Coker Palmer-Resilient Warriors Book Review
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Book Review-Resilient Warriors
H. Coker Palmer III (L29848037)
CPL645: Chaplain Resilient Leaders (B01)
Presented to Professor Paul Greer
February 24, 2024
Contents
Summary
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1
Critique
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3
Application
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4
Conclusion
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6
Bibliography
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ii
1
General Robert F. Dees has written a book for people to understand that life has many obstacles that will come. General Dees has had a comprehensive military career expanding through three decades, which has helped him see life’s adversity on and off the battlegrounds everyone finds themselves dropped into occasionally. This paper will examine the writing of General Dees by exploring his book Resilient Warriors
.
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This book review will focus on three areas to summarize, critique, and see how the book’s principles may be applied in the reader’s life. This review aims to inform the reader of the book’s contents and how the writer interprets the validity of the findings. This paper will also view the areas of agreement and disagreement the author has portrayed. The thesis of this paper is to evaluate the book Resilient Warriors and search for areas of agreement that can be applied in a person’s life during times of trauma.
Summary
Written over ten chapters, which introduce the reality of evil and trauma to an individual’s life, the book Resilient Warriors provides examples of bravery both on and off the battlefield of wartorn people’s lives and how their spiritual resiliency helped them recover from the impacts their experiences had. Dees states, “Evil empires do exist with evil leaders who perpetuate trauma, tragedy, and tribulation.”
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The introduction of evil being a part of everyone’s lives helps the reader understand that a peaceful world does not exist because the world has fallen due to the sins of humanity. The evil of the world weighing heavily on the godly should be a bonding experience, not a solitary one. Dees states, “Deep personal relationships, be they family or ‘friends who stick closer than a brother …’(Proverbs 18:24) are tremendously important in the Resilience Life 1
Robert F. Dees, Resilient Warriors, (San Diego, California: Creative Team Publishing), 2011.
2
Ibid, 37.
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2
Cycle.”
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Dees explains the importance of knowing the enemy of the Christian soul in his fifth chapter, where he states, “We shoot ourselves, others shoot us, the eighteen-wheeler hits us, and Satan attacks us.”
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Dees reveals the enemies and shows that trauma changes a person from who they were to their current selves. He further explains that to overcome the effects of the evil that attacks, a person can become bitter or better depending on their mindset and who they surround themselves with as friends.
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A person can splat like an egg or bounce back like a tennis ball with the right spiritual and mental attitude toward the tragedies of life.
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In concluding his book, Dees views the life and struggles of Jesus Christ and how He is the ultimate resilient Warrior.
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Dees states, “
The pragmatic truth is that a personal relationship with God through Jesus, a partnership with the indwelling and comforting presence of God’s Holy Spirit, and a strong expectation that God does and will provide comfort, wisdom, and strength through the pages of the Bible are incredibly relevant and provide practical means to prepare for trauma, weather its storm, and bounce back without getting stuck, to arrive at an even higher plane of performance and life fulfillment than ever before.”
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The theme of the entire book is summed up with the above statement: Christ is the example by which all resilient warriors must mirror in their lives. The next section will critique the book and examine areas of agreement or conflict from the reader’s viewpoint. Critique
There is an obstacle which must be overcome when reading this book. The military jargon and perspective are overwhelmingly prevalent throughout its pages. I have military 3
Dees, Resilient Warriors, 93.
4
Ibid., 88-91.
5
Ibid., 54.
6
Ibid., 72. 7
Ibid., 201.
8
Ibid., 204.
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experience and love the approach the book takes. I also can see how this book can be viewed as only for a person with the background of a soldier interested in perusing its pages easily. The military angle is difficult to circumvent. While stating this, I love how this book, once the flaw mentioned above is navigated, bonds all spiritual warriors by viewing the world as a battleground of spiritual warfare. The best example of overcoming the military perspective and into the civilian realm is when Dees shows the tribulations people will encounter in the first chapter. Dees gives real-world scenarios such as health problems, singleness, betrayal, and addiction to show the universality of trials in life.
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In the seventh chapter, Dees illustrates the importance of keeping an unbroken bond with God to weather the storms of life. Dees states, “Do not let your trauma drive you from your ‘first
love’ in Christ.”
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The quote paraphrases the disapproval Christ showed the church in Ephesus. God’s Word states, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love (Rev. 2:4, New
American Standard Bible 1995).” Christ wants the believer to keep Him close, and tribulations in
life attempt to divide the Christian from Christ. Dees shows that Christ must be held dear at all times. Bravo to the author for showing a practical revelation of the Bible’s principles.
Job and Jesus are often the focus of stories of affliction people remember when facing difficult situations. Dees does a wonderful job focusing on Joshua in the book’s ninth chapter. Dees explains how Joseph was afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down, but never was his spirit of love for God questioned.
11
Dees states, “Joseph was never crushed, despairing, forsaken, or destroyed through these challenging life experiences. In fact, after these iterations of
trauma, he learned and grew in wisdom and strength, maintaining his integrity, and was 9
Dees, Resilient Warriors, 39.
10
Ibid., 141.
11
Dees, Resilient Warriors, 194.
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ultimately appointed by Pharaoh as ruler over all of Egypt.”
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Dees gives an excellent example of
the feedback principle of his book with an example from the Bible. Joseph lived through all the Bounce Back principles described by Dees and overcame them because he knew his calling, enemy, friends, and equipment, deployed with the right mindset, and developed and rehearsed actions on contact.
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Selfishly, my favorite story in the book was in chapter ten when the Blackhawk helicopter hit the power lines and had to crash land. I was involved in a similar incident in 1997 at Fort Hood, Texas. We had catastrophic engine failures and needed to autorotate to a safe landing zone. We were lucky we were in the desert with plenty of soft sand to cushion our impact. I could not imagine experiencing the story of this crew in Macedonia and Bulgaria.
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The
next section will see the practical applications the book can bring into my life.
Application
God’s Word states, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil Eph. 6:10-11, NASB 1995).” Paul wrote to the church of Ephesus and demonstrated that they were spiritual warriors who must be prepared to defend their faith from the world’s evils. Dees states, “We are warriors, all of us. As warriors, we must be prepared. We can build bounce and increase resilience ahead of time before encountering the next tribulation and trauma that are sure to come.”
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As a Christian, the fallen world of sin will perennially fight to separate a Christian from their faithfulness, reliance, and trust in God. Dees gives a practical application by 12
Ibid.
13
Ibid., 191-192.
14
Ibid., 197.
15
Dees, Resilient Warriors, 69.
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5
showing that the world has not changed since the letters of Paul. All Christ followers should be prepared for the battle in their lives. Only through Christ will we prevail.
Another applicable point Dees demonstrates is that a battle buddy is essential in warfare and should be necessary for the Christian’s life. Dees states, “The need for deep relationships is universal. ‘No man is an island.’ We all need the unconditional love that springs from deep, authentic friendships; we likewise need to be agents of hope for others. That is how God made us.”I have had several “friends’ who abandoned me whenever I had been in difficult phases of life. It was not until I sought Christian friendships that my bond with people grew strong. The added benefit of trusting God more through relationships is an awesome reminder that God does not abandon us to be alone. God‘s Word states, “And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near (Heb. 10:24-25).” The world will constantly be at war, divided between good and evil until Christ’s return. Having a fellow warrior by my side will help in fellowship, discipleship, and accountability. Conclusion
Dee’s has written a book to help people commute through the battle-torn world. He draws
a map to direct the tattered lives of people who are weary from their trials. Dees explains that evil will persist, and a Christian will be a constant warrior who must adorn the Armor of God to bear the onslaught against good in the fallen world of humanity. He has done an excellent job of demonstrating how many people have persevered through their faith when their circumstances were dire and dark. Dees has shown that through faith, evil, though real, cannot win over the devoted Christian.
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Bibliography
Dees, Robert F. Resilient Warriors
. San Diego, California: Creative Team Publishing, 2011.
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