-
Archive of "Selection" Category
What’s In A Name?
Hey! I changed the look and name on this site? What gives? Like most significant, spiritual breakthroughs in my life, I got a thought while getting out of the shower. It boils down to this: I don’t want to put an obstacle in the way of someone who might be touched or blessed by what we (I say "we" because your comments truly shape this site) write on this site. Anyone who spends any time here realizes that there is no, "We need to shoot missles at the devil!" nonsense, but why even give off the stink of it?
I’ve long since quit the notion that everything I write must draw upon some military parallel, so the name at the top of the page no longer matched the full content. Of course, this message is still in my heart and I’ll still be advancing the military special operations parable whenever I sense the inspiration.
As far as the organization, The Special Forces Group, is concerned – we’re still alive and well. If this is the first you’re reading about it, click this link to check it out. You can still get here using, www.thespecialforcesgroup.com for the next 90 days or so, but as of now the official site URL is www.scottbane.com.
I’m blessed by the connection we share through this site. Peace.
Still Uncertain
I’m still meditating on this notion of Uncertainty. I said in a podcast, titled Uncertainty Part 1, that this is a tool in God’s hand used for pruning us and making us more fruitful. But pruning sounds so nice. It actually means to cut or to cut back. Uncertainty can cut away at some well-hidden stuff within us.
I started thinking along these lines when I read that elements of uncertainty and the anxiety it produces were specifically designed into the process of selecting members of Delta Force. In other words, it wasn’t just the physical demands that had to be met, each hopeful candidate had to endure the mental and emotional torture of never knowing what was coming next, when he would be given a break, or if he was succeeding or failing.
My meditation around the concept of Uncertainty has brought me to a new perspective regarding God’s Word. For quite a while now Deuteronomy 8:3 has been a significant passage to me.
[The Lord] humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
What does it mean to live by “every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD?” I guess my interpretation of that has always been that God wants us to learn how to quote Scripture at the problems that afflict our lives. That’s what it seemed to me Jesus was doing in Luke chapter 4 when he used this verse against the temptation in the wilderness. Believe me, I still confess the Word of God and use it to encourage myself during times of struggle or temptation, but I think this verse means so much more.
Take it in concert with what Hebrews 1:3 says about Jesus, that he is “upholding all things by the word of His power…” And John 6:63, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
Here’s how I’m handling my own season of Uncertainty:
Lord, my life is in your hands. I’ve given myself to you and I trust you to hold things together. I don’t understand it all right now. I’m not sure where I am in the whole “scheme of things,” but I know that my life does not consist of what I can see and hear and smell and touch and taste. My life is the word that you speak. You are holding things together, not me!
I’m going to keep talking about this at www.sfgpodcast.com but if you have your own comments or experiences, I’d love for you to post a comment here. Let’s build a dialogue and see how we end up helping each other.
Peace.
SJBUncertainty
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (or Delta Force) was given official life on November 21, 1977, by order of Headquarters, Department of the Army. Delta Force would be a compact, highly skilled, and versatile unit able to undertake and execute difficult and unusual "special" missions. To select its candidates, Delta deliberately added elements of confusion and uncertainty designed to breakdown self-confidence. The Delta Force candidate would be dropped off in a remote area with directions to proceed cross-country alone and on foot to a distant point on the map, carrying a heavy rucksack. Without a time frame, only "Get there quickly," he was left to work against the clock without knowing what standard he was expected to meet. On arrival, hours later, he was curtly given a new destination. This went on for as long as the selection staff wished. For the candidate, there was no finish line; he kept going until he was told to stop.
They were never given an indication they were doing well; in fact, often they were deliberately led to believe that they were failing, just to make continuing that much more difficult. Many hard men cracked under treatment like this. If the physical demands didn’t defeat them, the uncertainty did. Some foundered because they couldn’t cope with operating alone in the wild for days on end. Their judgment failed them. Many of those who failed did so because they chose to give up (Information taken from Inside Delta Force, by Eric L. Haney, pp. 1-3 and Guests of the Ayatollah, by Mark Bowden, pp. 112-115).
There is no room in the walk of faith for self-confidence. I’ve long believed that and often said it, but I’m only now coming to appreciate its truth. I’m not sure if you can do this – maybe the fear is too intrinsic to human nature – but try to evaluate your own ability to handle uncertainty. I’ll try to share a bit of my own story, in hopes that it can provide you with some tools and some insight. I have come to realize that I was heavily dependent upon familiarity and certainty. Nearly all of my decisions were made, one way or another, to provide me with the most certain and familiar surroundings. For the sake of establishing a pattern, let’s start with me life after high school. I chose the college I attended based on the fact that I already knew several people going there and would have "built-in" friends as soon as I arrived. In my junior year, I had to select a church to serve for a summer-long ministry internship. I chose a church in my home town, partly so that I could live at home and keep myself surrounded by the familiar. After graduation I came to work, full-time for the very same church that hosted my internship. A short time later, I got married to a girl I met at age 12 – the only girl I ever seriously dated or had any real interest in. We rented our first apartment in a place owned by a guy we knew through the church and eventually bought our first house from good friends and about 20 seconds down the road from my parents and the house I grew up in.
Not that any of those decisions were "bad" or wrong – especially the one about the girl I married! – but can you see the undercurrent of familiarity in each move? In the situations that I noted above, it wasn’t as though I consciously chose one way or another based on the most comfortable and familiar setting. I prayed and talked to people I trusted. I spent time thinking about each decision. The grip of the familiar was subtle and below the surface. It had a pull on me that I didn’t recognize until I finally started leaning against it.
When we read the Gospels, about the calling of the disciples, the whole process is shrouded in uncertainty. It seems that in many cases Jesus said nothing more than, "Follow me," and people quit their jobs, left everything behind and followed him. There was no discussion about "how long," or "where to." Jesus just invited them to come with him.
Here’s a question: Is it possible to follow Jesus without ever leaving the comforts of a familiar certainty? I’m not totally ready to answer that question, but my current place of experience and revelation tells me, "no." It’s possible to love Jesus and believe in Jesus, but I think if we’re serious about following Jesus, we will be pulled away from our comfortable familiarity. To jump back into the Delta Force illustration, the guys who were broken by the uncertainty of the selection process and decided to give up didn’t leave the military. They weren’t punished for deciding not to continue. They went back to units in the "regular Army" and completed full, productive careers as soldiers.
Maybe it comes down to an issue of fruitfulness. Jesus describes the situation in John 15. If you stay with him, you’ll bear fruit. If you bear fruit, the Father will come along and prune you, so that you’ll be able to bear more fruit. I think one of the greatest methods of pruning available to the Father is uncertainty.
I’m interested to see your comments and experience along these lines. I’m going to build upon this subject of uncertainty in the SFG Podcast. I hope you’ll listen in at www.sfgpodcast.com.
Peace.
SJBThe Precious from the Vile (Part 2)
This concept of being able to take something precious from a vile situation is all about redemption. This post is going to diverge from the path slightly. I’ve been meditating on redemption all day, and I want to say a few things about it here. I hope it draws some more feedback and insight from all of you.
The fact that God redeemed our lives from destruction through the Lord Jesus Christ is what makes our lives unique in all creation. I’ve heard it said on many occasions by many well-educated Christian scholars that the uniqueness of humanity is that we have been designed as free moral agents. We have the power of choice and free will. I can’t disagree with that more!Psalm 8:4 says, “What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?”
Why has so much been made of the fact that we have a “free will?” So what? Your dog has a free will. She can choose to poop in the house, chew on your shoes and scratch up the couch even if you tell her repeatedly not to do those things. Do you suddenly gain some deep love and admiration for your dog because she could “do what she wanted to do?” Of course not! As human beings, God has given us a living soul. We have a mind, a will and we have emotions. But does that make us unique? Many professors and theologians interpret our human position under God as “free moral agents” by saying,
“God wanted a people who could choose whether to love Him or not, not robots or slaves.“
In other words, their conclusion is that the uniqueness of mankind in God’s creative plan is the ability to choose. I have grown increasingly uncomfortable with this explanation for man’s distinctiveness. After the creation of man, God says, “This is very good” (see Genesis 1:31). What is “very good” about the ability to reject someone who infinitely loves you and respects you? Is that what God was aiming for when he made men and women? Besides, God already had beings that could choose whether or not to have a relationship with Him.
Lucifer and one-third of the angels of Heaven acted on their ability to reject God’s offer of relationship (see Revelation 12:4; 7-9 and Isaiah 14:12-15). There is nothing “very good” about this ability. “Free” should not be understood as “free to do what I want,” or “free to do as I choose.” This description of “free” describes the choices and freedom of the angelic beings. Our freedom far greater; we have a better nature than the angels.
Hebrews 1:13 says in part, “To which of the angels has [God] ever said…” God has said things to us and ordained things for us that angels never had available. So we have the ability to “choose” to reject God… so what? Does that make us free? Does that make us special? How does that make us unique in the scope of God’s creation? Angels can reject Him if they want to. There is one, primary ability given to humanity that is not given to any other created thing, even angels. Revelation 12:10 says that Lucifer (Satan) has been cast down and will never be restored to his position in Heaven. As a matter of fact, he has already been sentenced and is doomed to an eternity in the lake that burns with fire (see Revelation 20:10). His “freedom” and his choice to reject God has resulted in eternal bondage and torment. What we have to understand is that our unique “freedom” is so much greater than a freedom to choose or reject. God has already been through the heartache of being rejected by His created beings, the angels. There is nothing “very good” about that ability. It is a carnal and even devilish thing to take pleasure in your “power” to choose and cut off a person who loves you and cares for you.
I don’t think God takes any pleasure in being “chosen” by mortals, as if there were any other options. Jesus reminds His disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (see John 15:16). It is God who does the choosing, my friends, not us. First John chapter 4 tells us that we don’t love God first, He loves us first (see verse 10). Any love we “choose” to show God is merely a response to the love He has already lavished upon us. It is not the ability to choose that makes humans unique in God’s creation and it is not the ability to choose that makes mankind free.
The unique gift given to mankind alone in God’s entire created universe is redemption. What was it that got Lucifer thrown from Heaven? Pride… the desire to exalt himself above the throne of God. Are there any humans outside of Jesus who have lived free of this very same sin? Haven’t we all tried to exalt ourselves at one time or another? What makes us different from the fallen angels…? Redemption and only redemption. God has made us free, free to return to Him. This is the nature of freedom, the freedom to be restored.
Remember the Prodigal Son? When he realized how far he had fallen he decided to go home and beg for a spot as a servant. He once reveled in his right to “choose,” and consequently reject his father, but he now finds himself in greater bondage than he could’ve ever imagined. Don’t be sucked into the trap of believing that God is pleased by your ability to choose or reject Him. This lie will lead you into such self-inflicted misery you will not know how to escape.
God is not pleased with your ability to choose Him; God is pleased by your faith that He has chosen you! (see Hebrews 11:6)
The Prodigal Son could beg to be treated as a servant all he wanted, it would never happen. He’s a son! Never forget that his father rushes out to meet Him and embraces him before he ever says that he’s sorry. This is what the Apostle Paul means when he says that it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance (see Romans 2:4). If it seems as though you chose God, it is only because He first chose you and opened the way for you to return to Him. If it feels like you decided to love Him, it is only because He first poured His own special love upon you. Redemption is what sets us apart. Restoration is what makes humanity unique and free. It is not our choices. It is that despite our choices God is always willing to welcome us home. Psalm 37:24 says, “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down” (NKJV). You won’t be utterly cast down like the devil and his demons. You are unique; you’re human; you are free – free to be redeemed. Free to be chosen.
I believe that this is God’s way of taking the precious from the vile. He refuses to give us up to the “vileness” of this life. No matter what you’ve ever done or what you’ve ever thought, God still wants you! I know that this didn’t make any connections or illustrations about military Special Operations, but this was just burning in my heart. I will, of course be continuing to unfold the Special Forces parable, but I hope you all get into this.
Peace.
SJBThe Precious from the Vile (Part 1)
The infamous, Black Hawk Down incident in Mogadishu, on October 3-4, 1993, forever changed the planning and practices of the Special Operations Command. Although the overall mission had many successes, it did claim the lives of 19 American service members and left one pilot as a hostage to the Somali warlord, Aideed. It also forced the end of America’s military invovlement in Somalia. The sacrifice of those brave warriors has now helped to save the lives of hundreds of their brother, Special Operations warriors. The lessons of “what to do,” and “what not to do,” weren’t learned from books. Subsequent Special Operations training could now be filled with gritty experience, battlefield realities that were purchased with blood.
There is something about “being there,” or actually having to get through some traumatic experience that can’t be replaced by anything else. It’s experience… but it’s more than experience. I believe that no matter what a person goes through, the Lord has a desire to redeem it. He wants to use it to advance the gospel. I think that there is an open invitation from the Lord to serve Him in a Special Forces capacity. In fact, I think that there are a lot more people the Lord would use to help others in this way, but they don’t ever get there because of one critical missing discipline.
As I’ve been meditating on and living off of this thought for the past several months, there is one clear piece that either qualifies or disqualifies a person from the ranks of spiritual Special Forces. Remember, it is our personal level of spirituality that determines our usefulness to the Lord and our helpfulness to others.
So with that in mind, what is this one, make-or-break discipline needed for Special Forces service? Here it is: Are you willing and able to remove the precious from the vile? Can you take something productive out of failure? Can you acquire some new skill or knowledge from something painful or distressful? Can you grab onto Heaven in the midst of hell-on-earth? The answer to all of these “Can you” questions is an emphatic, “Yes!” The real question, I guess, is “Will you?”
Let me just share why I believe in this one discipline so vehemently. The phrase, “precious from the vile” comes from Jeremiah 15:19. In speaking to what it will take to bring Israel back from captivity and the brink of destruction, the Lord tells them that if they can “…remove the precious from the vile, then you shall be as My mouth.” The Lord makes this discipline of pulling something virtuous out of the grips of something nauseating the criteria to become used as His mouth-piece. In other words, if you want to speak on behalf of and in the authority of the Lord, you’ve got to be willing and able to draw the redemptive experience out of the trials and tribulations of this life.
I have some examples that I want to share with you – some ways to help you see and receive this – but blogs are not supposed to be one-way. I’m going to leave it at this for now. I’ll write a “Part 2″ on this theme, but first let me hear from you. Post your stories or your questions and let’s talk about this a little bit. If you have any questions that you want to address personally to me, email me at thespecialforcesgroup@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you and I’ll help any way that I can.
Peace.
SJB
