Don't Handcuff the Pilot!
“Pablo Moreira, a 28-year-old banker from Uruguay, was arrested by Argentinean police after United Airlines Flight 855 landed in Buenos Aires Thursday morning. He was sent back to the United States in handcuffs and could appear in court as early as this Friday morning. Officials say he will be charged with interference with a flight crew.”
“Flight 855 originated in San Francisco, but Moreira boarded the plane in Miami. Passengers said that about five hours after the Boeing 777 left Miami, a man began kicking the cockpit door, ultimately kicking in a panel across the bottom of the door. The door was opened by the captain, according to the FBI, and the co-pilot hit Moreira over the head with a small ax. United Airlines said the man never gained full access to the cockpit due to the newly installed security bar on the door. There were 142 passengers and 15 crew aboard Flight 855.”
In the above article something has been left out. There was a distinguished American business man involved in the altercation which had the potential of going down in our new American “Let’s Roll” club, in commemoration of those gallant American heroes that pulled the jet down in Pennsylvania, keeping it from taking out the Capitol, White House or some other significant place in Washington.
What I am about to tell you is that our distinguished businessman (whose name is not given to protect the innocent) was indeed a hero, but with a rather humorous twist. In the scuffle our businessman cried out for some handcuffs with which to abscond the intruder. Fortunately, the Pilot had some handcuffs in, of all places, his hat. The valiant businessman grabbed the handcuffs and with all the bravery his heart could muster he began to apply the handcuffs to the would-be criminal maniac, when in the midst of his application he heard the scream of the pilot, who then shouted desperately to our hero, “You are handcuffing my leg!”
Now the last thing you want to do at 30,000 feet in the air is to confine your pilot! This incident now held the possibility of hurting rather than helping. Now, for those who did not hear the full story, it ended up okay! The pilot was freed and the “bad guy” was under lock and key until they landed in Buenos Aires.
Upon first hearing this story my thoughts immediately went to the Church and the situation we find ourselves in collectively and corporately as one body in Christ. I find there are so many trying to aright what they see to be errors, cure what they consider to be sicknesses, that their zeal and sometimes-misguided effort are restricting our pilots. When I think of pilots I think of those who are commissioned to take off, safely navigate, direct around and through storms and finally to land. If you ever fly, you have to understand that these men and women become our fast friends. When I think of the two pilots that led us through emergency procedures and safe landings, I tell you the truth, there were moments of real bonding that took place between the pilots and their passengers.
When I consider the pilots of Christchurch, let me tell you some workers that come to mind. The pastor, the assistant pastors, the Church staff, the Sunday School teachers, the deacons, the nursery workers, the AWANA workers, chaperones and host and hostesses for youth Bible studies, Sword-in-Hand activities, WMS officers, those who play instruments and sing, and choir members. Please forgive any other pilots that were not mentioned in that list, but I think you get the idea.
The question is therefore forthcoming: How and when do we in our well-meaning ways restrict the pilots from taking up wings as eagles?
I. We Handcuff the Pilots When We Criticize Them, Rather Than Pray For Them.
There are times when you see someone going in the wrong direction and your first response is to quickly go to someone, usually your most well-acquainted brother or sister in the church and ask some questions. There is nothing wrong with asking questions, but if there is anger involved what we will inevitably experience is more heat than light. “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God” (James 1:20).
Try this, pray first. I like the title that our ladies gave their prayer time: “Pray First.” This would change everything! We need to pray first because we don’t know the full story yet. How embarrassing and detrimental to make a decision based upon partial information.
We need to pray first for another reason; God is very likely to change a real wrong by answering our prayer without confrontation. Confrontation at times is necessary. If it can be avoided and God settles it without our personal involvement, then much good can be accomplished. Human nature has a tendency to harbor strange feelings toward those who correct them. Oh, certainly if they get the right wrong, you have befriended them, but if they are not ready to deal with it, there can be a breach.
How delightful to pray and watch God do what we cannot do. The folks involved may never know of your prayer, but the results are sure and in the end God receives the full glory for bringing the matter under His control.
II. We Handcuff the Pilots When We Do Not Cooperate With Their Ministry.
I have been amused at the true story of Mohammed Ali during the prime of his fighting career. A stewardess on the jet which he was seated walked up to him and re-informed him to please buckle his seat belt. He refused, saying, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” This quick thinking stewardess, not to be dissuaded, retorted, “Superman don’t need no airplane!” The point was well taken.
We laugh at that story, but the truth is that everyone on the plane, even the children, are under authority to be secured safely in their seats before take off. I have sat on more than one tarmac for over an hour waiting for a nut (not a person), but something that is important for the mechanical safety of the jet. It may get wearisome in travel, especially if you are in a hurry, but when we consider it is for our own good, we can be patient.
We need patience when dealing with our church pilots. Let us submit to their authority; they mean nothing less than what is best for us. “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17).
III. We Handcuff Our Pilots When We Don’t Attempt to See Ministry From Their Perspective.
Sometimes the spirit of judgment comes into our reasoning faster than a discerning spirit that desires unity. I challenge you to ask yourself this question, “Why do I think he or she said or did this?” Paul said this, “To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (I Corinthians 9:22). That is a powerful statement and when we consider the ramifications, it is life changing.
Hudson Taylor was saved at the age of six and became one of the greatest missionaries in the history of the Church. He founded The China Inland Mission and the legacy is second to none. For those who do not know how he ministered, it may come as a surprise to know that he was extremely criticized by his western brethren. Here’s why. Taylor attempted to witness and preach, but the Chinese of the nineteenth century were so distracted by his western dress, that they would come out of curiosity to see how he looked rather than to hear his message. Finally, after much prayer, Hudson began to wear his clothes and comb his hair according to the Chinese custom of the day. Immediately, people still flocked to hear him, but now to hear him as a minister of the Gospel, not as a sideshow circus act that had come to town. His willingness to be one of them changed the entire way people thought of him in China. There was new acceptance. I must sadly tell you, there were brethren in the west that never accepted his “oriental-ness.” Fortunately, God kept the record.
Let us show grace in the way that our pilots “fly their plane.” We may not know why or what they are up to, but let’s not beat their door down in the name of our misunderstanding spirit. Let them fly. Let God be their guide.
-Pastor Pope-