President's Column: Commitment

Are you prepared for the mission the Lord has for you? Almost forty years ago my pastor asked me if I wanted everything the Lord had for me. I said "yes" not realizing that statement of willingness would lead me half way around the world and into places that I could barely imagine. Are you willing to receive all the Lord has for you? The Lord expects much, but He empowers us to do whatever He asks of us and the blessings we receive are past finding out.

In I Samuel 17 we read the account of a young lad named David who went to the Valley of Elah to deliver food to his older brothers who were in the army of Israel facing the Philistines. While there, David, in faith, confronted and killed the giant Goliath which set the stage for the defeat of the Philistines

It took faith for David to confront Goliath, but he was prepared for battle. Over the months of keeping his father's sheep, he had become expert with the sling to the point of slaying a lion and a bear to defend his flock. Most important, David knew that the Lord went before him and would not abandon him. We can have that kind of faith too.

Pilots for Christ has its own Goliath confronting each chapter and each member. The name of this Goliath is non-commitment. PCI has accrued a number of dead chapters over the years. Chapters that were once alive and serving the Lord have died for lack of someone to step forward to accept a leadership role. We now have 17 chapters on the books. In each of these chapters, there is a small group who do most of the ministry, fly most of the missions, come out to the air shows and community activities to spread the word of the Gospel. You don't have to be a pilot to do this. All you need is the willingness and availability to say "Here I am, Lord. Send me."

The dead chapters had one thing in common. When the leader left the chapter, there was no one to step in and carry on. Are you prepared to assume a leadership role? If you are a member without a chapter, are you willing to work in your community to support PCI with whatever you have? We have people like Alan Harper of West Virginia who fights his Goliaths alone in his community and flies missions to the surrounding cities and states.

If you are fortunate enough to be in a chapter, find out how you can help in its ministry and be willing to step in and assume leadership when someone must leave. Don't let the ball fall into the hands of the opposing Goliath. His aim is to defeat and set back the work of the Lord.

If you are not near a chapter, you can represent PCI by distributing Bibles, New Testaments or the book of John (all available from the PCI store) to local airports, wear your PCI tee shirt and hat and answer questions about PCI's ministry. You may be surprised at the response this brings and find yourself helping start a PCI chapter in your area.

Have you caught the Lord's vision for His Air Force? If the Lord tells you to jump are you ready to say, "How high, Lord?"

[Back] [Up] [Next]