John Paul Jones is best known for delivering that famous retort, “I have not yet begun to fight.” It was the fall of 1779, and his ship, The USS Bonhomme Richard had just taken a blast from the 50 gun HMS Serapis. The British commander asked if he would like to surrender. John Paul Jones wasn’t ready to do that. And of course, a few hours later, after some intense fighting, John Paul Jones sailed off in the HMS Serpis, having accepted the surrender of the British Captain and crew.
What I love even more than that story is what happened in April a year earlier. John Paul Jones executed the only attack on British soil of the Revolutionary War. On April 22, 1778 at around 11pm, John Paul Jones ordered his ship, the USS Ranger, to sail close to the half-moon shaped harbor of Whitehaven, England.
What amazes me is the audacity of his attack plan. He ordered two rowboats (yes, you read that correctly) to attack the sovereign nation of England. Jones was in one rowboat with 14 other crew members headed to take over the south fort of the harbor, and the other boat with 15 headed to take over the northern fort. The rowing was tough, and took 3 hours.
Jones and his crew made it to their destination, while the other boat returned to the Ranger after being spooked by a “loud sound.” I personally would be more afraid of Jones than any “loud sound,” and I certainly couldn’t imagine having to tell John Paul Jones that I turned around because something spooked me!
Well, Jones and his crew took over the southern fort and set it on fire. What they didn’t realize is that the docks were very dry and just waiting to burn! Not only did the southern fort burn down, but the fire spread all the way to the northern fort, and utterly gutted it.
We have some important lessons we can learn about encountering our culture from John Paul Jones. First off, Jones knew what and who he was serving. Because he loved freedom, and the people of the United States, he was willing to take a risk. As Christians we know who we serve. We have the joy of serving our God, and the people around us. What risks are we willing to take to serve those in our communities?
Also, John Paul Jones had no idea how ready that fort was to be attacked. I think too often we don’t consider how ready our culture is to have an encounter with the Gospel. Just like that wood was dried and ready to be lit on fire, people are dried out from a culture that says they are disposable, that is full of “friends” but not companions, that offers dozens of ways to communicate but doesn’t tell us anything we are yearning to know. People are longing for more. More depth, more meaning, more substance. They are ready for a blaze of hope and joy and purpose!
Try getting to know someone today, even getting to know a new name today. It’s worth the risk. As John Paul Jones famously said, “It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk, cannot win”
I learned the name of a guy putting new siding on the church office this morning. His name is Gus, and I pray that God can use our conversations to start a fire.