{"id":376,"date":"2009-10-01T00:30:28","date_gmt":"2009-10-01T07:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/?p=376"},"modified":"2019-10-21T10:49:05","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T13:49:05","slug":"r-g-letourneau-mover-of-men-and-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/01\/r-g-letourneau-mover-of-men-and-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"R.G. LeTourneau: Mover of Men and Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Though they may not recognize his name, virtually the entire world has been affected by the innovation of R.G. LeTourneau.\u00a0 Mover of Men and Mountains<\/em> documents both the faith and profession of one of the world’s most influential people.\u00a0 Essentially an inventor of machines, LeTourneau (1888-1969) created many of the massive earth movers that miraculously accomplished what is now taken for granted.<\/p>\n

LeTourneau’s inventions\u00a0eventually measured movement of earth\u00a0in thousands of tons, and made many modern marvels possible.\u00a0 His company subcontracted on the Hoover Dam, creating the challenging road\u00a0that\u00a0allowed\u00a0heavy equipment to build one of the modern wonders of the world.\u00a0 In his book he recounts that thousands of heavy\u00a0machines used by the Army in World War II were built by his company, including those that filled the bomb craters in Hawaii after the attack on Pearl Harbor, created runways out of nothing in North Africa, cleared beaches in Normandy, and island-hopped with the Marines in the Pacific.\u00a0 General Carl Spaatz\u2014who would eventually become the first Chief of Staff of the newly formed US Air Force\u2014even came to speak to his factory floor to inspire the workers with the tales of their machines in the combat theatres.<\/p>\n

LeTourneau wasn’t always spiritually content in the work he did.\u00a0 As a laborer in construction and earth-moving, LeTourneau said \u201cmy job was to deal with material things, and not spiritual things.\u201d\u00a0 Feeling convicted to do more for God\u2019s kingdom, he attended a week of revival meetings, dreading that he would have to \u201cgive up my material way of life.\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t mean material things like money or fame (neither of which he had)\u2014he meant the hard day\u2019s work of earthmoving, the heart of the lifestyle he loved and lived.<\/p>\n

He prayed and told God he\u2019d do whatever God wanted, but<\/p>\n

\u201cto me, service to the Lord, to which I had just dedicated my life, meant the ministry or missionary work.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He asked the Reverend leading the revival,<\/p>\n

\u201chow can I know what He wants me to do?\u00a0 I know a layman can\u2019t serve Him like a preacher can, but…does He want me to serve as a missionary?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As reverends are wont to do, his response was \u201cLet\u2019s pray.\u201d\u00a0 Afterward, the Reverend said,<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know\u2026God needs businessmen as well as preachers and missionaries.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

LeTourneau’s eyes were opened to a whole new perspective:<\/p>\n

\u201cThose were the words that have guided my life ever since\u2026Many men have the same mistaken idea I had of what it means to serve the Lord.\u00a0 My idea was that if a man was going all out for God, he would have to be a preacher, or an evangelist, or a missionary, or what we call a full-time Christian worker.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t realize that a layman could serve the Lord as well as preacher.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Though he would be penniless several times over throughout his life, LeTourneau would eventually be a very rich man.\u00a0 He ultimately owned five plants, including one in Australia, and had his own twin-engine Douglas A-26 bomber and a personal pilot to fly around the world.\u00a0 And travel he did\u2014primarily for ministry speaking engagements and missionary endeavors.<\/p>\n

It is evident throughout the book that LeTourneau was an ardent Christian, and his faith guided his ethics and his business conduct throughout his life.\u00a0 He never forgot his calling as a \u201clayman,\u201d a \u201cbusinessman for God.\u201d\u00a0 As his company grew, he and his wife became famous for giving 90% of their personal and corporate income to charitable Christian causes, primarily through his own foundation that supported religious, missionary, and educational endeavors.\u00a0 (After the success of his Purpose Driven<\/em> books, Rick Warren is also reported<\/a> to have returned his years of salary and contributed 90% of his income to charitable causes.)<\/p>\n

The book notes that the man with a seventh-grade education founded LeTourneau Technical Institute, in Longview, Texas.\u00a0 Forty years after the book was written, the Technical Institute is now known as LeTourneau University<\/a>.\u00a0 It is one of the premier engineering schools in the country while retaining its focus on teaching its graduates to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ to the world.\u00a0 (LeTourneau University also has the unique attribute of having expelled<\/a>, and then given an honorary doctorate<\/a> to, well-known evangelist Franklin Graham.)<\/p>\n

The university emphasizes LeTourneau\u2019s vision of Christians being Christians in the workplace, \u201cevery workplace, every nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Written in the late 1960s, the book does have one or two \u201cnon-politically correct\u201d references.\u00a0 For example, LeTourneau proudly explains the effectiveness of his machines in mowing through the Amazon forest, a point that would certainly have caused him to be picketed and protested today.<\/p>\n

LeTourneau’s Mover of Men and Mountains<\/em>\u00a0is highly \"\"\u00a0recommended<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 There are a few instances in which the enjoyment LeTourneau had in his engineering marvels causes him to be very detailed, but the book is a very easy read and very interesting, even for those not terribly interested in machinery.\u00a0 LeTourneau strove to serve God as best he could wherever God placed him, and God\u2019s influence on him is a constant reference throughout the book.<\/p>\n

The decisions LeTourneau made throughout his life and business career, including the one that would keep him in the business world rather than the ministry, are important examples for Christians in the world today.\u00a0 Any Christian, including those in the military, can find inspiration in LeTourneau\u2019s words to serve God well in the role in which God has placed him.\u00a0 Christians don’t need to quit their jobs and become missionaries to serve God; they should serve God in every workplace<\/em>–including the military.<\/p>\n

The book is available from Amazon<\/a>\u00a0and Amazon Kindle<\/a>. (This site is an Amazon Associate and may earn from qualifying purchases made through Amazon referrals.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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