Today my family went to see the new movie Grace Unplugged. This incredible film is the story of the talented 18-year-old Grace Trey who has desires of a larger platform than the one provided by her local church and worship leading father Johnny played by James Denton.
After recording a demo which would later become a Top-10 hit, Grace (played by AJ Michalka) leaves for Los Angeles against the wishes of her father.
Johnny was a previous one-hit wonder who gave his life to Jesus Christ after experiencing the underbelly of the music business. As a result, he has tried everything to protect his talented daughter from the same destructive lifestyle.
This is the feel-good, must-see family movie of the year. The following are 23 leadership quotes and lessons that every father and daughter can learn from:
- “Music is unpredictable.” – Success is always temporary. Johnny reminds us the only constant in our life is Jesus Christ.
- “All dads do brilliant teaching moments.” – It is the nature of Christian fathers to constantly be leaving a legacy in their children’s lives.
- “You always wanted your life to be about God. These days it’s all about you.” – Rebellion is a sign that everything in our life has become about us.
- Opportunity Does Not Equal Obligation – When Johnny’s old manager Mossy, played by Kevin Pollack re-enters his life, Johnny understands choosing to leave his church and return to a life on the road would be a poor choice.
- Wise People Learn From The Mistakes Of Others – Rather than learning from her father’s experience, Gracie chooses to secretly sign with Mossy.
- The Timing Of Counterfeits – God will complete His work in our lives. However, the enemy often provides counterfeit relationships and opportunities right before God provides the real thing. You must be patient.
- God Must Always Be Placed In The Position Of Preeminence In Every Area Of Your Life – To be successful, Grace was forced to give up singing Christ-centered music.
- Sin Has A Pleasurable Season – Right after signing with the record company, Grace was given cash and a nice apartment. The pleasure of sin has a season. It just also has a price you cannot afford to pay.
- “Be great. Relax. Don’t screw it up.” – Mossy told Grace this right before your first performance. The world’s love is conditional. By contrast, the love of Jesus is unconditional.
- “You are not ready for this.” – For Christians, it is better to wait for opportunities, to be summoned, rather than forcing your way into opportunities. Wait for God to bring you the opportunity. When God opens the doors, you can presuppose He has equipped you to go through them.
- “It’s not about the music. It is everything that goes with it.” – Leaders must see the full impact of their decisions.
- You Can’t Live On Your Parents’s Faith – You can’t live off your parent’s faith forever. Grace goes through a brokenness experience which forced her to make her faith her own.
- “God may not be using you in Grace’s life right now. But He is in control. We must trust Him to be faithful.” – All fathers must eventually give their children fully to God and trust Him to take care of them. For the record, I’m not there yet.
- “Your body is your best asset. Sometimes you have to spend it.” – Gracie was told this by a fellow singer. Women, never allow people to view you as a throw-away object. You are a treasure that God has a wonderful plan for.
- “If she can’t handle the pressure, on to the next contestant.” – Once again, this statement reflects the conditional love of the world. You will be used for everything they can get out of you. Then you will be discarded as they move onto the next person.
- Normal Is Grossly Underrated – Grace begins her turnaround by having a normal family dinner with a co-worker. There is something wonderful comforting and secure about a simple family meal together.
- “She’s phenomenal. She had the best teacher.” – What parents do in moderation, children do in excess.
- “It doesn’t make me happy. It makes it official.” – Spoken by Grace after securing her record deal. Few things are as sad as climbing the ladder of success and when arriving at the top, realizing it was leaning against the wrong wall.
- “You’re Top 20. It doesn’t matter if you can write.” – Successful organizations put resources around top people to compensate for their weaknesses.
- “Nothing ever made me happier than playing music with you.” – Spoken by Johnny to his daughter Grace. As a father, I understand what he is saying. I am never happier than taking quiet walks with my daughter.
- “This is what it feels like when you make it.” – No amount of success is satisfying unless it is found in Jesus Christ.
- God Does Great Things When You’re On Your Knees – It is through our pain that God draws us close to Him and subsequently does His greatest work in our lives.
- “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It’s time to go home.” – For some of you reading this post, you have made some terrible mistakes. There is forgiveness to be found in Jesus. It’s time to come home.
I can’t recommend enough everyone see this movie. It will be one of, if not the best movie you see all year.
