Boot Camp

In 1966 I went through Army Boot Camp at Ft. Benning, Georgia. It was exhausting, agonizing and sobering. But you couldn't become a soldier without this preparation. In his new book, Boot Camp, Jason Hardin brings into print valuable spiritual training for men. The author takes the instruction from Scripture and presses the truth toward the hearts of men - with strategy for the battle, challenge, warning, motive and confidence building.

The military allegory is consistently used to convey to men the value of godly integrity. He tackles the relevant issues of debt, pornography, leadership and family responsibility, directly from the text of Scripture, but through a military allegory that maintains good interests and helpful connections. You visit the battlefield of David and Goliath, sit in the classroom of Joseph and discover new places and like Currahee.

Men are invited to listen and trust God to "rediscover the divine inscription, to ... press it onto our hearts, and to unashamedly bear the image of our Father to his glory." This strikes at the heart of one of the great needs of our time, the development of godly men.

I like the specification of Jason's work. This is much more than just saying "men should be good and not bad." This work uses Scripture to define good and bad in practical detail. There are specific chapters on selfishness, sexual immorality, idolatry, jealousy, anger, sins of the tongue and hypocrisy. In his study of the Ephesians six passage, he helps men put on their armor and learn how the equipment works to defend personal integrity and defeat enemy assaults.

Get this book for your teenage boys. Give this to young husbands. Conduct a class of men and generate healthy discussion about being a real man.

Men (of whatever age) who seek integrity, discipline and hope, should read this book, study it and teach it. I highly recommend Boot Camp: Equipping Men With Integrity for Spiritual Warfare (www.dewardpublishing.com). Look for other books to follow in this series.