The pattern for effective pastors is laid down in the Bible, including the requisite gifts and character. There is no need to re-invent the model, and it is dangerous to do so. Those who try to innovate may seem spectacular for a time but are then likely to crash out or hit early obsolescence. The precursor to the Tornado for the RAF was the failed TSR2 project in the 1960s, which sought to introduce a radical new design. It was costly and cancelled. 

Last week the Tornado bomber was finally retired by the RAF after 40 years front-line service. This aircraft, which entered squadron service back in 1979 at the height of the Cold War, has served in multiple conflicts and theatres around the world, including Kuwait, the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and the Falklands.

Its longevity is unprecedented. It lacked the romance, glamour and personality of other famous aircraft, but served for far longer. In contrast the Lancaster Bomber was in front-line service for only 11 years (1942-1953) and the Vulcan for 26 years (1956-1982).

I spent a week at RAF Laarbruch in Germany in 1985 and was able to sit in the cockpit of a Tornado, which was then serving as low-level nuclear bomber ready to penetrate the defences of the Warsaw Pact. It was equipped with a terrain following radar and a moving map that showed the pilot where he was. It seemed futuristic at the time but today we virtually all have such Sat Navs in our cars!

The Tornado gave sterling service as the workhorse of the RAF for more than a generation. We need pastors and church leaders who are similarly able to serve in the front line for a lifetime of ministry, be that 40 or 50 years. What was it that enabled the Tornado to endure for so long, and what can we learn from it?

A proven design

The Tornado was not a particularly innovative design but followed a proven pattern. It was  twin-engined with a variable geometry wing. This configuration had been developed for the American F-111 and F-14 Tomcat, and the Russian F-23. The commonality of these designs was because they worked well.

In the immediate post war period, when jets were new, a whole plethora of designs began to emerge. One of the attractions about planes from the 40s-70s is their variety and individuality. However, over time designs tended to converge, so that they all looked the same. Experience had established what worked best.

It is a fundamental mistake to think that the secret to longevity in pastoral ministry is innovation. The pattern for effective pastors is laid down in the Bible, including the requisite gifts and character. There is no need to re-invent the model, and it is dangerous to do so.  

Those who try to innovate may seem spectacular for a time but are then likely to crash out or hit early obsolescence.

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