Within the last few weeks here in Northport we have had some "excitement" at our school and therefore in our community. There was a young man who had been playing a graphic online video game that spilled over into his real life which came out at school one day. The school made decisions that were not all that popular with part of the community and it led to a community wide meeting on Wednesday. I prepared this statement for the meeting and I thought that there was a lot of truth to be gained from it. Not just as a Northport community, but also in any area in life. This is especially true to those on the journey of following Jesus and where He leads. Trust me, even when you are in leadership, there are still those you have to follow, and to be a good leader you must know how to follow well. There are those in my life that lead me and I want to publicly says thanks for making tough decisions and sticking to them. I most certainly want to thank my Lord for His leadership that never fails. So read on and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you and reveal to you want He wants said. Blessings to all.

Often, during times of confusion, strife, anger and turmoil, many feeling and actions are displayed. This is a normal, and often, healthy form of dealing with radical change in our lives. As a town, we have gone through a time of turmoil in the last few weeks. We have been thrown into the headlines of many news organizations, we have lost some of our innocence, and we have had an opportunity to come together as a family and community.

The unfortunate part is we have not used this opportunity for good. Instead of really coming together with support for the families involved and for the leadership of the school, we have torn both down. The gossip mill that has its ugly talons sunk deep into this community has once again dictated us. We have gone with the story that best tickles our ears, sounds the juiciest, or that would cause the most harm to someone that we may not personally like.

Often times the truth may not sound as exciting as gossip, but it will never cause the damage that lies do. To make personal attacks and come up with out and out lies against the leadership of the school during a time like this is shameful. These are not the lessons we need to be teaching our youth. They need to see how to trust people, how to support people, and how to deal with conflict in an appropriate manner.

In any form of leadership, whether it is being a parent or a school administrator, we are given knowledge and information that we know is either not appropriate to share with those we are leading or at least should not be shared at that exact moment. We are faced with the decision of discussing all the issues right away, or using judgment to wait until an appropriate time. The leadership of the school used good judgment by using the TRUTH that was known and deciding to not publicly share those facts until an appropriate time. When we look just at the facts that were known at the time, and these are still the same facts now, school leadership did what was right according to policy. They advised the proper authorities, handled discipline in an appropriate manner and gave the correct amount of information at the correct time to the public.
This all comes down to one basic concept so horribly lost in today’s culture…TRUST. We have lied to ourselves for too long saying that we can’t trust anyone but ourselves, especially any leadership. I’m not advocating blind trust or leadership without accountability. I am saying, however, we need to trust that the leadership of our school has, and will continue to, do what is right. It is also important to note, that it is always easier to do a job well when you have the support of those you are leading.