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For decades, my girl Oprah has spoken passionately about “intention.” She’s famously asked many guests what their “intention” was before sitting down to talk with them, and she seems grounded in a belief that if your intention is pure and significant, your work will bear fruit.

So it was not really a surprise to learn that the Queen of All Media wasn’t concerned with the possible backlash against her upcoming drama ‘Greenleaf,’ a one-hour scripted drama which promises to pull the curtain back from the inner workings of the black church and the family that runs one.

“Our intention is to use this as a platform for telling great stories,” the 62-year-old media tycoon said, during a press screening of Greenleaf. “Our intention is to be mindful and respectful of the church as an institution. Only good can come from that.”

The family drama focuses on a fictional megachurch in Memphis, Calvary Fellowship World Ministries, headed by Bishop James Greenleaf and Lady Mae Greenleaf, played by Lynn Whitfield. Viewers soon learn that the good Bishop’s life is more sinister than godly. Winfrey herself returns to the screen, playing Mavis McCready, Lady Mae’s sister, in the new series.

While the show’s explicit content might rankle some, Winfrey is undeterred (that’s one of the things I love about her!).

“I grew ups in the black church,” Winfrey shared. “I wouldn’t be who I am without it.”
 She said from the beginning, she told Greenleaf’s writers that the show wasn’t “…just about a church, it’s the nurse, doctor, lawyer, psychologist, our therapy, nurturer, support, it’s our rock.”

With Fox’s success with the drama Empire, which is centered around a prominent black family, Winfrey wants similar ratings for her OWN network.

2016 Stellar Gospel Awards
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(Photo Source: AP)