On Target

There is, then, a need for real leadership beyond management and personality, and it is appropriate for leaders to turn to Scripture in order to understand what a leader is. Whether civilian or military, a leader should comprehend the Biblical precepts which demonstrate what the Holy Spirit desires of leaders he anoints. It may seem odd to turn to the Holy Bible as a study for military leadership, but Scriptural leadership is very applicable even to the military setting. Retired US Air Force Major General William Cohen gave a case in point when he used Gideon’s attack on the Midianites as a great example of military leadership, and one as applicable today as ever. “This special operation force was so successful,” he wrote, “that even today the Israeli Army considers Gideon’s raid the model for its commando operations.” So why not turn to Scripture for an understanding of military leadership? So what does Scripture require of those called to lead others? First, and without this a leader is hopeless, a leader should seek an intimacy with God. With all of the demands placed on leaders and all of the requirements a person must fulfill in order to be effective, a leader must strive to know and understand God above all else. Does a military officer or any person desire to have the abilities and qualities of a good leader? If so, he should “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and [then] all these things will be added to [him]” (Matthew 6:33, NKJV). If a leader makes it his top priority to seek God and know him, then God will never fail to equip him to do the work which God has called him to do. That equipping which God promises, or “power” according to Acts 1, comes to a leader in the form of the Holy Spirit. Every military leader called by God to lead in that context should understand and take comfort that when leaders are faithful to God, the Holy Spirit will manifest himself in them to make them more effective and bring glory to God. Military leaders need not worry so much about how the Holy Spirit shows himself—the ways he does are as varied as the situations in which he will do it—but need only be faithful to the calling the Holy Spirit gives. In doing so, leaders will find themselves far more effective in both the temporal and eternal aspects of leadership, both in accomplishing the military mission and fulfilling the Great Commission as well. When one accepts the role of a leader appointed by the Holy Spirit, he must realize as well that the leadership he assumes is not for his benefit or aggrandizement but for the benefit of those he leads, and that success as a leader will come at a tremendous personal cost. The Holy Spirit does not call a person to leadership to glorify that person and make his life easy, but rather to serve others by leading them. In doing so, a leader must reject self-centered leadership and be ready to sacrifice himself, his own status, and his own ambition for the good of those he leads and for the sake of the calling of the Holy Spirit. Yet a leader called in such a way knows that the cost he pays to lead effectively will yield a greater reward, perhaps not so much for himself immediately, but for that which is truly important and which is greater than the leader himself. Scripture is very clear that leaders must have the qualities of putting their families first and ensuring their vitality, of being competent in the job they perform, of having a vision for the future of the organization, of making wise decisions, of courage, and of integrity. These demands, clearly indicated in Scripture, are the foundations upon which a leader must build his own style or method of leading. Should the leader allow any of them to erode, he will find his leadership compromised as well. Scripture requires each of these qualities in leaders, and many are verified by secular sources as well. These surveys show there is a great demand for these qualities in leaders, to the exclusion of many of the managerial competencies that so many leadership studies prescribe. A leader should see these as evidence that their personal qualities are of far more importance, and deserve far more attention, than any method or style of leadership ever will be. To state it again, there is a need for leadership—especially Scripture-based leadership—in all disciplines but especially in the military. If Samuel P. Huntington is correct that the real distinction between civilian leadership and military leadership is the management of violence, then how much more so should military leaders learn and rely on the leadership principles of Scripture? In any other realm of leadership, success and failure can be determined by the quality of leadership, but in the military it is more than just success and failure; it is often literally the difference between life and death. A person called by the Holy Spirit to serve as a leader in the military should make it an obsession to let the Holy Spirit have a profound impact first on his life and second on his abilities as a leader; he must never attempt to lead without the influence of the Holy Spirit in either aspect. Such a leader must also see past the temporal goals of the organization, however important, and allow the Holy Spirit to make a truly eternal difference in the lives of those he leads. The leader can take solace in knowing he is not called to preach but to lead, and when he leads in the power of the Holy Spirit he will find that the Holy Spirit will impact his followers at whatever point of discipleship they are and bring them to a greater knowledge and understanding of Almighty God.