He Could Have Been Distracted [4:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (46)

By Bob Simpson, BCM/D Associate Executive Director, BaptistLIFE Editor

Captain Chesley B. (Sully) Sullenberger and I have something in common.  He is the same age as I am.  After that, the comparison denigrates quickly.  So much has been written about Sully’s cool, calm demeanor in the face of certain disaster.  You will recall that he was the pilot of the ill-fated U.S. Airways flight 1549 that hit a flock of birds shortly after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia airport on Jan. 15, 2009.  Sully is credited with saving the lives of all 155 souls on board that plane.  It was the first time in 50 years of commercial jet flight that the captain of a major aircraft executed one of the most technically challenging maneuvers, landing a jetliner on water without any fatalities.

How did he do it?  He did it with incredible, laser-like focus. Somehow he was able to overcome the negative thinking that distractions always engender. There were so many things that could have distracted him.  For example, he could have been distracted by the fact that he had no thrust from his silent engines.  Sully was 3,200 feet in the air, without power, quickly falling to Earth. That would have freaked out most of us right from the outset.

He could have been distracted by how to keep the nose of the plane lowered so the plane would glide and not drop quickly.

He could have been distracted by all the choices of where he might possibly be able to put the plane down.  They included going back to LaGuardia or trying to get to an alternative airport in the New York metropolitan area.
He could have been distracted by what he knew to be the fact that no pilot in modern jet aviation had ever pulled off a successful water landing.

He could have been distracted by how to align the plane with the river so as not to hit the George Washington Bridge.

He could have been distracted by how to calculate the projected glide path and then set the plane on water at just the right angle so the nose was up and neither of the wings tipped. If the nose or a wingtip hit the water as he approached, the plane could flip, spin out, or snap in two.

He could have been distracted by the location of the boats in the Hudson River.  He knew he would have to pick a spot on the river that would give his passengers and crew the best advantage to be rescued.

There were these distractions and many more.  But, Captain Sullenberger’s focus never wavered.  He knew what he had to do.  He had trained his entire career for this kind of eventuality.   He did not let any distraction dissuade him from the main thing.

This reminds me of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Scripture says “he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.” If there ever was a person who embodied the essence of focus, it was Jesus.  Even at the age of 12, he told his parents, “I must be about my Father’s business.”

Focus is always the main issue.  Most of us are too easily distracted.  Even churches can be distracted doing good things instead of the main thing. Our main focus is, and must always be, to do what our Lord has commanded us to do.  His last words to us before he left the planet were to “go and make disciples of all nations.”  That is all we need to stay focused on. We need to simply ask, “What now?” “What next?” and “What not?”

It’s the “What not?” part that is the most critical to developing focus.  We need to jettison anything that distracts us. We need to free up more bandwidth to be able to move forward and do it with maximum focus. Jesus (and Sully) can teach us a lot about how to focus!

By Sharon Mager, Staff Correspondent

COLUMBIA, Md.—Baptist editors from across the country gathered in Horseshoe Bay, Texas in February for their annual Association of State Baptist Papers (ASBP) editors meeting to encourage one another, refocus, listen to special speakers, network and worship God. At the close of this year’s meeting, Bob Simpson, BaptistLIFE’s executive editor, was elected as president of the association.

Simpson will plan next year’s meeting, invite the guests and give the annual presidential message. That meeting will be Feb. 9-12 at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

The new president takes his position at a time when printed state paper subscriptions are declining. Many believe it is due partially to the economy, but mostly because younger Christian leaders prefer to receive their news electronically. Simpson said that in the foreseeable future there is still a market for printed papers, but looking ahead, he sees a time when printed state papers will be no more.

“The younger crowd clearly prefers to get their information and news, religious and secular, in the electronic format,” he said.

Simpson is planning a program for next year’s meeting to help editors meet the changing news needs and inevitable transitions. He has invited John Yemma, named editor of the Christian Science Monitor in July, to be the keynote speaker.

Prior to his new position at the Christian Science Monitor, Yemma served in senior editing positions for the Boston Globe, most recently as the Globe’s deputy managing editor for multimedia, helping the paper make the transition from an all print to a more diversified delivery system. Yemma is expected to guide the Christian Science Monitor through a similar transition process.

Simpson believes Yemma’s experience will be a great resource to Baptist state paper editors, and that Yemma will be able to share the necessary steps to take as well as those to avoid when moving to an all or partial electronic delivery system.

Mississippi Baptist Convention executive director, James Futral, will also be a special guest at the meeting, bringing morning devotions for the three-day meeting.

Reflecting on his 10 years as editor of BaptistLIFE, Simpson said he’s proud of how the paper has evolved.

“We have a unique position from many of our sister state papers in that we are 100 percent Cooperative Program funded. Our paper is free of charge to any Maryland or Delaware Baptist who wishes to receive it.

BaptistLIFE has a rich heritage. We have been published in some name or another for over 150 years,” he said.

Simpson explained that like other papers, BaptistLIFE has had to adjust to today’s trends – smaller attention spans, less denominational loyalty and reader desire to hear good news as opposed to investigative journalism. The paper uses shorter stories, in a positive, informative manner, focusing on what God is doing in our churches and associations across the two-state convention.

BaptistLIFE’s distribution has also changed from being delivered in printed form eleven months out of a year to printing six and now offering an electronic version for the alternating months. In order to receive the electronic version, all someone has to do is provide his or her email address and the non-printed version will be sent directly to them. Breaking stories between regular issues can also then be sent to a person’s email address. Just go to www.baptistlifeonline.org to sign up.

Simpson said state papers, in whatever form they eventually take, will always be used to continue to tell how God is working through His people.
“Each state and each editor does it differently depending on the local context. But the tapestry woven by each state’s papers produces a powerful glimpse into the health and soul of who Southern Baptists are in each respective state.”