Regaining Mission Priority - “Top Gun” Eldering
by Mark Houpt
There is this long-awaited movie coming out in the next few days billed as a “love letter to aviation.” I love aviation and have since I was a young boy! I never tire of sitting in or around an airport, in the cabin seat, or when I am lucky, in the cockpit. I am always the one with the face, and sometimes the camera (I have taken over 53,000 aviation photos!) glued to the window in awe of “the dance.” “The dance” is the scripted choreography that occurs around the plane, on the plane, and in the plane, as we prepare to take off, as we are soaring gracefully through the clouds, even at the end of the ride as we pull into the gate and deplane. This dance occurs in every aviation setting similarly.
At commercial airports, it involves baggage handlers, the fuelers, the mechanics, the pilot conducting a walk around, and the flight attendant ensuring we are buckled in and know, despite taking off from a desert, where our life vests are. You see the same dance at your general aviation airports with pilot owners checking their plane's fuel for contaminants and the wings and props for damage. Most exciting is the dance on the deck of an aircraft carrier with the added pitch and roll of the sea, the blast of afterburning engines spewing fire like dragons preparing to hurl their beasts into the air, threatening to toss overboard those that do not pay homage to their power. Just watch the opening scenes of the 1986 movie Top Gun, and you can see this dance. Don’t tell me that doesn’t get your blood flowing.
The “dance” is a process. In aviation, nothing happens without a process, and processes have priorities. Without process and priorities, there is chaos and confusion. When an unexpected aviation event occurs, the way that a pilot or crew regains control is to prioritize. They first Aviate, then Navigate, and Communicate. By aviating, a pilot prioritizes keeping air flowing over the wings, which is the sole physical factor that keeps them from being a statistic. They then look to navigate or take control by recovering to safe flight or even finding a safe place to land. Finally, they communicate so that other aviators can be aware of the situation, the aircraft can be prioritized for landing, and emergency personnel know where to send help.
Every person in life, business, or ministry has been in a crisis where one broken process has led to another, and another, and finally to chaos, confusion, and loss of priorities. Even Jesus found himself in these types of situations. On the night during which he was betrayed, Jesus found himself in the upper room around a man that was sneaking around and lying to him. Later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing what was about to happen to him, he asked his Disciples to stand watch at a distance from him while he prayed. They failed, and at least some of the eleven of his closest friends were nodding off and not paying attention. While that was happening, a mob was gathering to arrest him, led by one of his own. When the mob shows up, chaos ensues. Peter lashes out in an emotional outburst and chops off the ear of one in the mob. This undoubtedly led to shouting, pushing, shoving, and other chaos, at least briefly. The crash (pun intended) was happening. The disciples, even the mob to arrest Jesus, had lost their priority and allowed their emotions to rule them.
Jesus isn’t the co-pilot, as the saying goes; he is the pilot. Instead of Jesus joining the mob and chaos, he aviated, navigated, and communicated to restore priority. We see this in Matthew 26 “Put your sword back in its place,” ... Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? ...“Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a man inciting a revolt? ... But all this has taken place so that the Scriptures of the prophets will be fulfilled.” He aviated by ordering Peter to return the sword to its sheath and restored order to the chaos by establishing command of the situation. He then navigated the mob towards calm. Finally, he communicated and reiterated his mission and priorities, and in a stroke of genius, he even talked to the mob about their mission and priorities as well! Jesus knew his priority in the garden was to get to and through the cross. He knew that he needed to recapture from the chaos and confusion the process of what everyone was there to do so that his priority could be re-established and accomplished.
Leaders will face their own moments when the mob arrives in the garden of life. Most likely, we will or already have experienced directly or indirectly the chaos of a divorce, business collapse, or a split church. How can we prevent or recover from these situations by aviating, navigating, and communicating?
Recognize: If you notice from Matthew 26, it was not just one event. As leaders, we need to recognize when problems are developing and “land the plane” before it becomes a crisis.
Regain: When a crisis does happen and chaos ensues, quickly, calmly, and deliberately regain order.
Restore: In life’s broken moments, be humble and compassionate to bring people back to Jesus.
Reiterate: We as leaders need to retell His mission often and loudly to ensure that people know why we are here and what our goal is.
When chaos and confusion abound around you, when the church, a family, or your business is in crisis, it is your job as a leader and elder to be like Jesus in the garden – regain the mission priority.
