Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone. Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch and in today's episode we're asking the question, what do we want from leaders? It's prompted by an opinion piece I read in the New York Times recently that was looking at a speech given by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to gathered senior military leaders about his vision for a new approach, or I guess he might argue a return to an old approach of how to run the United States military. It was a speech that was far ranging in its topics. It looked at the physical fitness of military officers, the danger of diversity initiatives, uh, what he feels is a deluded combat readiness. And his speech was really calling for a rigorous approach to combat standards and an elevation of culture within the military. Now his speech has been widely kind of criticized from those on the left and even maybe those a little bit in the center as really beneath a defense secretary. The argument is that he shouldn't care about who's overweight or what's going on in the barracks and those kinds of things, that he has bigger problems. Uh, but proponents of his approach are arguing no, this is actually what leaders do. He realizes that little things become big things. That culture isn't just set by top down initiatives, it's set by bottom up participation. And he's aiming at both. Uh, well, I gotta be honest with you, I am not an expert. I know shocks you on military readiness. And I couldn't even begin to weigh in on what Hegseth gets right or what he gets wrong. But I do think the criticism in general of his approach is primarily symptomatic of a culture that has lost an understanding of leadership, of what it does, of what it is. Look, you don't have to like Defense Secretary Hagess arguments. Again, I can't really evaluate those on the merits. But you, uh, to understand though that he's doing what leaders do. He casts vision, he sets culture, he raises expectations. That is actually the work of leadership. And I think increasingly as a culture that is putting the emphasis on individual autonomy. We don't want to be led, we don't want leaders. But the Bible teaches pretty clearly that we do. In fact, one of the reasons you know that is because the Bible tends to center on or be written by leaders. It's Moses, Joshua, uh, Elijah, Elisha, David, Solomon, Paul, Peter, James, John. These are the names of leaders that God used to move his people forward. So what is A biblical understanding of leadership. Well, let's just start with this leadership. Absolutely. Does it shape culture? Proverbs 29:2 says, when the righteous increase, the people rejoice. What is biblical righteousness? It is in obedience to God. In all the daily, regular, mundane little things. Leaders should and have to care about what's going on in the rank and file, what's going on in the minute by minute, day by day. Because culture isn't fundamentally what we talk about. Culture is in what we do. And leaders help recognize what their organization, business, church, whatever, is actually saying about itself in the little things. And of course, if leaders recognize that, they're gonna realize that some things need to change. And here's the second biblical principle. Clarity actually precedes change. Habakkuk 2:2 says to write the vision and make it plain. The point is simple, that leaders say, this is not good, this needs to change, and this is the direction we're going to go. When they do that, they're not majoring on minors. They're not focusing on the wrong things. They're actually leading institutions. Organizations need mission alignment. M the Bible says time and time again that organizations like the church need to get in step. Consider that the New Testament is written to churches, and it may start with big concepts like the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but Paul will find his way down into the nitty gritty how wives interact with husbands, husbands with wives, children and parents, servants and masters and so on. Why? Because Paul understands the gospel culture of a church isn't just in the doctrine it preaches, but in the daily practices it actually pursues. The reality is that God uses leaders to restore order. Daniel 2:21. God removes kings and he sets up kings. He establishes leaders to bring about change. And I can't help but hear the words of the Apostle Paul here in Galatians 1:10 when he says, hey, am I trying to please men or please God? Leaders aren't fundamentally about popularity contests. It feels like in the post reality TV era that we expect every leader to care mostly about making us happy. I don't think Defense Secretary Hegseth showed up to put a smile on the faces of senior military leadership. I think he showed up to lead them. And I'll say this. Whether he ends up being right or wrong, the country benefits from people actually doing the work of leadership. Culture matters. Little things matter. And I for one am just simply glad when political leaders actually say that. We'll see what the results are. But leadership is about the little things. It is about culture, and it often is about change. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

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