I was 7 and in the second grade when I started watching this TV show called Star Trek. I didn’t care about the space ship, although the U.S.S Enterprise is still the gold standard for any and all space vehicles, I didn’t care about any of the weapons or communication devices either, what I loved even then was the relationship of James T. Kirk and his crew. How they could anticipate each other’s actions and reactions with such perception they could rescue one another without even talking. Amazing…that kind of friendship and commitment.

As I grew up and the big movie versions came to the screen, the team was older but that commitment and determination to work together to explore and understand the universe together was still…well… Fascinating.
The scene in The Wrath of Khan where Spock saves everyone’s life by giving his own made we weep in the theatre and I could barely stand to watch as they gave him a star fleet burial. How could Captain Kirk be Captain Kirk without Spock? I think we all want and need to feel connected to others in a way that says I am just not me without you.

It is the push and pull of logic versus emotion and the when and why of it that made their relationship so powerful. It was the vehicle this medium chose to use to explain how to properly perceive the give and take of power and humility in leadership, how loyalty and allegiance plays out, how knowing when to obey the rules and when rules must be tested that clearly defined the Kirk/Spock dynamic…how they tested and wrestled these issues out with one another.

So I had been counting off the days to the new version…Into Darkness.
And I was NOT disappointed.
I look at Christian leadership with critical and analytical eyes, it is the new filter (you cannot unknown, what you know) and it causes me to think deeply about where lines are drawn and how choices are made. This movie examines that very topic in delicious ways that have added to the inner dialogue in my head, the idea of understanding how leaders process priority and practice honor. How those kinds of relationships matter, how the individual and not just the mission matter, how you do a thing is just as important as why you do a thing… that too matters.

I have not yet arrived at a concise or complete philosophy/theology about all these leadership musings and I don’t really think that is the priority…I think what matters is that I am willing to go into the darkness of my own cynicism and with the power of the Holy Spirit be willing to keep working it out.
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
Philippians 2:12

I don’t want a trite refrigerator quote answer, I want to keep looking at all the aspects of this complicated and complex issue of leadership and it’s multifaceted consequence in the life of the leader and those who follow him or her. We are all walking the road of leader and follower in some capacity.

And I highly recommend contemplating these questions while sitting in a movie theatre with a cupcake and popcorn waiting for that first scene of Into Darkness to invade your senses.