I joined the Navy right out of high school. After boot camp I was stationed on the guided missile destroyer USS Richard E. Byrd DDG 23 in Norfolk Virginia. I was a fireman apprentice assigned to the forward engine room. New recruits got to do all the grunt work like cleaning the bilges, scrubbing the deck plates or chipping and painting. But the worst job was cleaning the main condenser. This was done about once a year when the ship was in port for an extended period of time and not generating any power of its own (cold iron).
The main condenser sat under the main steam turbine which propelled the ship’s screws (propellers). It’s purpose was to cool the steam that turned the turbine back into water and pump it back to the boilers so that it could be made into steam again. There was an opening in the bottom of the ship which forced sea water though tubes in the condenser to cool the steam as it passed over them. So you can image that every thing passing under the ship was sucked up into the main condenser and jammed into those tubes which became basically cooked fish mush.
It fell to me as the new recruit to perform this necessary but vile job. I was just taking the last bolt out of the condenser hatch when Ensign Wachter came down the ladder. He had a pair of coveralls and began pulling them over his uniform. I ask, “Sir, what are you doing?” He said, “I’m going to help you clean the condenser so I will know what it’s like and how the cleaning is done.”
When I took the hatch cover off the smell was nauseating and took my breath. I went first into that black hole. Standing knee deep in mush I began scooping it out one bucket at a time and handing it to Ensign Wachter to empty. Then he took his turn inside the condenser.
I learned a valuable lesson that day about leadership from Ensign Wachter. Leadership comes by setting an example. A good leader will not ask someone to do something that they themselves are not willing to do. We see that in the example that Jesus set for us to follow. He hasn’t ask us to do anything that He would or would not do Himself. Following Jesus is not an easy task and neither is leading by Christian example. It’s not always neat and clean but it’s necessary. How can we lead others to Christ when we are not willing to follow Him ourselves?
Luke 5:11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him. (ESV)
Luke 5:28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed Him. (ESV)