When I was in the flight squadron every month we would receive a magazine entitled  Approach.  This magazine highlighted airplane accidents so that we could learn from the mistakes of others and not make the same error.  A common theme came through many of the stories – complacency in the cockpit.  When things are going well we have a tendency to let down our guard and we must be aware that trouble can strike at anytime.  King Solomon warned of the tragic consequences of complacency in his book of Proverbs,

For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.  (Proverbs 1:32)

The Apostle Paul likewise warned the church at Corinth of the dangers of complacency,

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.  (1 Corinthians 10:12)

My heart was broken this past week as I heard of a gifted church leader who stepped down, not because of a competency issue, but a character issue.  Character issues are often out of sight, below the waterline like an iceberg.  The Titanic is an illustration of a failure of character.  Bill Thrall and Bruce McNicol in The Ascent of a Leader reveal the crisis of character that led to the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic.  Thinking that his ship was invincible Captain E. J. Smith was going too fast through iceberg infested waters hoping to arrive early at his destination.  What was his motivation?

Less than one year earlier, the aging captain had tarnished his excellent record in an embarrassing collision with the HMS Hawke. Soon thereafter, he had damaged his newly repaired ship again by sailing it over a submerged wreck. After patching up the broken propeller blade, the captain had determined to patch up his reputation to quell rumors of his deteriorating capacities. This voyage was to have done just that.

When the captain began this journey, he set a course. He set the speed. He alone was responsible for the safety of the ship and its passengers. But the course he set took his ship into peril, even though he had been warned of the danger. And the speed he set ultimately determined their fate. Although policy clearly dictated “moderate speed and maximum comfort,” the captain had treated his new charge like a sports car on a road with no speed limits. He had thought that arriving ahead of schedule would be just the trick to remove the stain from his reputation. During the most dangerous part of the journey, the confident captain had left his third-in-command on the bridge while he boasted to his dinner guests how the ship could be cut into three sections and each would float. He believed the ship to be unsinkable.

Often it’s what we don’t see on the surface that can bring us down: the deeper issues of life that affect who we are and all we do. Like Captain Smith, we may become forgetful of those deeper issues and dangers when we set out to accomplish a goal or achieve a better reputation—at least until those issues stare us in the face—but by then, it may be too late to avoid the consequences.

Many leaders never come face-to-face with an iceberg. Instead, they set sail intending to make a name for themselves or accomplish something significant, only to find they have drifted off course, sometimes imperceptibly. Leaders and their followers can become lost, adrift in a sea where every course correction seems urgent and important yet never steers them where they need to go. Sometimes the deeper issues of a leader’s life can have the same effect on her organization as removing the rudder from a ship: the leader and the organization may move very fast on the surface, but in no particular direction. It is amazing how such drifting can be covered up by focusing on numbers, reorganizing reporting structures, and creating new programs. Ignoring underlying issues to look good on the surface begins early, through even the most trivial circumstances.  (The Ascent of a Leader, pp. 7-9)

We have a tendency to become complacent in the area that we least expect.  Oswald Chambers makes this insight,

Do not try to predict where the temptation will come; it is the least likely thing that is the real danger. It is in the aftermath of a great spiritual event that the least likely things begin to have an effect. They may not be forceful and dominant, but they are there. And if you are not careful to be forewarned, they will trip you. You have remained true to God under great and intense trials— now beware of the undercurrent. Do not be abnormally examining your inner self, looking forward with dread, but stay alert; keep your memory sharp before God. Unguarded strength is actually a double weakness, because that is where the least likely temptations will be effective in sapping strength. The Bible characters stumbled over their strong points, never their weak ones.  (My Utmost for His Highest, April 19)

We must take heed and be on the alert; however, we need not be fearful.  After Paul’s warning he points out God’s faithfulness by providing the way of escape so that you can endure the challenge,

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.  (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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