Book Review – Combat Ready
On Twitter I have been following David Wolstenholm (@PassaDave) and saw he published a book titled Combat Ready. I purchased this book when I found out that it was written by a veteran, for active duty members and veterans. I take interest in books where there is an attempt to ready service members and veterans with the Gospel of Jesus. This book proved to be worth the investment.
The book speaks to the military community well, using real life stories to illustrate points. These stories rang true to the extent they are able to transport the reader back to the Middle East. This authenticity is what makes this book work.
One of the highlights for me is his focus on the leadership angle of the military and church: “Proper leadership will generate an invigorated and faithful following.”[1] This emphasis on the leadership perspective allows the military person to understand there is a leadership need in the church and their skills can transfer there. It also puts pastors on a fair notice that there are leaders in their flock who understand good leadership and want it. They are willing to follow a good leader. For those who are serving, leadership is important and Wolstenholm gives it due diligence in this book.
My critique is more of a point of consideration than a true critique. During the first half of the book there were several times where I was not sure if Wolstenholm had a different theological background or if there was a misunderstanding in my reading. I took advantage of our Twitter connection and I reached out to him. He comes from a different faith tradition, which in turn accounted for the theological differences. If you are to buy this book to use with church members, you may want to take this into account. But this should by no means by a reason not to buy the book.
[1] John Wolstenholm. Combat Ready. (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2012). 13
