I have written the last couple of posts on the topic of our waiting to head out to the mission field. One final thought on this matter. I am thankful that our sending church did not seek to hasten things along.
I am reminded of the most horrible aircraft I ever worked on. It was a Piper PA28R-201. A syndicate of five men had decided to purchase the light aeroplane from a seller in the Netherlands. The company I worked for offered to do a pre-purchase inspection for them, but they politely declined in order to save money, and “after all, it’s in great condition; it looks amazing!” So they went ahead with their enthusiastic acquisition and brought it to us for its first service. That was when we first saw it. It looked beautiful. Given that aircraft are incredibly expensive to maintain, often the money goes into the most important areas, i.e. those needed to make sure it stays in the air safely. Oftentimes paintwork is drab, the necessary touch-up being outside the budget. Not so with this lady! The paint was gleaming, spotless and bright. It was the best looking aircraft to come in the hangar doors during my time there. But not all was as it seemed.
We set to work on what we thought would be a straightforward service, and that’s when we discovered the truth. The aircraft was in terribly shocking condition. Underneath the beautiful paint job was a body that was full of corrosion, landing gear components with dangerous levels of wear on them, and an engine that was in need of a lot of work. It ended up staying in the hangar for months, and costing that group of friends tens of thousands in their very first maintenance check, just to put everything right. They should have done due diligence and had it checked before they committed. It would have saved everyone a lot of heartache in the long run.
In the world of aircraft maintenance it is not uncommon for cases like this to crop up. Everything looks good, but due diligence will see problems that are hiding under the surface, or that might not manifest for a while. Other aircraft have problems that are very noticeable, like one that came in with a brake calliper completely hanging off. Even the untrained can catch something like that!
In the world of ministry it is just the same. I am reminded of the words of Paul to his spiritual son Timothy, as he urges him to be diligent, and to guard the deposit that he has been entrusted with. He directs him:
“Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.”
– 1 Timothy 5:22-25
Paul has commanded Timothy about dangerous elders and others who would bring harm and destruction to the church through their heterodox teaching and manner of life. He has instructed him on how to assess elder and deacon candidates. And now he offers a warning. There is always the possibility of problems under the surface. Some character flaws are easily spotted, even by the casual observer, but some run deep and are hidden by a glossy exterior. And it may take time until they manifest. Therefore, delaying appointments is beneficial as it allows what is under the surface to bubble up to the top, both the bad and the good.
This is not without earlier biblical precedent either. Think of those in the time of the judges who wanted someone to rule over them. They desired it so fervently that they did not care of the quality of the ruler. Jotham stands up and presents them with his parable on the trees who will settle for anyone to rule over them, but in the end it will bring disaster. And so it happened with Abimelech. Hasty appointment is short-sighted. It does not allow the character to be exposed, for good or for bad.
Another classic example is Saul. In 1 Samuel 8 the people clamour for a king like the nations. They are presented with a tall, strong and handsome young man. And after an awkward, and hasty appointment, Saul is their new king. But had they exercised due diligence they would have found that this potential king was of weak character. He could not even find his father’s donkeys that he was tasked with keeping. He had no initiative to seek out help, but relies on his servant. And after a while, his poor character bubbles up to the surface, exposed. He cannot win battles with armies, while his son is victorious with just his armour-bearer. He coerces people to join his cause, because he does not have the nature of a humble leader who will naturally be attractive to people who wish to follow.
Compare him to David. Neither seeking greatness nor position. Just faithfully and diligently (and capably!) minding his father’s sheep. And when it came to crunch time with Goliath, David wasn’t shooting from the hip, or acting in a moment of impassioned bravado. Rather, he recalls the many days he has laboured at his task. Unseen, forgotten about, but faithfully guarding those sheep. And he recalls how God has formed his character in those times, by giving him opportunity to tackle bear and lion, and the experience of trusting the Lord to bring about the deliverance of the flock under his care. When it comes to the moment that counts, David’s character, that has been formed over many years, is exposed for all to see. Nothing in his life was wasted in those times of waiting. Instead, it was the time when his character would mature into whatever it was to be, and would soon bubble up to the surface when it mattered.
This is why I am humbled and grateful that our local church did not hasten us to go. To be sure there have been some members in our own churches, or other churches around who ocasionally come out with the comment, “are you guys not gone yet?!” But from those in places of authority in our church, they have not been hasty in the laying on of hands. It encourages me that they care deeply enough about missions and ministry that they did not send us haphazardly. To have a church like that at our backs when we’re on the field is a strengthening thing. They care about God’s work.
This also hits home for me as I leave. As one of only two elders in our small church, there is the temptation to skip over the warnings and clear commands of Scripture in the name of pragmatism, and just appoint someone for eldership. And while there are some who do show that potential, it would be short-sighted to look at the immediate evidence in their lives, and not give space for long-term fruit to evidence itself. Long-term it will benefit both them personally, and the church corporately.
The work of ministry and leadership in the local church, and the work of missions abroad is of far too great an importance to just send someone on their first desire to go. We will pay for it later, picking up the cost of failing to do due diligence in the first place, waiting to see their character mature for good or for bad when the damage has already been done. To guard the deposit of the faith is not only to ensure it is guarded in our own lives, but in the lives of those to whom we entrust it.
There are many ways this can be done, some of which are mentioned in my last post. But however we do it, there should be intentional, patient working with members of our local church. All of them. Because some will have conspicuous sins, some will have deep hidden ones. Some will have easily-seen fruit, while others may just surprise us with a character that the Lord has formed over time, that suddenly comes bubbling to the surface when it counts, even if we had never considered them before. Either way, if we value the work of God at home and abroad, let us not be hasty on sending anyone, that the cost of waiting might save an even greater cost of impatience.
Imitators of Those 
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