Recently I was leaving a men’s meeting at church when I overheard a couple of the men talking about going to a local shooting range. I ask one of them, who was a law enforcement officer, “why are you going to the range?” He looked a bit taken aback, paused, and then said, “to maintain my proficiency.” My quick, assured response, “wrong answer”, notably increased his bewildered look and curiosity. “What is the right answer?”, he asked.
My motivation for asking such a ‘blunt’ question comes from my own military/law enforcement experiences generally and specifically from my acquaintance with Chris Sajnog, a retired navy SEAL. Chris has authored a great book, How To Shoot Like a Navy SEAL. I contacted him after I came across an article he had written titled, What Are You Training For? Here are a few comments he made on our mindset for training. Please read them with a view to discipleship.
“Over the past few years, I’ve talked a lot about the technical aspects of combat training, but never thought to ask, why are you training? If it is to put holes in a paper target on a sunny day, then you’ll do fine and any paper target that comes your way is going down. But if it is to defend your loved ones or your country, you need to look deeper. A miss on a paper target may give you a lower score…but a miss on a guy who breaks into your house with intent to do you harm could mean you have failed yourself and your family. So, what are you training for?
If you don’t immediately know the answer or if it’s just to shoot fast, look cool, or pass the training evolution you will never have the drive to become a true warrior. Warriors arise from a strong motivation; a motivation to survive no matter what evils come their way…and that motivation is love. (Remember these nuggets? 1 John 3:16; John 15:12-13)
Love for the people in our lives is the reason true warriors train. We train for battle to make sure that we return to the ones we love. In combat you’re not fighting for a top score or bragging rights, you’re fighting to spare your wife the pain of crying over your grave as she grows old without you. You’re fighting so you can raise your children right and protect them from harm. Because if you die in battle, the permanent pain in their hearts will be worse than any temporary pain you feel in death.” Chris Sajnog
My Thoughts: If the enemy is able to take out, say a father with a moral failure/sexual sin/divorce, then that family will experience much the same pain that Chris spoke of from a combat death. So, leaving the meeting that night my answer to the man’s question was, “so you can go home to your family at night”. His bewildered look vanished and my answer was affirmed with a warrior-like hand clasp. The same principle applies to discipleship training and the same question Chris asked applies to Christian men…Why be intentional about discipleship?
In 2025 we must rid ourselves of the disease of mediocrity and cavalier attitudes toward discipleship. We have a very determined, evil, diabolical enemy but who is not invincible, 1 Peter 5:8. But our enemy is not to be approached like “paper targets on a sunny day”. Our mindset must be to increase our operational skill set in the use of our ‘mighty’ weaponry, and in “making disciples”! 2 Corinthians 10:3-4. A weapon is only a threat to an enemy when skillfully wielded by a warrior. This is “why” Jesus gave the command, “Go Make Disciples”!
Barney Barnes, 01-25-2025, Former Promise Keeper National Ambassador for the Military and Prisons