Abstract
Here is the personal tale of an early twentieth-century rough-hewn man who became the builder of the world’s largest earthmoving machinery. The journey was filled with frustrations and failures, which he candidly describes. He also loved Jesus and tells his story of faith and work in an honest, personal style. This story reflects the times when fundamentalist Christians were barely beginning to take the work world seriously as a place of service.
But LeTourneau rose above the idea that only pastors and missionaries could serve God. He saw his business success and wealth as a gift from God (Le Tourneau, 1967). Despite early failures, R. G. LeTourneau rose to eminence in the competitive world of manufacturing and construction. Although his competitors thought him insane, history has proved that his inventive genius was decades ahead of its time. His combination of enterprise and Christian commitment led to his sponsoring many works involving missions and education, including LeTourneau College, Christian liberal arts, and technical school in Longview, Texas. Cloaked with his faith in God he proved to the world that he can move mountains out of his inventions.
Mover of Men and Mountains
R.G. LeTourneau known for his total dependence on the Divine Providence served as an example to many industrialists from his time up to the present time. Many books were written about his life. One of the excerpts about his life from the book R.G. LeTourneau, 1967: Mover of Men and Mountains read:
LeTourneau (1967) quoted “When an industrialist invites God into his business, miracles happen.”
Despite never having gotten past seventh grade in school and experiencing many failures early on, R.G. LeTourneau rose to eminence in the competitive world of manufacturing and construction. His competitors thought him insane, history has proven that his inventive genius was decades ahead of its time (LeTourneau, 1967).
LeTourneau’s story is one of the weak confounding the mighty and his message is that what he has done, anyone can do with God’s help. Some people think he’s all mixed up, (R.G. LeTourneau, 1967) because you cannot be served two masters at the same time (business & God) But LeTourneau proved it otherwise. LeTourneau expounded that God needs businessmen as partners as well as preachers…. When you go into partnership with God, you’ve got a Partner closer and more active than any human partner you can ever get. He participates fully in everything you let Him do, and when you start putting on airs and thinking you’re doing it with your head of steam, He can set you down quicker and harder than a thunderbolt. There’s nothing dull about being in partnership with God (LeTourneau, 1967).
He traveled a lot to evangelize others by sharing experiences in the goodness of God through the many blessings he has received. His obedience to the teachings of God brought him prosperity. His total dependence on God’s divine providence through in-depth prayer and loving service to others brought him a vast fortune that made him a man of praise. He manifested God in his life by serving others.
Article: G. LeTourneau: Why God Blesses
“And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of His people Israel” 1 Chronicles 14:2. God blessed David, not for his benefit but to show God’s power and fame towards the people. That God sees the heart of King David and dwells in him to manifest God’s goodness. In like manner, R.G. LeTourneau teaches others through his actions and good deeds. God uses people to make known to everyone.
What’s remarkable in the life of R.G. LeTourneau is his generosity, he forgets his personal needs and comforts, he takes time out to reach out to people who are spiritually in need. He doesn’t just work and pray and sanctify, but share his time, efforts, knowledge, and money with others. He is responding to the Christian task of helping others through education or by imparting the necessary know-how and skills towards becoming self-reliant.
God needs businessmen as partners as well as preachers. When you go into partnership with God, you’ve got a Partner closer and more active than any human partner you can ever get (LeTourneau 1967). He participates fully in everything you let Him do, and when you start putting on airs and thinking you’re doing it with your head of steam, He can set you down quicker and harder than a thunderbolt. There’s nothing dull about being in partnership with God.
Partnership with God means success in all our undertakings which is born of righteousness. It is one of God’s gifts to us. He has placed every good thing in the world for our prosperity and success. He gave us the power to gain them and the power to use them in our hearts.
and all He asks in return is that we obey the few laws He has laid down for us. “A train must run along tracks to get to its destination. God’s laws are the tracks along which we must run to get our destination—prosperity, peace, and plenty.
Bible Verses
“But he that giveth his life shall find it a hundredfold” (With GOD All Things Are Possible [WGATAP], chap. 4)…How true and how strong that is. When you give, you do not only get back that which you give, but you got it back a “hundred times”. If you will start with the idea of giving instead of getting, you will succeed not only in a spiritual way but in a worldly way—in the actual way of more money, more abundance, more prosperity. Something wonderful happens when you start to give. You must think of others, want their prosperity, and help them in their hopes. R.G. LeTourneau builds this in his life.
“Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out…..Behold I make all things new” (WGATAP, chap. 4). For where you leave off, God begins! He did come to bring life and life more abundant.
2Corinthians 8:7
“You are so rich in all you have: in faith, speech, and knowledge, in your eagerness to help and in your love for us. And so we want you to be generous also in the service of love.
2Corinthians 6:9
“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, rich as he was, he made himself poor for your sake, to make you rich using his poverty.”
People invest huge of money for one purpose “to gain financial comfort and claimed to have sweated out all the returns of their investments. Yes, it’s always true. And this kind of thinking often bears greediness. They forget who gave them all the opportunity to make business in this LeTourneau 5 world. They forget who created the things around them that gave them comfort in life. Many businesses were blinded with money, unlike R.G. LeTourneau where he uses the money to spread the goodness of God.
Mr. LeTourneau realized something very important: God owns it all – He is the true owner of everything! All that we have, everything that we claim to “own,” is a blessing from God. Having this knowledge and believing it fully, he opened his company treasury to God (Boxx, n.d.).
Proverbs 2:3
“Beg for knowledge, plead for insight. Look for it as hard as you would for silver or more hidden treasures.”
The wisdom from God’s Word is likened to Hidden Treasures. The more time we spend in His Word, the more treasures we find. The greatest treasure we can find is Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Discover God’s greatest gift to you, the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s Spirit, who comes to live in you, will unlock the Treasure Chest of His Word to you.
R. G. LeTourneau maintained an active role in his company as president and chairman of the board from 1929 until 1966. He also held the position of chief engineer, personally working alongside his engineers and employees throughout his working life. Having spent his entire life around earthmoving equipment (Letourneau Technologies, 2008).
At 76 years old finally he got hold of his diploma which took him 50 years of endeavors. And left a legacy mostly people admired. He died at the age of 80 on June 1, 1969.
You will learn that God does love you. God does care what happens to you. Goes does want you to be well and prosperous in the abundance of our faith in Him.
References
Boxx, R. (n.d.). Cultivating the Grace of Giving. Evangelical Development Ministry. Web.
Good News Bible (2nd ed.). (1995). Phil. Bible Society.
LeTourneau, R.G. (1967). Mover of Men and Mountains. Christianbook.com. Moody Publishers. Web.
Letourneau, R.G. (1967). Mover of Men & Mountains.Urbana.org. Moody Press. Web.
LeTourneau, R.G. (1888-1869.) LeTourneau Technologies. 2008.
LeTourneau, R.G. (2008) “God’s Businessman”. Letourneau Christian Center, Inc. Rushville, New York. Web.
Hillman, O. R.G. LeTourneau: Why God Blesses. In the Workplace. Web.
The Partnership: The Story of R.G. LeTourneau: Generous Giving, (2003). Streaming Video on Stewardship. Web.
Giving Warriors: Inspirational Stories of Men and Women Who Experience the joy of giving. Generous Giving. (Giving Warriors).