Leadership's Importance
Most people, regardless of their education, occupation,
intelligence, political or religious beliefs recognize the importance of
leadership. We know from observation and from reading that organizations
generally do not rise above the quality of their leaders. R. Daniel Watkins'
book, An Encyclopedia of Compelling Quotations (Peabody, MA:
Hendricks Publishers, Inc., 2001), provides some brief but powerful statements about
leadership. Napoleon Bonaparte said, "A leader is a dealer in hope."
Arnold H. Glassgow wisely observed: "A good leader takes a little more
than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of credit." Walter
Lippmann, the distinguished American journalist, wrote in a column dedicated to
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: "The final test of a leader is that he leaves
behind him in
other men the conviction and the will
to carry on." One of Russia's greatest intellectuals, Alexander
Solzhenitsyn, offered this view of
leadership. "A leader should not be a man who arbitrarily
imported his own ideas but the essential focal point for a group of people who
trusted one another and worked for a common
aim" (pp. 416-417).
Our Lord himself warned: "Every
plant, which my heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if
the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (Mt. 15:13-14).
Every legitimate institution or organization on earth
needs good leadership. That is true of schools, churches, labor unions, businesses,
communities, states and nations. One of the reasons many modern schools have
miserably failed to educate our young people is because of inadequate or
irresponsible leadership in local schools, in state and national educational
associations and in the classroom. Please understand that this is not a blanket
condemnation of all schools, administrators, boards of education and teachers.
There are still good schools, capable administrators, committed boards of
education and dedicated teachers. But the tragedy is that there are too few of these.
If you think I might be exaggerating the situation, it is because you are not
keeping up with what is occurring in the nation's schools. Dozens of books expose the
damage many public schools are doing to homes, to churches and to the nation. I have
time to give you just a few examples.
Larry Elder, a talk show host in Los Angeles, has
written a book with the title, Showdown: Confronting Bias, Lies, and the
Special Interests That Divide America (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2002).
Many school administrators and teachers are enemies of our nation. Some of them support
movements that seek to destroy the freedoms we enjoy. A few brief excerpts from
a Santa Monica High School student provide some insight into what some schools
are doing. The high school student writes: "My school indirectly, but
thoroughly, supports terrorism....After we began bombing Afghanistan instead of leading
us in the Pledge of Allegiance, our principal goes on the PA system, and announced
to the school his doubts about the morality of our air campaign... .Another response
our school had to deal with the attacks was to invite a Muslim leader to the school
to explain how the Islamic religion is a noble and righteous one....What
finally prompted me to write this letter, though, was the barrage of downright
insulting, practically treasonous comments made in our school paper." The
school paper included a picture of the American flag, but it was covered by the
Afghanistan flag (108-110).
Michael Savage's new book, The Enemy Within: Saving
America from the Liberal Assault on Our Schools, Faith and Military (Nashville:
WND Books, 2003), gives example after example of how the schools in some places
are deliberately undermining the moral values that most Americans support. For example,
the National Education Association, the most powerful teachers' union in our
country, opposes genuine abstinence-based sex education, teacher competency testing,
teaching creation along with evolution, home schooling and many other
worthwhile efforts and activities. Dr. Savage accuses the majority in the
teaching profession of endorsing postmodernism. Dr. Savage explains: "By
dismissing traditional morality, right and wrong, and truth and lies, as being quaint,
or worse, intolerant, concepts, they're making a mockery of everything that has made
this country great" (pp. 174-175). Did you know that the National Education
Association has "embraced a bizarre, comprehensive, lifelong sex education
curriculum beginning with kindergarten” (p. 175)? Do the leaders
in the NBA not know that sex education generally increases sexual activities
among young people? The NEA must share some of the blame for the enormous
number of teenage pregnancies, the proliferation of all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases,
including AIDS, and the heartaches many of our young people experience and likely
will continue to experience as long as they live. Incidentally, at least 25,000,000
Americans, including millions of teens and preteens, are infected with genital herpes.
Genital herpes is fatal to many babies born to infected mothers. The disease is not
curable. Do our schools need and do they deserve good leaders?
Most of us who read and keep up with what is happening
in the churches of America know how negligent many churches have been in searching out and appointing leaders
of integrity. Thomas C. Reeves, professor of history at the University of
Wisconsin-Parkside, has written an excellent book, The Empty Church: The Suicide of Liberal Christianity (New York: The Free
Press, 1996). Dr. Reeves' book is one of the severest indictments of modern
religion I have ever read. He probably calls himself an evangelical, although I
do not recall his using that term to describe himself. He is a member of the
Episcopal Church, but that does not keep him from criticizing his own
church.
Dr. Reeves asks, "Do churches, well, really matter
anymore" (p. ix of the Preface)? Dr. Reeves quotes Dr. Thomas C. Oden of Drew
University in Madison, NJ, a Methodist University, of saying that there is no
concept of heresy. "The very thought of asking about heresy has itself
become the new arch-heresy" (p. 17). A student at Harvard Theological
Seminary declared: "Pluralism is God at Harvard. The basic presumption is that
Western religion is not good, and Christianity is the worst. The new slur, like being
'homophobic' is being 'Christo-centric'" (p. 17). Dr. Reeves says Bishop Jane Dixon of
the Episcopal Church wore a button at one convention that read:
"SEXUALITY, NOT SPIRITUALITY" (p. 21). There is much, much more in
Dr. Reeves'
book, but I do not have time to read it to you today.
Everyone in America knows the checkered history of
leaders in labor unions. The most powerful and one of the most corrupt labor
unions—and it is a labor union, not a professional organization—is the
National Education Association. The NEA no longer puts the welfare of children
on the front burner, regardless of their pretensions to the contrary. Its
major concern is to get more pay for its teachers who generally do less work
than any previous generation of teachers. I am in favor of paying teachers a living wage. But I
am also in favor of hiring teachers who actually teach and who respect our
competitive free enterprise system. The NEA supports radical causes that are tearing our
nation apart. Anyone who questions these observations should do some research on his or
her own.
You may remember the woman president George W. Bush
nominated for Secretary of Labor. Her name is Linda Chavez, a brilliant Hispanic woman.
Her nomination
was very controversial. She eventually withdrew her name from consideration—a
really tragic situation. Linda Chavez and Daniel Gray, a professional writer, have written
a new book with the title, Betrayal: How Union Bosses Shake Down Their Members and
Corrupt American Politics (New York: Crown Forum, 2004). The book is
really an eye-opener, unless you have been keeping up with unions, as I have
for more than fifty years. Brenda Stokley, an official in the American Federation of State, County,
and Municipal Employees, made clear how she intended to lead her union. "The first thing we have to do is to remind ourselves that we
are fighting for socialism" (p. 6). Linda Chavez says that many
"union officials chose to enrich themselves with the
money forcibly taken out of workers' paychecks." "Corruption
within the ranks of labor leaders has become endemic, as many union bosses pay
themselves lavish salaries and also 'invest' member dues in what amount to private slush
funds" (p. 12). Tragically, many of the leaders in the American labor movement are at the
far left of the political spectrum. "The president of
the AFL-CIO proudly preaches his socialist
worldview" (p. 15).
But labor leaders are not the only ones in the world of
business who are corrupt. We must not ignore Enron, World Com, Arthur Anderson and
a host of other corporations and companies. What kind of example do the leaders in
these companies set for our children and for our young people? Millions of
America's young people grow into adulthood believing they can cheat, lie and
steal and not have to suffer the consequences. The leaders in these
now-bankrupt businesses should be imprisoned for the rest of their natural lives—not
only for their immoral examples—but for cheating people, especially old people, out of
their life's savings.
They are as criminal as if they had
taken a gun and held their employees and investors captive.
An example may help us to know how crooked some business
people are. A wealthy acquaintance of mine had his assets tied up in various
investments. He had an opportunity to buy some property at a bargain price. He
asked the president of his bank for a loan of $50,000 to buy the property. The
banker told him he would approach the bank's board about the loan. When the man
went back to the bank to secure the loan, the president of the bank had already
bought the property. If that were an isolated case, it would be tragic enough.
But such underhanded dealings occur everyday. No wonder
many Americans have lost faith in our economic system.
Our communities must use great wisdom in choosing the
men and women who will serve our people. A few years ago a sheriff was tried and found
guilty of sodomizing
male prisoners. He would ask prisoners to go with him on a work detail and then would
sexually assault the men. But here is the real kicker. Some of the people in that
county said they would vote again for that sheriff when he was released from prison. Is it
possible that we get the kind of leadership we deserve? How can moral people vote
for local, state or federal officials when we know they are liars, perjurers, thieves
and adulterers?
Some of our state governors and representatives are
corrupt to the core. I know a case where a state insurance commissioner allowed an
insurance company to do business in his state because the company was willing to
pay a bribe. I have known governors to take money for state liquor licenses and
other licenses. Governor Edwin Edwards of Louisiana was imprisoned for selling
out to gamblers in his state. Tyler Bridges’ book, Bad Bet on
the Bayou (New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2001), reveals:
"Edwards was found guilty on seventeen of twenty-six counts....On January
8, 2001,
United States District Judge Frank Polozola sentenced Edwin Edwards to a ten-year prison sentence
for his role in the riverboat gambling case" (pp. 368, 370).
During my lifetime, there have been dozens and dozens of
federal officials who have committed crimes. Senator Harrison Williams went to
prison for selling his office to the gambling interests in Atlantic City, New
Jersey. President Richard Nixon was forced from the highest office in the
land for his illegal behavior. The list could be expanded nauseatingly. But I want
to dwell on three well-known politicians—John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter and William
Jefferson Clinton.
A few minutes ago I mentioned a book by Dr. Thomas C.
Reeves, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. That
book dealt with the deterioration of liberal religion. The first book I read by
Dr. Reeves has the title, A Question of Character: A Life of John F. Kennedy (Rocklin, CA: Prima
Publishing, 1992). Jonathan Yardley of the Washington Post wrote concerning
Dr. Reeves' book: "The best biography I read this year... a revisionist
view of John F. Kennedy from which his reputation is unlikely ever fully to
recover" (back cover of the book). Dr. Reeves says concerning Kennedy:
"He was exceedingly vain, incredibly foul mouthed, petty, penurious,
insensitive, spiteful, eager for salacious gossip, and extremely manipulative. He slipped secret government documents to
journalists in return for favors, got drunk, favored abortion, and denigrated
liberals" (p. 6). For years, Kennedy carried on an affair with Judith
Exner. He shared her with Sam Giancana, a powerful organized crime figure. The
president was sexually involved with several well-known actresses and scores of
other young women (p. 7). John Kennedy learned his sexual adventures from one of the most
successful at being a lecher—his own father. Ronald Kessler's book, Sins of
the Father: Joseph Kennedy and the Dynasty He Founded (New York: Warner Books, Inc.,
1996), chronicles the life and times of President Kennedy's father. There was
nothing too immoral for Joseph Kennedy. His legacy is one of crime, violence, graft,
bribery and many other evils.
Some people in the media have only good things to say
about Jimmy Carter, especially since he left the presidency. Steven
Hayward's book, The Real Jimmy Carter: How Our
Worst Ex-President Undermines American Foreign Policy, Coddles Dictators and
Created the Party of Clinton and Kerry (Washington, D. C.: Regnery
Publishing, 2004), does a thorough job of debunking the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Senator
Patrick Moynihan, one of America's most respected senators, says that Carter was
"unable to distinguish between our friends and our enemies, [and] he has adopted our enemies'
view of the world" (p. 110). Had Jimmy Carter remained in power, we would still
be facing communism in the Soviet Union.
You cannot be ignorant of the immoral and illegal
activities of Bill Clinton. He lied to the American people, perjured himself and engaged
in reprehensible sexual behavior with an intern. What a horrible example for the
children and young people of our nation and of the world! I have one other book
I need to mention before our time expires. You may remember seeing David
Schippers on television. He was the chief investigative counsel for the Clinton
impeachment. He had been a Democrat for many years. So he could not be accused
of being partisan in his investigation of Bill
Clinton. His
book has the title, Sellout: The Inside Story of
the Clinton Impeachment (Washington, D. C.: Regnery Publishing,
Inc., 2000). Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois did his best to convict Clinton of
grossly illegal behavior. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska told Congressman Hyde:
"Henry, I don't care if you prove he raped a woman and then stood
up and shot her dead—you are not going to get sixty-seven votes" (p. 23).
The last chapter in Schipper's book has the heading, "The Voice of the People." He
includes a number of letters he received after testifying before congress. I shall read just
one letter. It came from a third grader in the city of Chicago. The child exemplifies
greater wisdom than the United States Senate. Please listen. "It is important to believe
the President because he is an important person. If you cannot believe the
President who can you believe? If you have no one to believe in then how do you run your life?
I do not believe the President tells the truth any more right now." The boy's father
adds the following postscript: "I made my son write you a letter or an essay as punishment
for lying. Part of his defense of his lying was that the President lied. He is still having difficulty understanding why the President can
lie and not be punished" (p. 320). Frankly, I am having
the same difficulty the third grader experienced.
I have run out of time, but I have one passage from the
Bible I must read before our time expires. The great prophet Jeremiah lived just
before and during the time of the Babylonian exile. He knew the leaders in Israel were
to a great extent responsible for the exile. Jeremiah wrote concerning the leaders
among God's people: "I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a
horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the
hands of evildoers, that none returns from his wickedness: they are all of them unto
me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah" (Jer. 23:14).
Tragically, the Israelites could not choose their
leaders in a democratic election. But we can and we must use our best thinking
to choose men and women who will help this great nation to be better than it
currently is.
Winford Claiborne
The International Gospel Hour
P.O. Box 118
Fayetteville, TN 37334