This in-depth teaching is based on a classic series of talks by Chris White, Sr. on 1 Thessalonians 4, originally presented in 1993. You’ll find the audio of these talks online with a link at the bottom of this article page.
Beginning in the late sixteenth century, military leaders began using fife and drum corps to organize their troops. As armies grew, soldiers served in larger groups, sometimes hundreds or even thousands of men all entering the battlefield simultaneously. Something was needed to organize complex troop movements and formations. In an age before radio and GPS, how do you keep hundreds of men heading in the right direction, at the right time, and synchronize the loading and firing of weapons to maximum effect? Fife and drum players began to accompany troops and provide “field music”. Soldiers quickly picked up and remembered the tunes, and each one was played as an instruction for them to follow. The high-pitched fife and low-rumbling drum were relatively easy to hear over the noises of battle.
For almost 200 years, fife and drum corps were a staple of large-scale warfare. Generals would order the corps to “sound the advance” or “sound the retreat” and the fife and drum song would become the order issued as a signal. As armies had increasingly more intricate and deadly weapons, and their missions also grew in complexity, the music corps helped to consolidate the soldiers. Through music, they were able to act in unison, upholding their mission undivided and with their maximum group strength. The fife and drum wereintegrity—they held the army together in the challenge of war.
This picture from war, of a rhythm giving integrity to the army as they fight, is mirrored in our understanding of integrity itself. It is a certain rhythm in life that gives a man integrity—the human quality of living by a firm moral standard. When the blows and battles of life come, there is the sound of the fife and drum in the foundation of his character. The rhythm of integrity points him in the right direction and instructs him how to fight. Genuine leaders we know as “men of integrity”.
Being known as a leader of integrity is considered honorable. But what does integrity mean in our post-Christian culture? The music of a moral standard that once echoed in men’s ears has faded. Or worse, drowned out by the shrill scream of moral relativism. When we hear the word integrity, it has been so adjusted, stretched and redefined over time that it means something unique to each person that hears it.
Training bands of fife and drums organized ordinary citizens into the militias that would win the Revolutionary War.
Is there still uprightness to integrity? We often attach it to other characteristics like authenticity, honesty or sincerity. But it’s really a nebulous term now that we apply subjectively. Could you lie, cheat and steal from people and still be in the right? After all, Robin Hood did. What about taking a certain political stand, or a position on a controversial social issue? Would you still be a person of integrity if you are pro-choice, pro-gun or pro-drilling? Does integrity apply to only a foundational set of moral norms that do not change, or is the term more situational?
Real integrity transcends. Though men and mindsets have changed, integrity remains intact because a moral standard must be based on an objective foundation. If we submit ourselves to God’s unchanging standard, we will find a drumbeat on which we can more accurately judge the rhythm of our motives and behaviors. Just like fife playing military songs, the call to integrity will rise above the noise and battles of our lives and give clear direction for where to go and what to do. Proverbs 12:22 tells us, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are His delight.” Translation: talk is cheap. Let me see your integrity by the way that you live, the actions that you take (or choose not to take). You cannot be a man of integrity if you change the standard to suit your situation, no more than you could change the meaning of a song played on the fife and drum. It is integrity chiefly because it means the exact same thing to every person that hears it.
This through-line is in the New Testament as well. Titus 2:7 says, “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity…” God’s call is clear—show integrity. Men who dare to live lives of integrity set the rhythm and tone for everyone they influence as they move through their years. Let’s then take a step back and consider again some traits of integrity for our time.
Leaders of integrity are truthful. The definition of integrity has honesty at its core. It would be impossible to have integrity and be a liar. Proverbs 11:3 has a stern warning for those who don’t tell the truth: “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” We see this lesson on the news consistently: lies are revealed and liars pay the price. Thomas Jefferson believed that “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” But honesty doesn’t just happen. It is a character trait that must be cultivated and practiced with intention.
A University of Wisconsin study of lying found that most people lie very little—along the lines of saying they like a gift they really don’t. But a percentage of people—about 6% of respondents—admitted lying constantly.[1] According to the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, most lies are told to make you feel better about yourself.[2] Judith Hall explains, “Lying motivates people to rationalize and justify their lies to themselves, so that they may continue to see themselves as good. When people morally disengage from the situation by rationalizing their behavior, they set themselves up to lie more in the future because they have already found a way to justify dishonesty.”
To lead with integrity, begin by being honest with yourself. Don’t place your desire to feel good about yourself above your responsibility to be honest. To be honest with yourself you must receive constructive criticism, consider others’ views, and stop trying to convince everyone that you are right. Next, you must be absolutely honest with those closest to you, starting with your spouse. You cannot be a leader of integrity if you are fundamentally dishonest in those most valuable of relationships. Remember too that honesty is not just saying things that are truthful, but also not hiding things that are false. If you are honest with yourself and your spouse, it will quickly spill over into your other friendships and work relationships. Integrity starts with honesty.
Leaders of integrity are moral. Morals are norms of behavior, especially concerning how you act and treat other people, that come from an objective standard of what is right and wrong. The important thing to understand about morals is that these are God-given standards, because only the Creator of man and his behaviors can objectively determine what is right and wrong. God wrote His moral standard for us in Exodus 20—the Ten Commandments. Though it is impossible for us to perfectly follow this moral law, it is nevertheless true. Obeying these commands is always good, always moral.
Romans 13:8-10 contains a succinct summary of God’s moral standard: “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” God instructs us that we live morally when we treat others as we treat ourselves.
Songs played on the fife and drums would signal soldiers when to load and fire their weapons, and where to move and strike on the battlefield.
The current generation of young leaders often have difficulty with a moral standard. They might look at the Ten Commandments and because he cannot keep them all, they will rationalize that the Commandments are antiquated and must be reinterpreted for the current age—or ignored altogether. In order to think of themselves as moral, they may apply different moralities to different areas of their lives. They have a business moral code, a personal moral code, a marriage code, a community code, and so forth. In this sense, they can go to church on Sunday and present themselves as spiritually moral, but then cheat on their taxes or undermine a coworker during the week, as personal finances and work relationships fall under another set of values. This is sometimes called situational ethics. The reality is that men who do not recognize an objective moral standard are immoral men. In other words, men of integrity cannot move to the beat of their own drum.
Moral men are generally quiet, contemplative, humble and not self-aggrandizing. Immoral men are easy to recognize. Galatians 5:19-21 details their lifestyle: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Leaders of integrity are consistent. A leader of integrity lives by an objective moral standard at all times, regardless of who may be watching. In our social media-rich culture, it’s relatively easy to stand on a soapbox and declare a moral position, but what about in the privacy of your home, or on your cell phone screen, or on your debit card? In the news we see a leader trumpet their views on the environment, while flying a private jet to their conference on green energy—and we instantly recognize the inconsistency. The position may be noble, but it lacks integrity. 1 Corinthians 15:58 challenges, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” The word steadfast means “unwavering in one’s duty”.
Consistency in your life, with respect to your values and principles, is most easily accomplished through spiritual disciplines. If you are connecting to God daily, then you will be more likely to hold fast to those characteristics that are a part of your spiritual core. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” The Scripture is telling us that we can be consistent in our beliefs because God is faithful. That is, God keeps His promises.
It's easy to do the right thing one time, especially if it’s in a public setting. It’s much more difficult to do the right thing every time, no matter who is watching. The great challenge for a Christ-follower who is also a leader is not to acknowledge Jesus once, but to be obedient to Jesus’ commands each and every time. We value consistency in others because it makes them dependable. The news media is filled with well-known Christian leaders who made sound spiritual decision after decision for years—until they didn’t. We most often lose consistency when we stop depending on our faithful God for answers and focus more and more on ourselves. Psalm 10:4 says, “In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” When there is no room for God in our minds, we lose the song of the fife and drum that directs us to integrity.
Leaders of integrity are transparent. If a leader is honest, morally founded and consistent, then it is easy for him to also be open about his dealings and relationships. Transparency in leadership is a greatly desired characteristic in current culture. Many leaders profess it, yet their actions behind closed doors often minimize their openness. This command for transparency is present in Scripture. 1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Transparency in leadership is “walking in the light”. There is no need for a transparent man to hide his actions in the shadows. In the time of the fife and drum corps, most battles were fought among armies in open fields. The trench and guerrilla warfare would came in later centuries. Because the army had integrity—it fought and moved to a rhythm—the men marched confidently into harm’s way. Transparency in a leader reveals itself through quiet confidence. He has nothing to hide, no hidden sins to be discovered. Former GE CEO Jack Welch famously taught, “Trust happens when leaders are transparent.”
The oldest fife and drum corps in the United States that still exists is the Mattatuck Drum Band of Wolcott, Connecticut, organized in 1767. At that time, the Revolutionary War was inevitable. Ordinary men came from surrounding areas, and the fife and drum players formed a training band, teaching men how to move and fight as a unit, to hear the various melodies of battle and know what to do when the time came. The training band built up the integrity of the citizen soldiers into a qualified and deadly militia.
The Mattatuck Drum Band, first formed in 1767, still exists and performs to this day.
In 1775, General George Washington established the National Army. Records indicate that at least 100 men from the original Mattatuck Band enlisted as drummers and fifers. They were stationed in areas of action during the Revolutionary War from Montreal, Canada to Yorktown, Virginia. The band continued to serve not only in the Revolutionary War, but also the War of 1812 and the Civil War, providing the training and rhythm that instructed the soldiers in their duties.[3] Though they have stopped playing in wartime, the Mattaduck Drum Band still exists today and you can view them in patriotic parades and displays throughout the year.
The war we fight as leaders today is against the decay of our underlying integrity. The fife and drum bands are a great reminder to us to be trained up and ready for this battle. Do we know the melodies that call us to honesty, morality, consistency and transparency? Is this the rhythm of our lives and leadership? Author Helen Simonson wrote of history, “Most of all I remember that what begins with drums and fife, flags and bunting, becomes too swiftly a long and grey winter of the spirit.”[4] She knew the truth that it is all too easy to lose integrity to complacency. May you commit to be a man of integrity in this new age, living your life to a God-driven rhythm that has long been forgotten by most. May your life be an influence that will bring the familiar refrain of integrity’s melody alive again for others as you lead.
In this classic series of talks from 1 Thessalonians 4, Chris White Sr explains what it means to be set apart by God, and to live in holiness and purity as a leader.