“Everyone wants to know if they ‘have it’. And every person has to be tested to find out. A real battle tests you and shows you what you’ve got! And young people can’t ‘find it,’ because they’ve never been tested.”
These are the words of Johnny Wilkerson, our 90 year old neighbor who flew 69 missions as a WW II gunner in the glass bubble of a B-25 bomber. During one mission the bubble was blown completely off and his upper body was exposed to 350 MPH wind and shrapnel zinging by. On another mission, one of the two big guns in front of him was blown off of the plane by enemy fire. I asked him if he was ever scared. Without hesitating he said,
“I was fearful of every mission. If you can’t admit you’re scared, you’re a liar. Scared doesn’t keep you from doing your job though.”
Since then, Johnny has been a gentle, unassuming farmer and handy man. He never spoke of his war exploits and lived a quiet life. He wasn’t the type of man who seemed like he had what it takes. Maybe it was age that encouraged him to finally share his war experiences…experiences that made it abundantly clear that he did indeed “have it.” And now I understand why he seemed so at peace with himself.
While in his early 20’s, Johnny fought as a gunner in the skies over Europe. I, on the other hand, was a fraternity boy in college. The army took him to places like Biloxi, North Africa, and Italy. Through my early 20’s I was traveling to…yeah…”dangerous places”…like Florida for spring break and visiting friends at local universities. Maybe that’s why I still feel compelled to prove myself more than sometimes seems healthy.
Am I alone here…in what may be this search to discover we “have it”?
Johnny’s story raises many questions. Could this be the reason that:
- Such a high percent of kids out of high school leave their parent’s faith…possible to test themselves?
- The most driven students in our college Bible study are attracted to the challenging environments of the mission field?
- The Army again exceeded its 2008 recruiting goal with more than 169,500 men and women committed to serve? And, could that be due to their perfectly targeted slogan, “Be all that you can be?”
The church could be far more intentional about addressing this search as well. Is it possible that we should actually be asking more from our members? If so, here are some ideas to get started:
- Develop a meaningful and engaging mission that powerfully impacts others.
- Delegate real responsibility to accomplish it.
- Equip people to succeed.
- Get people in roles that will push them to their limit.
- Provide them with experienced mentors that will help them grow through the deep valleys that will come.
- Develop a scoreboard so people know how they are doing.
- Teach Christ’s death on the cross as the ultimate test, and that only through Him can we “have it.”
What would you add to this list?
Hello Dad,
Thanks for your transparency & good thoughts. It is great to see a pic. of Johnny Wilkerson
. Love, J
looking forward for more information about this. thanks for sharing. Eugene
Something huge that we’re trying to work into our student ministry (largely as a result of reading Wild At Heart and getting a huge paradigm shift) is a rite of passage.
Western societies lost this tradition somewhere; that moment when the community gathers around to support boys becoming men and girls, women.
Hey dad,
I smiled so big seeing a picture of Jonny and thinking of all the days at the old park. =o) I’ve heard many of his war stories over a cold drink out at his cabin with Marla…he was a huge part of my world history education. =o) Jonny always took time for children.
I agree with Lex’s comment on a right of passage. I really want to bring this into my three boy’s life when they get older and hope that a mission trip with Luke or some land mark event can fill the void of this lost tradition.
love you,
Ann
Jenny and Ann…
Thanks for stopping by and sharing. It was interesting to learn of Johnny’s experiences after all these years. I found it fascinating he talked to you kids about WW II but never me.
This right of passage thing is a big deal as you mentioned Ann. It reminds me of that time Clint sprinted up the emergency stairs to the top of the Sears tower just to prove he could do it. Remember, those police officers almost arrested him for being in that stairway and we all but missed the train back to Lafayette.
We need to know we have it…..right of passage….braveheart….whatever you call it. Both of you will need to help your boys discover that along the way.
dad
Eugene,
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll try do dig up the “Wild At Heart” book I read several years ago.
A brief synopsis is:
God created every man to fight an epic battle, protect the village, and win the heart of the beautiful lady in the process. Every man has this need to know he’s up to it…he’s not only capable but respected as such. The “right of passage” is about the village recognizing the growth of a boy into a man prepared to take on the responsibility.
There’s a reason so many childhood stories carry this theme and many of the movies today as well.
Lex….am I getting this right…it’s been awhile. What’s the story for the ladies….that side is fuzzy
Ed
Ha ha. You nailed it.
There’s a separate book for the ladies called Captivated, but I haven’t read it. The author talks about a woman’s heart a bit in Wild At Heart, but I don’t know if I remember all of it.
He narrows it down to three things, and right now I can recall two: that women want to ride off into the sunset with the hero (not just be rescued and left behind in safety, but join the adventure), and that women want to know there is a beauty about them that is worth fighting for over and over again.
Ed,
I think the list that you gave would help any church that wants to get their members more invloved in spreading the Gospel.
The things that I would add to the list is: Training.
Train them and equip them, then send them out. Just like Jesus did with the desciples.
People typically wont do anything that they volunteered for, but did not receive proper training on how to do it.
Also, there needs to be a way of measuring results. Knowing that what we are doing is impacting others, is a great motivator to keep on doing it.
Lex
Thats it! I remembered the thought that women want to be valued for their beauty…but not just beauty alone but their spirit as well. I’ve always struggled to fully under stand that beauty issue.
I was raised to think more along the line that “beauty is vain” and God’s primary concern is the heart. Of course we know it’s first and foremost about the heart. However, I never quite understood why the Bible always seemed to esteem the beauty of the women in the stories. Whether it was Sarah, Rachel, or others beauty was a valued attribute and called out….hummm.
And, I do think Wild At Heart was hitting on something significant with the lady wants to be a part of the adventure not just sitting on the sidelines watching it happen.
So you other ladies out there….thoughts??
Tyrone,
Both great points.
Thanks for bringing us back to the intentional training issue. Your point about a scoreboard for feedback it a key as well.
Both vital parts…..equipping people for success then measuring their progress and giving them feedback!
Your always thinking…thanks…I’ll add them.
Ed
Ed…I hope you scroll down to find this…you might love a teaching pastor named Paul Washer…..we listened and were very convitcted…you can google the name
Thanks Joy…I’ll check it out.
Ed