The eCrozier

Fred Kaplan’s new book entitled, The Insurgents, tells the story of how the American military changed its approach to the Iraqi war based on a counterinsurgency strategy. After much failure, the military acknowledged that it needed to engage in a different kind of warfare. In the first years of the Iraqi occupation the standard approach had been to go in with overwhelming force, bash down doors, and kill as many of the enemy as possible. Often this resulted in the killing of civilians and the complete destruction of people’s property. This made the population enraged and simply created more enemies. The counterinsurgency strategy, as Kaplan writes, was focused on cultural/religious sensitivity, earning the trust of the people, and being committed to their welfare and safety. The military called this: “winning the hearts and minds of the people.”

The title of the book doesn’t refer to a group of Iraqis. It actually refers to American military leaders who had to overcome the entrenched mindset of the top generals by challenging the long-standing military dogma that only knew of one way that warfare worked. These military leaders approached the challenge as if they were fighting a land war in Europe with the old Soviet Union. The Insurgents were younger officers willing to question that approach and let real experience and the context on the ground guide their actions. They jettisoned the old, standard ways because they were not working and would never work in the new context of Iraq.

It occurs to me this is a lesson for the Church. In using the example of the Iraqi war, I don’t want to get sidetracked by debating its efficacy. That is not my point in using this example. My point rather is that we as a church need some of our own insurgents, people who are willing to question the assumptions about how we engage in mission. Conservatives believe that they can simply repackage their tactics, put a smile and a latte on their message of hellfire and damnation, and all will work out fine for the Church. Liberals do their own repackaging, desiring to water down the Gospel’s call to radically follow Jesus, thinking that will be less offensive, and hoping that will bring in more people to pay church bills.

Both, in my opinion, are still fighting the equivalent of a European land war with the Soviet Union. The Church must address the Gospel of Jesus to people’s lives as they truly are in this anxious and confusing culture. Scaring them with Hell or implying it does not matter how they live has not and will not produce any fruit. We need our own counterinsurgency, a new Christian way that calls everyone to the radical path of Jesus; one that unashamedly confesses that Jesus is both Savior and Lord, but one that speaks clearly and truthfully to the unchartered waters the people of our culture are now in.

The temptation will be to go back to what is known and comfortable. For conservatives that will mean just doubling down on the Ozzie & Harriett worldview that will never be again. For liberals, it will mean hoping people will be a bit nicer, more tolerant of others who differ, and more generous. No wonder fewer and fewer people are listening to either voice. They know in their hearts that neither one is compelling or truthful.

+Scott