Dallas Jenkins on Hope, Hollywood, and The Herdmans

MESSmerized - Funny and faith based encouragement in marriage , family , Christian parenting , and finding purpose

Brace yourselves!

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about today’s show with Dallas Jenkins. Dallas is the genius behind The Chosen and now The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. And let me just say, after this conversation, I walked away ready to ugly cry in a theater over the cigar-smoking Herdman kids finding Jesus. That’s exactly what happened over Thanksgiving, and the movie was a huge hit with our crew.

So how does Dallas go from The Chosen to a story about the most chaotic, snack-loving kids hijacking a Christmas play? Well, it turns out this book has been a part of his Christmas tradition for 20 years. Dallas told me he had to make this movie, even though Hollywood wasn’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for him. Spoiler alert: God had other plans.

But here’s the thing: A few years ago, I was in a rough spot—one of those times when you're questioning everything God’s doing in your life. I heard Dallas speak at an event, and he said, “God does impossible math.” It was like a lightning bolt. Fast forward to this interview, and I got him to retell the full story behind that phrase. It involves failure, Romanian Facebook DMs at 4 a.m., and—of course—loaves and fish. God showed Dallas (and now us) that our job isn’t to perform miracles; it’s simply to show up with whatever we have and trust God to do the rest.

So whether you’re a The Chosen fan, invested in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, or someone needing a reminder that God works best when we’re at our weakest—this episode is for you.

All things Cynthia Yanof

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever