There is a quote often attributed to Edmund Burke that says, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
I’ve been thinking about that statement a lot lately. Not just because of what is happening in our country, our culture, or our communities, but because of what it means to be a husband, a father, a Christian, and someone entrusted with the responsibility of leading a school.
I believe we are living in a time when good people need to wake up to the responsibility they have been given.
Evil doesn’t always advance because it is stronger or more powerful. Sometimes it advances because good people become silent. We see things happening around us, recognize that something isn’t right, but decide it’s easier not to get involved. We avoid difficult conversations, stay away from uncomfortable issues, and convince ourselves that silence is the same as peace.
But it isn’t.
James 4:17 reminds us, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
It isn’t enough to recognize what is wrong. At some point, we have to be willing to do something about it.
It Starts at Home
Before I think about leading a school or influencing a community, I have to consider my first responsibility: my family.
As a husband and father, my responsibility is about more than providing a roof over our heads and food on the table. It is about protecting, preparing, teaching, and leading my family in a way that honors God.
I want my children to understand that not everything the world celebrates is worth celebrating, not everything popular is right, and not everything uncomfortable should be avoided.
I want them to know they can love people without compromising their convictions. They can show compassion without abandoning truth. They can be gracious without being silent.
Ephesians 6:4 instructs fathers to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
We cannot outsource that responsibility. We cannot expect the church, Christian schools, or anyone else to do all the work. It starts with us.
Our children are watching what we tolerate, what we stand for, and what we remain silent about. If we tell them to stand for truth but never demonstrate what that looks like, our words will eventually mean very little.
Our children need to see courage modeled, not simply hear courage preached.
The Responsibility of Leading a Christian School
As an administrator of a private Christian school, I feel this responsibility in another way.
Families entrust us with something incredibly valuable: their children. We are not simply teaching reading, mathematics, science, and history. We are helping shape hearts, minds, character, and convictions.
At Gilead Christian School, we believe education should be rooted in biblical truth. We want students who are academically prepared, spiritually grounded, and equipped to navigate a world that will not always agree with their beliefs.
We must teach students how to think, how to recognize truth, how to ask questions, and how to develop convictions grounded in Scripture.
There is a temptation in Christian education to become so concerned about being accepted by the culture that we lose sight of why we exist in the first place.
We should never confuse arrogance with conviction, but neither should we apologize for standing behind biblical truth.
If we are unwilling to stand behind the values we claim to teach, what exactly are we preparing the next generation to believe?
Christian schools have an incredible responsibility in this generation, but we cannot do it alone. It requires engaged parents, committed teachers, supportive churches, involved communities, and leaders willing to make difficult decisions.
We cannot complain about the direction of the next generation while refusing to invest in it.
Protectors and Providers: More Than a Paycheck
I believe we need to reclaim what it means to be protectors and providers.
Providing is about more than financial security. It means creating stability, opportunity, direction, and a foundation for those entrusted to our care.
Protecting means being alert. It means recognizing threats, establishing boundaries, asking difficult questions, and intervening when something isn’t right.
I think about Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 4:17 describes the people working with one hand while holding a weapon in the other.
1 Corinthians 16:13…Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”
They were builders, but they were also protectors.
There is something powerful about that picture. We should be building strong families while protecting their foundations. We should be building strong schools while defending their mission. We should be building strong communities while refusing to ignore the things that threaten them.
We cannot spend all our time building and never pay attention to what is trying to tear down what we have built.
So What Can We Do?
I don’t believe the answer is to spend our days angry, arguing on social media, or looking for someone to blame. The answer is to become more intentional.
- Get involved. Attend school board meetings, know your elected officials, participate in local government, support your church, volunteer, and invest in organizations making a difference. And yes, vote. It is one responsibility we should never take for granted.
- Stay informed. Read beyond headlines. Understand legislation, court decisions, and what is happening in your community. Don’t allow social media to become your only source of information.
- Have difficult conversations. Talk to your children about biblical values. Ask questions, listen, and speak truth respectfully. Don’t let the fear of disagreement keep you silent.
- Support what matters. Invest in your family, church, Christian education, teachers, and organizations that are building the next generation. Sometimes that investment is financial; sometimes it is simply showing up.
- Lead by example. We cannot demand courage from our children if we model cowardice. We cannot demand involvement from our communities if we refuse to get involved ourselves.
The people we lead are watching us. Our families, students, employees, and communities need to see that our convictions are more than words.
Humble Enough to Listen, Bold Enough to Stand
I don’t write this because I have everything figured out. I make mistakes. I have things to learn, conversations I need to have, and areas where I need to lead better.
But humility should never become an excuse for passivity.
We can be humble and bold. Compassionate and convicted. Respectful and unapologetic about what we believe.
Joshua 24:15 says, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
That is the kind of conviction I want to demonstrate as a father, and the kind of commitment I want to bring to my leadership.
I don’t want my children growing up believing someone else is responsible for protecting their future. I don’t want our students believing biblical truth is something to embrace only when convenient. And I don’t want to look back years from now and realize I spent more time complaining about the direction of things than doing something to make a difference.
We need more than opinions. We need participation. More than outrage, we need action. More than people who can identify what is wrong, we need people willing to help make things right.
Galatians 6:9 encourages us, “And let us not be weary in well doing: Ephesians 6:4 in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Keep building. Keep leading. Keep protecting. Keep providing. Keep speaking truth. Keep loving people. Keep showing grace.
We may not be able to change everything happening around us, but we can influence our homes, our schools, our churches, and our communities.
Evil does not need every good person to surrender. Sometimes it only needs enough good people to sit quietly on the sidelines.
I refuse to believe that is where we are called to stand.
Not as fathers. Not as Christians. Not as educators. Not as leaders.
May we have the humility to serve, the wisdom to discern, the courage to speak, and the conviction to stand when standing is difficult.
Stand watch. Stand firm. Stand for truth. And whatever you do, don’t stand on the sidelines.
