Christian Leadership

by Bev Beymer

"Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil¹s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

Our military leaders like Lt. Daniel Smock of 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, Charlie Company of the 1st Cavalry Division stationed at Ft. Hood understand these words, written by Paul so many years ago and placed in the Bible for our leading in Ephesians 6: 10 through 18.

These are men who place their trust in the leadership of the one and only true God. By placing Him first in their lives, they lead the way in placing Him first in the lives of their men.

With a President who prays before giving the command to send men into battle,  and prayer before battle, on the lines, and in the trenches, by the men who do battle, America is being led by God.

"I believe God has a plan for each of us", states Lt. Smock of Phoenix Arizona..."sometimes it isn¹t completely clear, but, I believe He has given me a perspective and confidence in the military as a Christian. The worst thing that could happen to me is to be killed in battle, but I don¹t fear it, because I know my eternal life is secure. I do honestly believe that going to war is the only way to get rid of Saddam Hussein as an evil influence in the middle east."

"As a Christian, I don¹t believe there is a one hundred percent righteous war, because we are not perfect human beings, but a just and necessary war on behalf of others may be inevitable". "Because I am Christian I have no qualms about this war because I am being led by God. There will be some things I will be asked to do, I may or may not like, but either God wants me to do them because It is my job in the Military, or he will be providing me a way not to do those things because they are wrong to do. I know the outcome no matter which way it goes is in His hands, and I know I have a purpose and a real sense of what that purpose is."

Lt. Smock focuses his Christian walk in just that way. Living the life in front of his troops "letting his light so shine before men that they will see his good works and glorify his Father which is in Heaven"Matt. 5:16 Men of God leading the way in battle has been a source of Faith and dignity through the centuries.   The Old Testament is filled with one story after another of battles won by God, and battles lost because of leaving God out, or disobeying His commands.

Leaders like Joshua and Kings like David, seeking the guidance and blessings of God before battle along with their adherence to God¹s commands always led the way to victory.

The walls of Jericho have been proclaimed throughout history as one of the most miraculous battles ever fought and won. By their obedience to God¹s command, the walls came down with a shout.

The war with Iraq seems somewhat similar in comparison with so little fighting to subdue an entire nation in so short a time.

True men of valor and courage are men who stop to talk it over with God first. Then proceed with God's battleplan.

David cried out to God for his help, blessings, and guidance before each and every battle he fought. as in 2 Samuel 5:19.."And David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand." And God kept his word as we see in vs 20. "And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there, and said. 'The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of water'." Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

Another example of God¹s help and blessing was when he commanded Gideon to go to battle against the Midianites and Amalakites . Judges 6:14 "The Lord turned to him and said, 'Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian¹s hand. Am I not sending you?" Now Gideon questioned God somewhat to make sure he was really hearing God and even went so far as to ask God to give him a sign (we refer to as fleece). However, Gideon obeyed God, and God kept his word and the battles were won. This great story is in Judges chapters 6, 7 and 8, and is a perfect example of how God communicates His will to men who will listen, and how God will walk him through each step until the battle is finished and won. How blessed we are as a nation in America to have a President who goes to the Father daily and seeks his council, his guidance, and his help before sending our troops in to the battlefield. How blessed we are as a nation in America to have leaders in our Military who also go to the Father daily before carrying out the orders of their commander in chief.

How blessed we are in America to have a Military filled with hearts of love for other countrymen, willing to place themselves in harm¹s way so that we may have a good night¹s sleep, safe from that same harm. How blessed we are in America to have a country filled with people willing to help another country come out from under the hand of oppression and tyranny.

This attitude comes from the heart of God and it is brought forth from God. It is Christian.

We asked Lt. Smock to give us testimony of his salvation experience and tell us a little of his Christian upbringing. He went back to being a nine year old child in a small Brethren Church in Phoenix. He remembered how his Dad was a teacher, how he felt the call to give his life to Jesus often at such a young age, and how when he knew that he knew, he was in his driveway with his Dad. He told us how he remembered Sunday School, memorizing Bible verses, and what a solid foundation he received through his Church Family as a child. What a positive influence it had made and how now as a 29 year old single military man it has shaped his perspective to embrace and accept who he is and will be for the remainder of his life, in the military and after.

As we listened to his testimony, I couldn¹t help but think how often I hear parents today say they are going to allow their children to grow up and make their own choice to go to Church rather than take them as a child (or force them to go). This makes me question; "what makes you think as an adult the child will make the choice when it was never given to him/her to begin with?" Children are freely given the choice of movies, games, fashions, music, which, whether we understand it or not, endues the mind, heart and soul with a dark spiritual impact. Many of the Americans we see here, the Americans who place God first in their lives, are those who were given the opportunity to get to know God. Those whose parents wanted them to know God and weren¹t afraid to show them both the world they do live in and the Kingdom of God they can live in. Whether as children or adults these are men whose hearts were shaped by the one true God. It is men like these who lift Christ whereever they go, that live for the Kingdom of God first, and make America the land of the free. It is not just their ability to be brave in battle, but their ability to be brave in Christ that determines the victory.