Review
Anyone who has read the book 'Band of Brothers' by Stephen Ambrose, or has watched the HBO series of the same name, will recognise the name Dick Winters. A man who having won the respect of his men, continues to be respected by those who read about him all these years later.
Over the weekend i read Winters' book 'Beyond Band Of Brothers' . I would utterly recommend it, not only to those who are interested in WW2 & enjoyed Band of Brothers, but also to anyone who wants a good non-fiction book to read & learn from.
It gives further insight into Easy Company, their operations & the leadership of Dick Winters.
One blurb by H.R. McMaster says:
"Winters's leadership inspired his soldiers to fight courageously under the most difficult and challenging conditions of battle. . ."
Some Thoughts
Leadership
"The key to a successful combat leader is to earn respect, not because of rank, but because you are a man."
Anyone who has read the book 'Band of Brothers' by Stephen Ambrose, or has watched the HBO series of the same name, will recognise the name Dick Winters. A man who having won the respect of his men, continues to be respected by those who read about him all these years later.
Over the weekend i read Winters' book 'Beyond Band Of Brothers' . I would utterly recommend it, not only to those who are interested in WW2 & enjoyed Band of Brothers, but also to anyone who wants a good non-fiction book to read & learn from.
It gives further insight into Easy Company, their operations & the leadership of Dick Winters.
One blurb by H.R. McMaster says:
"Winters's leadership inspired his soldiers to fight courageously under the most difficult and challenging conditions of battle. . ."
Some Thoughts
Leadership
"The key to a successful combat leader is to earn respect, not because of rank, but because you are a man."
Major Dick Winters (page 147)
The issue of leadership is definitely worth our attention because many of the issues can be taken & gleaned from by Church leadership & specifically elders.
I guess one question to ask about our leaders is 'Would we follow them into battle?'
It is an important question because we are in a battle, and one that has greater consequences than any other war ever fought.
I cannot but respect the men of World War Two, it is easy to admire them & feel totally inferior to them. They had a fight to win & we, it seems so often, don't. We have lives of leisure & entertainment, not having any real purpose or goals apart from our joy.
But that is not the full truth, there is a Spiritual war, the Apostle Paul warns of this continually throughout his Epistles. It is a battle against sin & can only be fought with weapons of faith & means of grace given by Jesus to His people. One such means of grace & weapon is the Elder; The Leader; The MAN.
Prayer
Another section from which we can glean is when Major Winters talks about his prayer life:
"In my prayers before D-day, I had always thanked God for what He had done for the world in general and asked that others would be given a break in the future. I had also thanked Him for a lot of things that I now found to be insignificant. The only thing I asked for now was to be alive tomorrow morning and to survive another day. That was all that mattered - that was the only thing as far as wanting anything for myself. All other things had become extra, nonessential, and I could not be bothered or burdened with nonessentials. Not when battle was the payoff."
Major Dick Winters (page 115)
I guess one question to ask about our leaders is 'Would we follow them into battle?'
It is an important question because we are in a battle, and one that has greater consequences than any other war ever fought.
I cannot but respect the men of World War Two, it is easy to admire them & feel totally inferior to them. They had a fight to win & we, it seems so often, don't. We have lives of leisure & entertainment, not having any real purpose or goals apart from our joy.
But that is not the full truth, there is a Spiritual war, the Apostle Paul warns of this continually throughout his Epistles. It is a battle against sin & can only be fought with weapons of faith & means of grace given by Jesus to His people. One such means of grace & weapon is the Elder; The Leader; The MAN.
Prayer
Another section from which we can glean is when Major Winters talks about his prayer life:
"In my prayers before D-day, I had always thanked God for what He had done for the world in general and asked that others would be given a break in the future. I had also thanked Him for a lot of things that I now found to be insignificant. The only thing I asked for now was to be alive tomorrow morning and to survive another day. That was all that mattered - that was the only thing as far as wanting anything for myself. All other things had become extra, nonessential, and I could not be bothered or burdened with nonessentials. Not when battle was the payoff."
Major Dick Winters (page 115)
Certainly very challenging & something to consider carefully as we face the Spiritual war that Jesus has called us into!
Book Details
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Berkley Caliber; Reprint edition (6 May 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0425213757
ISBN-13: 978-0425213759
Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 15 x 2.5 cm
Book Details
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Berkley Caliber; Reprint edition (6 May 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0425213757
ISBN-13: 978-0425213759
Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 15 x 2.5 cm
