Star Trek: Discovery’s main character is reportedly going to be a female lieutenant commander. This direction will be new for Star Trek as each series up to this point has focused mainly on the captain. Obviously there were supporting characters and each of them got their own episodes, but for the most part Star Trek has always been about the captains.
Beyond the captains, though, we’ve spent most of our time with each ship or station’s senior staff: the bridge crew (ops crew for Deep Space Nine?). On a ship like the Enterprise-D, though, the seven or eight members of the bridge crew made up less than one percent of the ship’s total population. Sure we’d see officers like Barclay, Ro or Ogawa, but they were often in the background just doing their jobs. Not to mention the hundreds of other crewmembers that we never saw doing their jobs.
Right now I feel like one of those crewmembers.
I’ve been a little introspective this week, perhaps because I celebrated my 35th birthday on Monday, but also because I’ve spent this entire week running cable at a new office. A year ago I left my job where I got to plan ministry and tell students about Jesus; this week I’m standing on a ladder and running network cable.
When I was a pastor I felt like a member of the bridge crew, like my choices mattered and would make a difference in the lives of others. Now, though, I feel like one of those background officers, helping to keep the ship or station running, but without much significance. I wasn’t Picard, but maybe I was Sulu or Geordi – still not that bad. At this point I’m not even one of those extras who always sat at the helm when Wesley was at Starfleet Academy.
Like those hundreds of other crewmembers, though, my life and work still have value. Work was a part of the creation before the fall and there’s nothing ignoble about working to support a family. My work may not offer me as much significance as it once did, but I still get to lead a Bible study, sing on the worship team, preach in church and write for The Christian Nerd.
Just because we may not be a part of the bridge crew doesn’t mean our lives don’t have meaning or value. We all have a part to play in God’s kingdom and we can’t miss out on that because we’re not sitting in the captain’s chair or steering the ship.
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