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Anyone who went to Sunday school as a child is familiar with the story of David and Goliath. The Israelites had to confront their mortal enemies in the Valley of Elah, and the Philistines had a new weapon: Goliath. He was a terrifying giant, nine feet, nine inches tall. His bronze armor made him seemingly invincible.
For 40 days he bellowed out his blasphemous taunts at the Israelites, offering to fight their challenger. Unfortunately, every Israelite soldier had a prior commitment. Scripture says King Saul and the Israelites were “dismayed and greatly afraid” (1 Samuel 17:11).
Then a shepherd boy named David came along, and the rest is history. Interestingly, when David asked why no one had accepted Goliath’s challenge, David’s oldest brother, Eliab, became angry (1 Samuel 17:28). David’s three oldest brothers were in the Israelite army and had endured Goliath’s taunts. After succumbing to fear, they had no interest in hearing David challenge their defeatist attitudes. Nevertheless, one teenager’s courage changed the course of the war and the nation’s fortune.
An interesting sequel occurs many years later. King David led his troops into battle against the Philistines once more. But as he fought, he grew faint. Ishbi-Benob, one of Goliath’s sons, attempted to kill David and avenge his father. Abishai, David’s cousin, leapt to the rescue and killed the giant (2 Samuel 21:15-17). After that, David’s soldiers insisted that David no longer put himself in harm’s way. The text goes on to chronicle how Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was another son of Goliath (2 Samuel 21:18). Then Elhanan the Bethlehemite killed another of Goliath’s relatives. Finally, Jonathan, David’s nephew, killed a fourth son of Goliath.
This story fascinates me. When we first see David on the battlefield, the general consensus is that killing giants is impossible. Everyone lived and worked in fear of giants. Then David confronted what everyone else dreaded and he demonstrated that killing giants was possible.
Eventually, David grew older and no longer had the strength to go into battle. But his weakness didn’t matter, because he had taught his people that giants were beatable. Sure enough, giants dropped like flies! Even David’s nephew, the son of David’s older, fearful brother, was killing giants! Israel no longer needed David to battle giants for them. Giant-killing had become a national past time!
1. Confronting enemies
I work with pastors often. A story I see repeated frequently involves two or three deacons or elders who tell their pastor to leave. Their accusations are often nebulous, groundless criticism of the pastor’s leadership and dire warnings of what could happen if he resists their will. Typically, the church is growing and many in the congregation love the pastor and would be disappointed to lose him. The vibrancy of the church is, in fact, often the problem. The small group of power brokers sees their influence over the church diminishing with every member who joins. So they attempt to chase off the pastor.
The accused pastor typically agonizes over his decision. He loves his church and fears what will happen to its members should he leave. But the vast majority of the time, the pastor eventually departs, citing the fact that he does not want to embroil the church in conflict. While this reasoning may sound noble, it is much like a guard dog announcing it is leaving its post at the chicken coop once wolves arrive, because it does not want to involve the chicken coop in conflict. The guard dog’s role is to stand its ground when an enemy comes! Defending their people is when leaders earn their money! But too often, when bullies or evil people appear on the scene, leaders start dusting off their resume.
Throughout my leadership career, there have been several occasions when a handful of people tried to harm my organization. I personally despise conflict. But I also take my responsibility as a leader extremely seriously. I vividly recall calling people out when necessary. My heart raced. My mouth was dry. I wished I could be anywhere else. As the leader, I knew someone had to stand up for the organization and that person was me.
I remember stepping out of my office one day to head to another section of the facility. I looked up and saw a person with whom I experienced conflict. My natural inclination was to retreat to the safety of my office to avoid an unpleasant experience. But then I stopped. I was in the right in this circumstance. This person had entered my organization and my building. I refused to retreat or hide. If anyone should feel uncomfortable, it ought to be the person who was acting unbecomingly toward my organization. I marched down the hallway purposefully, looked the man in the eyes and asked if I could help him. He soon departed.
2. Speaking the truth
A second aspect of leadership that requires courage is speaking the truth. Organizations often turn a blind eye to problems. Everyone knows there is an elephant in the room, but no one wants to address it in a meeting.
At times, everyone acts as if everything is OK, even when drastic measures are necessary. For example, a church may have declined for 15 years. Few young people attend. Giving only covers half of the budget. But everyone keeps acting as if everything is fine. The pastor must speak truth while there is still time to make substantial changes. Perhaps a team member has a terrible attitude. Everyone avoids him or makes excuses for his tirades or the negative comments he makes under his breath in meetings. But at some point, the leader needs to confront inappropriate behavior, regardless of how angry the confrontation might make someone.
I once learned that two of my executive staff had spoken in a demeaning manner to some of the clerical staff. When I inquired about the incident, I was told that these two people were stressed about making a deadline and that such behavior would probably not happen again once their task was completed. But I realized that if we considered one excuse acceptable for un-Christ-like behavior, we could tolerate any number of excuses. So, I called a meeting. I announced that there would be zero tolerance for such behavior, regardless of people’s stress levels. It was an awkward conversation, but we never had a repeat incident.
If there is someone people should be able to count on for speaking the truth, it ought to be their leader.
Perhaps you face a situation that intimidates you. You may dread confrontation. You may fear the repercussion if you speak the truth. If so, take heart! If God called you to lead, it is for such a time as this.
Photo source: istock
 | Richard Blackaby is the president of Blackaby Ministries International and lives in Georgia. He travels internationally speaking on spiritual leadership in the home, church, and marketplace as well as on spiritual awakening, experiencing God, and the Christian life. Richard regularly ministers to Christian CEOs and business leaders. He has written or co-authored 33 books . This article was first published on RichardBlackaby.com. Used with permission from Blackaby Ministries International. Learn More » |
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