Bishop Frank Beard, Illinois Area, delivers the 2024 Episcopal Address to the North Central Jurisdictional Conference. Photos by NCJ communicators.

“Spiritual warfare is real.”

That’s how Bishop Frank Beard, resident bishop of the Illinois Area, began his Episcopal Address to the North Central Jurisdiction on Thursday afternoon. Beard spoke on behalf of the NCJ College of Bishops as its president.

Drawing from 1 Samuel 17, he explained that there are four weapons the enemy uses against us in spiritual warfare—all of which show up in that story of David and Goliath, and all of which show up in our lives and churches today:

· Fear: There’s so much fear in the church, Beard said—fear of the SPRC chair, fear of the district superintendent, fear of scarcity, fear of having become irrelevant, and the list goes on. There are 365 “fear nots” (or derivatives thereof) in the Bible, and yet we’re frequently consumed with fear. In the David and Goliath story, David volunteered to fight Goliath, knowing that the Lord would be with him and that he would be wearing “the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11).

· Faking: In the David and Goliath story, Goliath talked a big game for 40 days but was just going through the motions. And Saul, the Israelites’ king, wasn’t even at the battle lines, ready to lead his people into war. We fake it in today’s church, too. “We act like we’re good at making disciples but if you look at the statistical reports, we’re faking,” Bishop Beard said. “Every once in a while, some fish ought to be caught.” He said some mistakenly think our enemy is the church down the street or the Global Methodist Church—but that’s not the case.
David didn’t have to fake it because when he heard Goliath shouting in defiance, daring someone to fight him, he heard it “with the inner ear of the Holy Spirit,” explained Beard. He knew something had to be done and that God was on his side. “He understood that the battle was not against flesh and blood.”

· Failure: In the David and Goliath story, people thought David would fail. Saul told him he was too young and that Goliath had been a warrior since his youth. When Saul eventually gave his blessing for David to fight Goliath, he dressed David in his armor, but David took it off and determined he couldn’t fight in it. Perhaps that’s not because it didn’t fit but rather because it wasn’t anointed by God, Bishop Beard surmised. “It’s high time for us to quit trying to use stuff that ain’t anointed by God,” he said, indicating we as churches and Christians still do this today. “We spend too much time trying to find the latest thing that’s happening in the world and we try to dress it up and make it the church’s,” he said. “It don’t fit, and it ain’t anointed.”

· Finality (death): “The fear of death is real, but death is not the worst thing that can happen to a Christian,” Bishop Beard told those listening. Doubt, disobedience, disbelief, discouragement, and defeat are all arguably worse. “Failure to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit those in prison, to advocate for justice…for a Christian, failure to do those things, I believe, is worse than death,” he said.

Bishop Beard explains explained that there are four weapons the enemy uses against us in spiritual warfare.

David didn’t have to fear death because God was with him, and he knew that the battle was not just a physical struggle but instead belonged to the Lord. “David had faith in God, and faith is the antidote to fear and faking and failure and even finality—faith!” Bishop Beard said. “It’s faith that can move mountains; it’s faith.”

Goliath was nine feet tall and had an armor bearer, a sword, a shield, a spear, and a javelin. David had five stones, a sling, and a voice. But God was with David, who told Goliath, “I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty.” And sure enough, when David took out a stone and slung it, it struck Goliath on the forehead—at which point Goliath fell face down on the ground.

“If we’re not ashamed of the name of Jesus, we ought to talk about him once in a while,” Bishop Beard said. “Name the name, claim the name, and use the name of Jesus ’cause there’s power in that name.”

When we encounter giants, we must remember that we have a God who has promised to be with us always, to the end of the world. “You’re not walking alone,” Beard said. “Jesus has promised to walk every step with us…Every piece of armament that Christians are to be clothed in speaks about Jesus Christ. He is our salvation…he is our righteousness on our best day.”

God is not only walking alongside us; God is dwelling in us, manifesting through us in our acts of kindness, mercy, and love.

“Be clothed in Christ,” Beard implored. “The giants are going to keep coming towards the Methodist Church…Don’t quit.”

Bishop Beard concluded by reminding those gathered in-person and online that we are engaged in spiritual warfare, and it’s not against other Christians.

“We have an enemy that’s seeking to do all kinds of mess,” he said. “We need to be aware of the tricks and the traps of the enemy, whether it’s fear or failure or faking or finality, and we need to say the battle is not ours, but the battle is the Lord’s—and with the Lord’s help, we’ll stay on the battlefield and we’ll serve him ’til we die.”