It was 1954, an age of television pioneers, and Walt Disney stood tall among them. But not nearly as tall as the talented Texan he cast in the title role of frontiersman Davy Crockett. Disney was screening the film “Them!” and anticipated hiring James Arness to portray Crockett in a three-part epic about the life of the Tennessee hero (another pioneering moment, the first miniseries). Instead, Fess Parker’s brief performance in the film caught Disney’s attention, and he invited the six-and-a-half-foot actor to audition. Parker did, was hired, and the first installment of the Davy Crockett saga began production.
Bob WeathersIn those days, baby boomers were young and TV was new. No videos, computers, or iPods to keep kids enraptured. And satisfying the national hunger for a hero was not as hard as it is today, because people like Walt Disney understood that heroes should be role models. But even Disney was caught off guard by the response to the first hour-long feature. Davy Crockett immediately exploded into a national phenomenon.
Boys wanted to be Davy. They carried Davy Crockett lunch boxes, snatched up coonskin hats, and rustled through backyards wearing moccasins and toting “Old Betsy” replicas.
What better way to demonstrate their esteem for their new hero than to dress like him and act like him and talk like him? Little Davys. Imitation from admiration. The resemblance is the key.
As the gospel spread through the Roman Empire, a name was attached to the followers of Jesus Christ. The resemblance was unmistakable. Their imitation uncanny. They were called “Christian” (Acts 11:26). It meant “little Christ” or “Christ-like.” It was meant to be an insult, a term of derision. But the first believers wore it as a badge of honor. They were pioneers of the gospel, and they knew it.
In 1 Corinthians 4:16, Paul declared the urgency of imitation. That is, that his readers should imitate him. Not because he was perfect, but because he was busy doing his best to imitate Christ. So if they imitated him, as he imitated Christ, it would be like the world would be overrun with little Christs.
We are disciples. That’s what we do. By life and words, we declare him our Hero. May the world be overrun with little Christs.