Welcome to "Tuesday Mornings," a breath of fresh air for Christians everywhere.

 

Unless you are a natural-science trivia buff, you may not be familiar with the term, "deoxyribonucleic acid." But you will certainly recognize the shorter name for one of the most significant scientific discoveries of the 20th Century—DNA. The two scientists who announced in February, 1953, that they "had found the secret of life" were James Watson, a brilliant young American, and Francis Crick, a British physicist. They were not the only scientists whose efforts unlocked the secrets of DNA, but they—along with a third scientist, Maurice Wilkins—were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962 for "solving the molecular structure of DNA." A long list of other names could be included among those who actually contributed to the "discovery" of DNA, including Linus Pauling, Oswald Avery, Erwin Chargaff, and Rosalind Franklin. Working separately and seldom in concert, these great minds—together with their colleagues—set out to uncover and simplify a very complex facet of living organisms. And they did just that.

 

How does the discovery and understanding of DNA relate to a newsletter for Christian leaders? Substantively, they have nothing in common. But in methodology there are parallels. Scientific discoveries and ministries develop over time. Both involve people. Both require a commitment of resources, talent, and effort. Both pursue positive results. But fame and fortune often follows one of the paths; humility and servanthood the other.

 

In Christian work there is no Nobel Prize to be won ... no millions of dollars in rewards ... no unending fame. There is a path to follow, a race to run, a finish-line to reach. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 3:1-9) he addressed an array of problems in the young church, including the problem of loyalty. Some in the church favored Paul; others favored Apollos. There was division everywhere. Paul scolded the church by saying, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." (v. 6). Wherever it is you work, a similar mentality may exist. I read somewhere that "the last seven words" of a dying church are, "We never did it that way before." Past history alone should not dictate future direction.

 

This week's "Tuesday Mornings" is entitled "Footnotes." It may be the most important epistle you read this week. Read on whenever you are ready, and then get ready. God has something in mind for you to do very soon.

 

Tom Barnard

A Senior Encourager

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Footnotes

Tom Barnard

 

riters know what footnotes are. Researchers refer to them extensively. Publishers are very aware of their importance. They are notes used to document cited ideas or to explain in greater detail a point in the text. Typically they refer to a source an author consulted when writing a book or an article for publication.

 

I like to refer to some people as “history’s footnotes.” These are people of interest to the topic being discussed, but not central to the topic itself.  History is loaded with people who gained neither the fame nor the fortune from a discovery, but without whom the discovery would have been delayed.

 

Here is one: his name was Lewis Latimer. Do you know what discoveries he was intimately connected with? Here is a clue: He helped make famous both Thomas A. Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. Do you know who he was now? Here is what we know about him.

 

Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts on September 4, 1848. His parents were black runaway slaves who migrated to Massachusetts from Virginia in 1842. His father, George, was captured by his slave owner, who was determined to take him back to Virginia. Eventually the Massachusetts Supreme Court intervened, and George was purchased by abolition supporters who set him free. Lewis was his first son.

 

Following a tour of duty with the United States Navy during the Civil War, Lewis Latimer gained a position as an office boy with a patent law firm in Boston, earning $3.00 a week. His sketches and line drawings gained the attention of his employers, and Lewis was quickly promoted to the position of draftsman and later to the position of head draftsman.

 

In 1874 Latimer was sought out as a draftsman by a teacher for deaf children. The teacher had created a device and contracted with Lewis to draft the drawings that were required for a patent application. The teacher was Alexander Graham Bell, and the device was later called a telephone. Latimer worked frantically to complete the drawings, which were submitted on February 14, 1876—a few hours before a similar device was submitted by Elisha Gray. Gray was another of those footnotes of history.

 

In 1880, following a move to Bridgeport, Connecticut, Latimer was hired as assistant manager and draftsman for a lighting company owned by Hiram Maxim—a manufacturer of lighting devices and a rival to Thomas Edison. The earliest light bulbs had two main weaknesses—a short life-span and insufficient candle-power. Latimer discovered a way of lengthening the life-span of a light bulb by encasing the filament in a cardboard envelope that prevented the carbon from breaking, making it cost effective. Several of his patents led to improvements in the electric light bulb, but because his discoveries came while he was employed by Hiram Maxim, he gained no significant windfalls.

 

But he was undaunted in his pursuit of excellence. Eventually he was hired by the Edison Electric Light Company, serving as the chief draftsman and patent expert. Later he wrote the world’s most thorough book on electric lighting at the time, Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison System. He gave oversight to the installation of the first electric plants built in Philadelphia, New York City, and Montreal. The Edison Electric Lighting Company eventually evolved into what is known today as the General Electric Company. Latimer became a key footnote to lighting history.

 

But he never sought for riches—just excellence in everything he did. He died on December 11, 1928; he left behind a legacy of achievement for the world to admire.

 

In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus had this to say to one achiever: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21) The lesson here: No one is a footnote with Jesus.