Backyard Filosofiyin

Today I was out in my yard trying to repair my electric "shock the dog" fence. I busted it just before summer travels and now I must find the break. Don't ask how - I even invented a few new words in the process.

As I am struggling to get some traction on this key project of grand eternal significance, my neighbor wanders over. He is a nice guy and a good neighbor, but as a man who has seen 70+ years of life, he has an intractable opinion on just about everything - including my "FidoFrier" fence.

But today it was about organization capacity and leadership. He said, "I have been thinking about you and your organization." (mind you, Tom is not a believer and does not want to be one any time soon- at least at this point - but my kids are praying for him). So he says, "I have been thinking, what do you do to give the young generation of leaders the ability to lead."

His thinking had to do with what we do with all the "ground soldiers" we raise up. By "ground soldier" he meant the students we indoctrinated with our foolish message of love, hope and eternal life. His thought was that, at the rate we attract students, we would soon be out of things for them to do. Or worse yet, they would find the older guys (read me) in the way and go on to do other things.

This is indeed concerning. As we age as an organization, we lose something. Where are the days we the young buck 25 year olds had a shot at the CD job? They might have been a bit young, but they sure didn't know it. They jumped at the chance to lead.

Some would say, 'Well, this generation is different, they are not like that and they are not ready." I say they are and that we must give them a shot! What do we have to lose? Can you really screw up the Great Commission by being to young?

Now, if we don't have these types around, then we really have reason for concern. Where does a young Crawford Lorritz, Dennis Rainey, or Eric Swanson go in our organization today. Do they sit on the bench until some regional or national guru picks them to lead some minor effort when they are 30? The kind of people we need are not going to wait around that long. In fact, if they did not get to jump in as students, they are long gone before they ever join us!

Sixty years ago last week, "Little Boy" was loaded in a B-29 Superfortress bomber headed for Hiroshima. This was no small endeavor. The B-29 was the single most complicated and expensive weapon produced by the United States during World War II, and the Manhattan project that produced the bomb was the most extensive research and development project for any single weapon. On August 5, 1945 they loaded the bomb and painted "Enola Gay" on the plane in honor of the mission commanders mother. The commander was a guy named Paul Tibbets. His job?

In September 1944, Paul was briefed on the Manhattan Project, It was to be his responsibility to organize and train a unit to deliver these weapons in combat operations. He would also determine and supervise the modifications necessary to make the B-29 capable of delivering the weapons, and for this, the unit had to be self-sufficient. Secrecy was paramount. The unit would support Los Alamos with flight test airplanes to establish ballistics and detonator reliability to explode the bombs. Paul was told, "You are on your own. No one knows what to tell you. Use normal channels to the extent possible. If you are denied something you need, restate your need is for "SILVERPLATE" (a codename) and your request will be honored without question."

In March 1945 the First Ordnance Squadron, a unit designed to carry out the technical phases of the group responsibilities, became part of the 509th. The personnel count now exceeded 1500 enlisted men and some 200 officers. Then, quietly, the group started moving overseas to Tinian Island in the Marianas chain. On the afternoon of August 5th, 1945, President Truman gave his approval to use the weapons against Japan. At 02:45 A.M. August 6th, the Enola Gay lifted off North Field with Paul Tibbets and his crew en route to Hiroshima. At exactly 09:15 plus 15 seconds the world's first atomic bomb exploded. The course of history and the nature of warfare was changed.

Paul Tibbets completed this mission when he was 29 years old.