The following article by Bishop Bill Atwood first appeared in the June 4, 2013 edition of the AAC’ International Update. Sign up for this free email here.
Complex aircraft have what is called a Master Caution Warning System. It consists of two displays. One is a button that lights up whenever any of the system monitoring alarms goes off. When there is a hydraulic problem, for example, the Master Caution light (which is right in front of the pilot’s eyes) will light up. The pilot then looks to the annunciator panel to see what fault illuminated the Master Caution. The fault will be flashing to make it easier to spot. After noting the problem, the pilot pushes the Master Caution button to reset the system.
Should a new fault occur, the Master Caution light will illuminate again and the fault light will flash. That way if, for instance, there is an electrical problem, the electrical fault light will be flashing. The hydraulic light will be steady on. The flashing new fault makes it easier to identify what the new problem is.
In addition to the Master Caution system, there are other alarms as well. Perhaps the most serious is the “stick shaker.” Normally, as a plane flies, the airflow over the wings flows smoothly, providing lift. It is actually that lift (not pure magic, as many believe) that makes the plane fly. If the angle of the wing increases too much against the airflow over it, the air is disrupted and stops providing lift. That condition is called a stall. When a wing stalls, the plane stops flying properly and begins to take on the flight characteristics of a Buick.
While different aircraft respond differently to a “stall,” changing the attitude of the aircraft is important so that normal flying is restored. Failure to recover from the stall can result in high velocity tangence with the mass of planet earth. This is also called a really bad day, or the waste of a perfectly good airplane.
To warn the pilot to recover before a full stall is encountered, the “stick shaker” is a device that is the pilot cannot miss. It is a motor that literally shakes the flight control yoke. While it would be difficult to ignore the Master Caution light shining in front of your face, it is impossible to miss the shaking of the yoke. It is a very compelling call to address what is a critical issue.
In His infinite mercy, God uses a similar system on the earth. When we get off track, He shakes things to get our attention, hoping that we will change course and turn to Him to do things His way. Hebrews speaks of it this way:
Heb. 12:25-28
See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.
When we, the church, are pursuing things that are not in agreement with His Kingdom, eventually there will be a great shaking. He will shake our lives, our circumstances, and even the Church. He does not do this because He hates us. It is precisely because He loves us that He calls us to cooperate with the way He says things should be.
Right now, we can see the world shaking. There is an economic shaking, a shaking because moral relativism does not work, and a shaking from the confrontation between a Christian/Biblical worldview and other world views like materialism, hedonism, and radical Islam.
There are literally a thousand examples that could be given of how things are being shaken when the foundation of truth is being ignored. The point of the shaking is that we need to stop rebellion and be faithful in doing things God’s way. Later this year, the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) 2013 will gather in Nairobi. It will be the second Global Anglican Future Conference. The first was an historic meeting in Jerusalem. This GAFCON is being held in Africa, recognizing the great shift that has taken place from Western industrial dominance to the vibrant growing churches of Africa and the Global South. This gathering will be held to discern what God is calling us to do as Anglicans to advance the Kingdom of God. Bishops, clergy, and lay representatives will gather in Nairobi in October. There will be worship, Biblical study, challenging presentations, small group discussion, networking, and prayer. Having felt the “stick shaking,” leaders will seek to insure that the Gospel does not stall among us, but instead will seek to discern the ways He is calling us to move forward faithfully and fruitfully.
We know that the Gospel will not fail. We need to make faithful choices so that we do not miss the Way, nor the Ark that the Lord is providing.
