Hey John,
Have you ever seen the movie “Twelve O’Clock High”? While I was not feeling well a few days ago, I started to watch it, having not seen it before. It’s a World War II movie starring Gregory Peck, and I was not prepared to be as blessed as I was, during the first half of the movie especially. For me, it was a wonderful picture of spiritual truths we have seen in you, and things you have taught us about leadership and God’s kind of government.
Trying to make this as short as I can, in the movie, Gregory Peck was an officer who was under the main General, and the main General wanted him to find out what the problem was with the 586th squadron (not sure of the squad #), because they were suffering abnormal losses. The leader (named Davenport) was very respected by his men, but it was getting around that they were “unlucky”, even though he was supposedly a good leader.
Gregory Peck could not figure out the problems after looking at the situation initially. He reported to the main General that he couldn’t find an answer and the main General said that there was always an answer, and had him arrange a meeting with Davenport, himself, and Gregory Peck.
The main General was very discerning. When he interviewed Davenport about the last raid that went wrong, Davenport told them it was a that they got there at the wrong time and suffered losses because of it. He would not put the blame on the navigator who made it happen, but the General immediately interviewed the navigator who confessed to be the problem, but Davenport kept defending the navigator and didn’t want to tell on him (covered for him), because he thought the navigator was a good man, and he liked and respected him (even though he had made a big blunder.)
After the interview, the main General asked Davenport why he did not get rid of the navigator. And Davenport said it was because he was a good man, and it was merely a mistake (and because he liked him.). The main General said, “what happens to the next crew that gets in a plane with that navigator? What confidence will they have?” Davenport kept defending the navigator and would not remove him willingly, so the General ended the meeting and stripped him of his command, and gave the squad to Gregory Peck without even saying why (you knew why, watching the movie). The General discerned that Davenport did not have the strength to think of the unit as a whole, and was respecting popularity and favoring people instead of doing what was right for all. He was not fit to lead with those qualities. It was the picture of the downfall of a man who had “friends.”
Gregory Peck was given the command, and he was determined to not to have any “friends” so to speak, but to do what was right for the body of his unit as a whole. He had seen what Davenport did wrong and tried very hard not to go down that road. He took care of people that were infecting the unit with their wrong attitudes, got the squadron back to basic discipline, and basic tactics. He went through all kinds of situations that I thought taught about responsible leadership and not respecting people above what was right. At first the men rebelled – they wanted Davenport back. Gregory Peck didn’t know if he could hold them together long enough to fix it…. But as Gregory Peck’s decisions brought them success, they started to warm up to him.
I fell asleep that night, and it did not hold my attention enough to see the end of the movie, but Paul said the General ended up removing Gregory Peck too, because the same thing ended up happening to him, as to Davenport. He started having the admiration of his men (and wanting it) and was no longer fit, even though he had fixed the unit. wow.
There were many other examples, but the point is, that the movie made me very appreciative for you John. The experienced General reminded me of how God shows you a problem, and you take care of it. He knew that a leader could not be after popularity or to satisfy friends. And over the years I have seen you get real “results” by sticking to what was right, not concerned about “how big”, “or “who it is” or any such thing.
I enjoyed understanding what I was watching, in light of what you have taught us. I thought that movie was a good lesson on “spiritual” leadership, with it’s insights, and types, and spiritual shadows, if you had the eyes to see the similarities. In any case, I enjoyed thinking on these things. We have seen them happen amongst us. 🙂
Gary