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Foundation Virtue

In Christian Leadership

by

Roger L. Smalling, D.Min

A True Illustration

Westpoint, the U.S. Army officer training college, is known for its strict code of honor. In response to any question, cadets may give only four answers: "Yes sir, No sir, I don't know sir, or No excuse sir." Making excuses is a crime. If a person under a cadet's responsibility makes a mistake, the cadet takes the blame. This is to teach them responsibility and honor and most of all, integrity.

One of these cadets graduated and was sent to Vietnam as a Lieutenant. His first assignment was to supervise the construction of a runway in the jungle which was already underway. A sergeant was in charge. Unfortunately, he knew nothing about runways. He asked the sergeant, "Are you sure the direction of this runway is correct?" The sergeant assured him it was. So the Lieutenant said, "Well, continue on therefore and I'll trust your judgment."

An hour and a half later, a Colonel came by who was an expert in runways and blared, "Who is the idiot who ordered this runway to be built in this direction!?" The Lieutenant almost said, "This sergeant here, he said he knew...etc." But his actual words were, "I did, Sir."

The Colonel got into the Lieutenant's face and asked, "Why did you order that?!" The Lieutenant replied, "No excuse, sir."

At this moment the sergeant approached, with his hand upraised as thought to speak. The Colonel apparently deduced what had happened and asked the Lieutenant, "You just came out of West Point, didn't you?" The Lieutenant said, "Yes Sir." The Colonel looked at the sergeant, then at the Lieutenant and said, "Well in that case, it was an honest mistake."

Later on the Colonel invited that Lieutenant to join his staff. This represented a substantial promotion.

This true story illustrates the central virtue in leadership: Integrity. In the cassette tape on Westpoint leadership training from which this true story was taken, the lecturer said if they can teach a cadet to be a man of complete integrity, they can make him into a leader regardless of temperament or natural qualifications. They are prepared to fail men with natural leadership ability if they cannot infuse absolute integrity into his character.

This concept is so associated with Westpoint that when the Colonel encountered an officer with absolute integrity, he assumed 'Westpoint.'

Is this the kind of integrity we find in the leadership of our churches? If people meet a man of integrity today do they automatically assume he is 'evangelical'?

God wants leaders to be men of integrity.

2Cor. 1:12. "Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace. 13 For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand."

The words used to translate 'holiness and sincerity' in the above verse show Paul means purity of motives and singlemindedness of purpose.
Transparency of this sort is simply a question of integrity and takes time to develop.

Integrity is so closely related to humility, we might argue they are synonyms. It would take a better philosopher than I to make such distinctions. Let us agree they are indispensably linked.

Integrity is central to all leadership, religious or secular. Business analysts, such as Stephen Covey in his book, Seven Habits Of Effective People,
have recently 'discovered' the importance of character in business. This book has become a best seller.

Covey notes, however, a disturbing shift in attitudes toward character in leadership in western culture over the last 200 years. He classifies this shift as Character Ethic versus Personality Ethic. In the first 150 years of the history of the United States, philosophy of leadership emphasized the importance of traits like integrity, humility, fidelity, etc. Since World War II, the emphasis has been on personality traits as the key to success rather than ethics, per se. He notes:

"Success became more a function of personality, of public image, of attitudes and behaviors, skills and techniques... Other parts of the personality approach were clearly manipulative, even deceptive, encouraging people to use techniques to get other people to like them..."

In his book "Good To Great", researcher Jim Collins presents his analysis of companies which grew from good to great and stayed there. He found a quality in common among the leaders of these companies which had nothing to do with temperament:

"We were surprised, shocked really, to discover the type of leadership required for turning a good company into a great one.... Self-effacing, quiet, reserved, even shy- these leaders are a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will."

"[These] leaders channel their ego needs away form themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It's not that [these] leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious- but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves."

This is the Christian philosophy of leadership. There is none other.

The Caiaphas Principle

Caiaphas was a man who sold his integrity for the price of peace. He was the high priest who presided over the trial of Jesus. In John 11:49-50 we read:

"You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."

Yes, in the short run. He successfully averted Roman intervention and national disaster. He must have considered himself profoundly wise.

The long run, however, was different. Eventually the Romans came and destroyed the nation anyway. He won in the short run but lost everything in the end, including his own honor.

Jesus, on the other hand, seemed to lose in the short run. He was humiliated, crucified and seemed to disappear. Who is King of Kings today and where is Caiaphas?

Suppose you have a man in church caught in deep sin. You know you must discipline him. He is a very popular person, however, with wealth and influence. If you discipline him, it may divide the church. You might lose your job as pastor. What do you do?

This is a classic test of integrity. If you stand your ground, you may lose in the short run. The church might indeed be divided. You could lose your job. But God will give you far more than you ever lost and you will have no regrets.

A Final Example

At a meeting of my Presbytery, the moderator asked for a report from the Missions Committee. The secretary of the committee rose and explained he did not have the report because he was unaware it would be required at the meeting.

Immediately the moderator began to reproach the secretary for his negligence. Toward the back of the assembly, one of the pastors, stood and said, "Sir, I am the chairman of the Missions Committee. If there is any mistake, I am the one to blame and you may address any reproaches to me."

The moderator asked him if he knew about the error. He replied, "No sir, but that is beside the point. I am the person in charge, and if there is any reproach to be made, you may address it to me." The moderator dropped the point and continued with other business.

I thought, "It is no wonder this pastor has a thousand people in his church." Like the proverbial lamp on a hill, such integrity cannot be hidden.

Conclusion

Integrity, which includes humility, is the foundation virtue of leadership. Without it, a 'leader' is no more than a manager at best and a manipulator and controller at worst. Even the worldly notice this.

From This Article We Learn:

Integrity, sometimes called humility, is essential to Christian leadership.

This virtue includes:

1. Taking responsibility for the actions of one's subordinates.
   
2. Standing for right even when it is costly, knowing God will reward in the long run.
   

Many who enjoyed this work also liked our book, Unlocking Grace.

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