Checklists…

I am a huge fan of checklists.  I've got an app for the iPhone called ToDo, which I think I've mentioned before, and it is what the military would call “a force multiplier." But recently I had the opportunity of being made an example of in front of my peers because of a mistake I had made between flights which caused damage to an aircraft.  I shared this mistake with many of my 30 Mighty Men and one of them elevated my level 1 comms with a level 2 reply saying I still sounded like I was making excuses.  A few days later I wrote up 15 “should haves" which equalled 1 “Aw $hoot" putting all the holes of swiss cheese together in a way that better takes responsibility for them, “I should have paid attention, I should have verified," etc…

What bothered me most about this wasn't the embarrassment or humiliation or even the bad feeling of breaking something, it was that I didn't think the key lesson that I learned was being conveyed.  Instead the focus was on better using the checklists for those of us who think we have the checklists memorized… In my mind, what happened would have happened regardless if we had used a checklist, in fact, my copilot had the checklist on his lap when it happened.  There's simply no checklist in the pilot's manuals for towing an aircraft – believe me, I looked long and hard for it afterwards!  However, I did submit some change recommendations to our manuals, one of which included a caution about the damage that could take place if a certain step was not taken: Making sure the locking pin that prevents the nose wheel is OUT so the nose strut isn't damaged when a tow bar moves to the left… (in my case, it was already unlocked… when I got the signal to make sure it was unlocked, I locked it and went back to what was distracting me in the first place – another problem with the aircraft)

I relate this story here (even after I've received much great feedback from it) because it made me think of another area of checklists in my life I wanted to share.  You see, I also have checklists for my spiritual walk: read Bible daily, write in prayer journal, practice memorizing Scripture, listen to a sermon, etc.  These things are written down and I check them off, because that's how I'm wired, and my hope is that they become second nature to me so eventually I don't even have to be reminded of them.  I know not everyone is of the same crazy checklist mindset as I am, but I still think there is value to pointing out the pro's and con's of relying on checklists.  In this verse, we have a checklist of sorts: Faith – check; goodness – check; knowledge – check; self-control – check… and so on.  I know that's not how most people read it, but someone with the checklist mindset just might.  It's an extreme example, but it's also what people do with the 10 commandments: don't kill – check; don't lie – check; don't cheat – check…

My conclusion is this: just as there is a danger in putting the emphasis on not using checklists when natural problems are encountered; I think there's an even greater danger in only emphasizing checklists to prevent spiritual problems.  Unless a transformation of the mind takes place, and an understanding of the spiritual element in this life is gained, we will be just as legalistic as the early Jews who rejected Jesus.  Yes, it is important to make sure certain actions are taken so that certain steps are complete, but there's simply no checklist for certain elements of life.  We must stay sober and vigilant; we have an enemy “lining up pieces of swiss cheese" all over the place to make us fall.  Realize the importance of BEing over DOing, and make sure you've got someone to cover your back when you inevitably let your guard down.

Peace,
Adam

Linked verse:
2 Peter 1:5-8
Romans 12:2
1 Cor 2:14
Gal 5:9-12
Acts 2:23
1 Peter 5:8

For full Disclosure: Anyone who wants to read the full 15 list, you can download it here