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February 04, 2005
Pesky General Tells the Truth and a Church Steps Up
Here's what General Hagee said, to explain comments made by Lt. Gen. James Mattis of the Marine Corps. "Lt. Gen. Mattis often speaks with a great deal of candor. I have counseled him concerning his remarks and he agrees he should have chosen his words more carefully. While I understand that some people may take issue with the comments made by him, I also know he intended to reflect the unfortunate and harsh realities of war."
So, what was that "unfortunate reality of war" that Gen. Mattis admitted in a moment of candor? Simple. He enjoys killing people. It's "hell of a hoot," in fact:
"Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot. ... It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right upfront with you, I like brawling."
Better news, yet. This general is now in charge of developing ways to better train and equip the Marines. And preparing for him the future recruits who find killing to be "hell of a hoot" is the Trinity Church of Nazarene:
It's Sunday morning at Trinity Church of the Nazarene and staff member Mark "Gunny" Hestand is on his belly behind a tree, an imitation M-16 in his hands, showing six teen-age boys in fatigues how to ambush an enemy.Hestand, 43, and a teen-age squad leader have been barking at the "soldiers" who are cranking out pushups and line sprints beside the church.
...
Thirty minutes later, the teens march into the church cafeteria in two single-file lines to the cadent commands of Smith. They gather around a table with Hestand and Bible study leader Tom Gilbert.
...
The teens are part of "Boot Camp," a youth group that mixes Marine Corps values and combat techniques with Bible study. The concept is the brainchild of Hestand, who started the group in 2001 to encourage youth involvement in the church. As far as he knows, Boot Camp is unique in the Christian world.
While some may find the juxtaposition of military and the church to be unusual, or even alarming, Hestand said he believes the two share key principles.
"We take the basic principles that are Christian and basic principles of warfare and we merge them," he said. "Our enemy is Satan. Our weapon is not an M-16, it's the Bible. We're trying to get them to be warriors for God."
Hestand lists the Marine values of honor, courage and commitment as analogous to Christianity.
"One of the reasons I chose the Marine style over other military branches is that almost anything they say you could replace the word 'Marine' with 'Christian,'" Hestand said.
Got that? "Marine" and "Christian" are interchangeable. If you are wondering how to get there, wrap your bible in a camouflage colors and paint your walls army green:
Framed marine posters hang on walls Hestand painted army green. He sits behind his desk on a weekday dressed in fatigues and boots. A G.I. Joe doll is displayed on a table. A Bible wrapped in a camouflage book cover rests next to his computer."My office looks more like a ROTC recruitment center than a radio station office," he said, laughing.
Morris and Hestand are well aware that Boot Camp is "way out of the box" of normal church programs, but the only complaint thus far has been from the occasional parent concerned about the marine-style
yelling of drill instructors, they say.Occasionally a parent will be uncomfortable with the use of toy guns. But Morris says it's in boys' nature to play with weapons and if it wasn't guns it would be sticks.
This aggressive and combative nature is at the heart of Boot Camp. Hestand and company say that men - particularly Christian men - have become domesticated, boring and divided from their natural instincts of adventure and drive to tackle challenges. The end result is a docile and unhappy man.
The idea that Christian men must be reshaped is straight from Eldridge's "Wild at Heart," which argues that man's wild heart is a mirror of God's and that man's three natural and worthy desires are to: fight a battle, live an adventure and rescue a beauty.
"Wild at Heart" has sold over a million copies since its 2001 release. It has sparked debate, but is used as a manual by many churches and is prominently displayed in Christian bookstores.
Isn't great to have a Church where the offices look like ROTC recruitment centers? They do need the help. The Marines have missed their recruiting goals for the first time in a decade. It turns out that parents have been more actively fighting the recruiters.
Posted by zeynep at February 4, 2005 02:06 PM
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Comments
"Blessed are the peacemakers
For they shall be called children of God"
Posted by: Jim Shanahan at February 4, 2005 05:51 PM
Two questions come to mind here:
What would Jesus do? and Why do they hate us?
Posted by: deang at February 4, 2005 08:11 PM
Last thing at night? "God, Country, Corps" at least, when I was at Boot Camp (May 7- Aug 1, 1997)
Both modern Christianity and modern Marine Corps emphasize, no, demand, strict obedience.
Good follower, do as ordered, good follower.
Posted by: Josh Narins at February 6, 2005 11:41 PM