I recently listened to a lecture on 5th generation warfare. 5th gen warfare is a little hard to define. In fact, there is debate among some academics if it is a real thing or not. I suppose a short and very inadequate definition is that 5th gen warfare is defined as a war of ideals and narratives. This style of war is fought primarily in the information space. The warfare in the information space is not the ultimate objective, but rather a means to control the physical space and the people who live therein. This is most certainly a woefully inadequate definition, but it is a beginning place to understand 5th gen warfare. If you want to listen to the lecture you may do so by clicking 5th Generation Warfare: History, Modern Context, and (Some) Solutions.
As I was listening to this lecture it helped put into context the craziness we see in our world. While I do not agree with everything said in the lecture, I did find it fascinating and useful. I found it interesting that while 5th gen warfare is about struggles within the world in many ways it sounds like the attacks of the world, fallen human nature, and the powers of darkness against Christians and the church.
What was of special interest to us was the part of the lecture that addressed the best ways to prepare for and engage in 5th gen warfare. The advice is sound for society as a whole, but for those of us who are engaged in the Cause of Christ we need to hear and apply these principles. These five actions need to be a part of the spiritual disciplines for all of us to practice consistently.
Five ways to engage in and prepare for a spiritual life in our crazy world.
Take care of your mind. In a traditional war, soldiers had to take care of their weapons to make sure that they were operational at the time of battle. In the spiritual battle we fight this is even more important. In Romans 12, Paul says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Taking care of our mind is absolutely critical if we are going to be effective in campaigning for Christ. The world around us and the powers of Darkness near us will constantly attempt to compromise our minds and our mental perspective. The two best ways to make sure that our minds are in fighting form is by the community of faith and the Word of God.
Make enemy attacks irrelevant. The lecturer used the example of protests and riots as a way fifth generation warfare will be staged. As the saying goes, “Never waste a crisis and if necessary manufacture one”. As Disciples of Christ we need to make sure that we are not baited and drawn into unnecessary conflict. Not every hill is worth dying on, especially since you will only get to do that once. Much of Christianity's efforts have been expended fighting secondary battles. Avoiding the enemy’s field of conflict makes their offensive irrelevant and allows us to engage where our efforts are most effective.
Raise your Children. In 5th generation Warfare one of the high grounds that has to be won is the heart, mind and soul of our children. It would be impossible to overstate the amount of effort that the enemy has put into drawing children away from faith, family and God. Oftentimes, the church has been an inadvertent and unknowing accomplice. Fighting the resistance against the powers of Darkness may look more like going on a picnic and having to walk with our children than a heroic last stand in the heat of battle.
Grow your community. There are no Lone Rangers. Lone Rangers are easy to identify and easy to take out. The best resistance to the powers of Darkness will be more effective when it comes from the community. Developing a community is not something that you can do over the internet or that you can order off of a website. A strong community will take time to develop and mature, be supportive and be effective. We will not grow strong communities by seeing each other for an hour on Sunday morning. A cohesive fighting force, regardless of the style of warfare takes time to develop. Battles will be fought best by a group of people who know, love and will sacrifice for each other. Any believer who is not part of that kind of community is exactly where the enemy wants them to be. By the way, in times of crisis it will be too late to become a community.
Create white space. White space in military parlance is that open area across which an enemy must cross in order to engage you. It is in traditional military terms an open field that, if crossed, would become a killing zone for an advancing force. For those of us engaged in the conflicts of the Christian faith white space is the spiritual discipline of silence, which is almost entirely lost in American Christianity. For us it needs to be a time where we shut off the internet, social media, online shopping and even beyond that traditional media, music, and conversation so that in silence we can actually hear the Lord speak. If there are a thousand voices and 10,000 distractions it will be extremely difficult for us to hear the prompting of the Spirit. Embrace privacy, turn off the internet and, with nothing but your Bible, enjoy silence.
Much of what we talked about in these five approaches is almost completely foreign to contemporary Christianity. There are very few places in our busy, hectic and hurried faith that we can practice the kinds of things that will make us effective in the Cause of Christ
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