I was flying a 1940’s Douglas DC-3 aircraft from Arizona to Pennsylvania when my co-pilot said that smoke was coming from the right engine. The worn-out engines were on the airplane as it sat in the desert for years before we bought it, so I was alert to possible troubles.
My options were to take preemptive action or to wait and see. I needed to get the airplane home and maybe nothing bad would happen. And it was only smoke, which I couldn’t even see from my view in the left seat. Would the engine keep running; fail totally; catch on fire; or shake badly and throw parts through the cowling?
What should I do? After all, it was still running smoothly so maybe I didn’t have enough evidence to take strong action even though we could now smell smoke in the cockpit.
Would I be judged as pessimistic, alarmist, doomsayer – – or wise, if I decided to abandon my previous priorities and carefully laid plans, shut down the obviously deteriorating engine, and change course to an alternate airport – – which I did?
I’ve been around a lot of pilots over the years, many good and some less so, but I’ve never met one who would casually say, “Let’s just keep going and see what happens. Maybe everything will be okay.”
Incidentally, an engine on another DC-3 on the same project started to blow smoke in flight. The captain didn’t take the situation seriously and upon landing the very best of our five Navy Surplus DC-3’s was consumed by fire as the hapless pilots watched from alongside. It was a sad sight.
TODAY
Well, that’s exactly what many foolish Christians and irresponsible church leaders are doing today. “Sure, there’s some troubles in the world but we’ll just keep on as usual with our earthly pursuits and church programs and wait to see what happens. Maybe – – -!”
What will they say as they watch helplessly when the flock is decimated in the coming adversities that Jesus so clearly predicted? He sternly instructed us to be on guard and alert at all times, but many are too busy with their earthly agendas to pay attention to Him. It will be a sad sight.
Church “leaders” who love their titles and authority but who are not boldly warning the flock about the wolf at the gate, and preparing them for its attack, are an offense to their calling. Hopefully yours are otherwise, but if not they should go flip burgers for a while and get in touch with the real world. Or is “Maybe – -” good enough for the Church that Jesus gave Himself for and which bears His name?
At this moment in history there’s still time to change course but that time is short.
Ken Stoltzfus
Kidron, Ohio USA
Sept. 9, 2021
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