Do Green Berets Really Make Disciples?

One More Thought from the Green Berets:

            When I was eighteen years old I joined the United States Army Special Forces.  There were two months of Basic Training at Fort Polk, LA.  Two months of Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood, MO.  One month of Airborne School at Ft. Benning, GA.

            Then we traveled by bus to Fort Bragg, NC.  We spent several weeks in Pre-Phase Training running, hiking, and swimming.  In the fall of 1974 I went to Camp Mackall.  After one month of Phase One twenty-eight of us returned to Ft. Bragg and began Phase Two.  We studied demolition and construction.  Blowing things up was much more fun, and faster, than building them.  Then in Phase Three it was back to Camp Mackall for our guerilla warfare training.  After ten months of insanity I was awarded a red flash for my Green Beret and assigned to A-732 in the 7^th Special Forces Group.

            I thought I knew a lot but quickly realized I knew very little.  After joining my team, I discovered the true genius of Special Forces.  Many military units do amazing things.  Each has its own unique mission.  I deeply respect them all.  My oldest friend served on Submarines.  He still won’t talk about where he went and what he did.  Another friend went to the CIA.  Yet another did martial arts and knife training with the Navy Seals.  My adoptive son John joined the Navy to be a Dental Technician but ended up as a Medic in Dessert Storm One with NM CB-40.  Another good friend never flew anywhere or did anything with the Flying Tigers.  LOL

            It turns out Green Berets are teachers.  They can do all the cool military stuff.  They run, jump, swim, shoot, and blow things up.  More importantly,  they train others to do it.  Twelve Green Berets can recruit and train an indigenous force anywhere in the world.  That is why they are called “Force Multipliers.”  It is why warlords and tyrants fear them.  Most soldiers fight wars.  Green Beret’s start revolutions. 

            Once I joined A-732 I learned the Captain was training a Lieutenant to lead his own team.  The Team Sergeant was training the Intel Sergeant to lead his own team.  Senior Weapons was training Junior Weapons.  Senior Commo was training Junior Commo.  The Senior Medic was training the Junior Medic and the Senior Engineer was training me.    Everybody was training somebody to take over their job.  In the afternoons we would often meet in our classroom and practice cross training one another.  What an amazing strategy for recruiting, training, and leading an indigenous force.  It sounds a lot like what Jesus Christ did when He came to earth and recruited twelve guys to be with Him.  They gathered a larger ring of 120 but Jesus never took His eye off the inner circle.  At the center of the circle were Peter, James, and John.  Jesus birthed a revolution.

            The Green Berets got their structure from Exodus 18 and their Mentoring style from Jesus Christ.  It is time for the church to understand and reclaim The Method of the Master.  The church must reclaim her Disciple Making heritage and work for the day when everybody is training somebody.  And somebody is training everybody to train somebody else.