Growing up as a pastor’s kid, I never thought I’d have anything in common with the super spies I idolized in movies and on TV. But there’s a phenomenon that explains why certain elements of the evangelical church are in dire straits.
Now that I’ve seen the pattern, I can’t unsee it.
It came to me while I was watching The Copenhagen Test, an eight-part miniseries on Peacock starring Simu Liu (Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings). In it, Liu plays Alexander Hale, an operative at a top-secret intelligence agency called The Orphanage. Early in his career, Hale encounters a scenario that is later revealed to be a test of his loyalty. Throughout the rest of the series multiple parties are spying on him, not just during official missions but in his personal life as well. As a result, Hale must navigate both his personal and professional relationships by walking an emotional tightrope, constantly calibrating every word, movement, and gesture for an unknown, unseen audience.
This sense of double consciousness, as explored by African American thinkers like Ralph Ellison and W.E.B. Du Bois, does not affect only people of color or those on the margins of society. It also helps to explain how many evangelicals in the U.S. tend to live out their faith—through the lens of being seen. One form of conspicuous Christianity tends to preoccupy itself with fame, influence, and notoriety as a strategic vector of discipleship.
To be fair, that proclivity comes from a good place. We want people to know Jesus, and we figure that if enough famous people are on Team Jesus, more people will know Jesus.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to have an authentic inner life when we’re so focused on public consumption and affirmation. If you grew up in a Christian household—and especially if you’re a preacher’s kid—there’s an unspoken expectation that everything you do is somehow glorifying God. Or at least does not bring shame to the family. So you may learn to cultivate an awareness of who’s watching, when, and why. Social media teaches us similar behaviors.
But learning to practice our faith without the space to wrestle with conflicting emotions, complex ideas, or critical theories can shift the blessing of a faithful upbringing into a burden of unrealistic expectations. That’s one reason so many young people leave the faith during their college years. It’s hard to act with integrity when we feel the need to calibrate every activity, emotion, or expression with just the right amount of righteous flavor.
In The Copenhagen Test, Alexander Hale is only able to find a measure of peace and fulfillment when he decides to stop allowing himself to be manipulated by the people who are pulling his strings. At great personal and professional risk, he chooses to do what he believes is right and has to trust that the people whose approval mean the most to him—his Chinese immigrant parents—will understand his choices.
Throughout the arc of Scripture as I understand it, God’s commands are less about influence than they are about faithfulness. When Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, he was neck-deep in the disciple-making process with the initial twelve, and spoiler alert: not all of them came through with flying colors.
As a society, we are experiencing a great reordering, a reshuffling of institutions, groups, and leaders that set the tone for our public Christian witness. Part of maturing as a Christian is recognizing that not everyone will agree with our interpretation of God’s will and still choosing to listen for God’s voice in the midst of uncertainty.
So if your graduating high school senior wants some kind of super-spy gizmo instead of another Bible, consider Paul’s admonition to Timothy and maybe give both gifts. Unlike Bond’s martinis, God’s gifts are meant to be shaken and stirred.
This article was first published in the Covenant Companion Summer 2026 issue, the official magazine of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Commentary
Faithfulness Over Influence
Growing up as a pastor’s kid, I never thought I’d have anything in common with the super spies I idolized in movies and on TV. But there’s a phenomenon that explains why certain elements of the evangelical church are in dire straits.
Now that I’ve seen the pattern, I can’t unsee it.
It came to me while I was watching The Copenhagen Test, an eight-part miniseries on Peacock starring Simu Liu (Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings). In it, Liu plays Alexander Hale, an operative at a top-secret intelligence agency called The Orphanage. Early in his career, Hale encounters a scenario that is later revealed to be a test of his loyalty. Throughout the rest of the series multiple parties are spying on him, not just during official missions but in his personal life as well. As a result, Hale must navigate both his personal and professional relationships by walking an emotional tightrope, constantly calibrating every word, movement, and gesture for an unknown, unseen audience.
This sense of double consciousness, as explored by African American thinkers like Ralph Ellison and W.E.B. Du Bois, does not affect only people of color or those on the margins of society. It also helps to explain how many evangelicals in the U.S. tend to live out their faith—through the lens of being seen. One form of conspicuous Christianity tends to preoccupy itself with fame, influence, and notoriety as a strategic vector of discipleship.
To be fair, that proclivity comes from a good place. We want people to know Jesus, and we figure that if enough famous people are on Team Jesus, more people will know Jesus.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to have an authentic inner life when we’re so focused on public consumption and affirmation. If you grew up in a Christian household—and especially if you’re a preacher’s kid—there’s an unspoken expectation that everything you do is somehow glorifying God. Or at least does not bring shame to the family. So you may learn to cultivate an awareness of who’s watching, when, and why. Social media teaches us similar behaviors.
But learning to practice our faith without the space to wrestle with conflicting emotions, complex ideas, or critical theories can shift the blessing of a faithful upbringing into a burden of unrealistic expectations. That’s one reason so many young people leave the faith during their college years. It’s hard to act with integrity when we feel the need to calibrate every activity, emotion, or expression with just the right amount of righteous flavor.
In The Copenhagen Test, Alexander Hale is only able to find a measure of peace and fulfillment when he decides to stop allowing himself to be manipulated by the people who are pulling his strings. At great personal and professional risk, he chooses to do what he believes is right and has to trust that the people whose approval mean the most to him—his Chinese immigrant parents—will understand his choices.
Throughout the arc of Scripture as I understand it, God’s commands are less about influence than they are about faithfulness. When Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, he was neck-deep in the disciple-making process with the initial twelve, and spoiler alert: not all of them came through with flying colors.
As a society, we are experiencing a great reordering, a reshuffling of institutions, groups, and leaders that set the tone for our public Christian witness. Part of maturing as a Christian is recognizing that not everyone will agree with our interpretation of God’s will and still choosing to listen for God’s voice in the midst of uncertainty.
So if your graduating high school senior wants some kind of super-spy gizmo instead of another Bible, consider Paul’s admonition to Timothy and maybe give both gifts. Unlike Bond’s martinis, God’s gifts are meant to be shaken and stirred.
This article was first published in the Covenant Companion Summer 2026 issue, the official magazine of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Jelani Greenidge
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