Sean Connery. George Lazenby. Roger Moore. Timothy Dalton. Pierce Brosnan. Daniel Craig. These are the men who have portrayed super spy James Bond on the big screen. The latest, Skyfall, is the twenty-third Bond film. James Bond is the creation of British author Ian Fleming (1908-1964), who once worked in British naval intelligence, during the Second World War. The first Bond novel appeared in 1952.
I can think of many reasons why James Bond appeals to moviegoers. Each film features his unequaled skills as one of Britain’s greatest spies. He has unusual weapons, often disguised in creative ways. He breaks the rules but still gets the job done. There is always humor, much of it subtle, sometimes cheesy. No matter how many narrow escapes, he always survives. Bond enchants beautiful women. Each film features a nemesis that hopes to topple world powers, reign over the earth, and along the way eliminate 007.
James Bond: “Do you expect me to talk, Goldfinger?”
Auric Goldfinger: “No, Mr. Bond…I expect you to die.”
Having grown up watching James Bond, I understand why such escapist fare is popular. On an earthy level I not only understand the appeal of Bond, in some ways I’d like to be more like him. But as a disciple of Jesus Christ I realize that his character is not always admirable or adaptable for Christian living. Especially is this true in leadership roles. If you put a group of ten preachers in a room, they could tell you about the 007 elders they have encountered. I’m pretty sure if you put a group of elders from ten different churches in a room they could tell you about some secret agent preachers that caused a lot of destruction.
A James Bond style of leadership is attractive to the world, but it is in opposition to the Kingdom. It is easy to see how opposed James Bond’s leadership approach fails to follow the teachings of Jesus. Instead, the qualities of a 007 church leader are based in selfishness and a ruthless spirit of autonomy. They are typically unwilling to hear viewpoints that are different than theirs. They do not know how to yield to others. 007 leaders are more interested in compliance than cooperation. 007 leaders are willing to hurt, and even feel they have license to spiritually kill those who disagree with them or who stand in their way.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. ~Matthew 20:26-28
The wake of destruction left by 007 elders and preachers rivals any explosion on the silver screen. Many hurting and disillusioned Christians have been left in ruins. In order to avoid becoming a 007 church leader, we have to regard the right person as our hero. Our hero doesn’t wear a tux, escape automobile crashes unscathed, nor drive Aston Martins.
The hero who teaches us how to love and lead spent His life focused on others. He cared enough to listen to blind beggars on the street while others left them in the dust. He never blew up a building but he did turn over a table of those who were ruining the House of Prayer. Our hero treated a loose woman with dignity and did not take advantage of her. He didn’t play politics with the powerful and rich. Our hero didn’t ignore, dismiss, or crush those he worked with. Instead he patiently taught them, demonstrating service. Our hero didn’t walk away from death. He faced death, sacrificed his life for unworthy people, died and arose triumphantly.
There is always a temptation to apply the strategies of the secular world around us to the church in an attempt to create growth. There are some limited ways that this can be helpful. But ultimately we cannot take our leadership cues from the corporate world or Hollywood. The leader we need to imitate is named Jesus. We must learn all we can from Him.