Chad Williams (1)

Because of all my book reviews people keep asking me,“James could you please recommend a memoir about a member of U.S. special forces who turns Christian evangelist?”

Most of the time this question elicits a blank stare from me. I’m not a military guy and the closest I’ve come to the Navy Seals is watching reruns of NCIS on late night TV. I have a brother-in-law that made an attempt at the Green Berets (wanting to be a chaplain’s assistant so he could be a ‘warrior for God’) but personality and conviction would make me a poor choice for any sort of military service.

But now I have read a memoir by a former Navy Seal describing in detail his life, the challenge of Seal training and the strength of will that saw him through, his conversion to Christianity and the obstacles he faced, what he could actually tell us about the missions he was on as a SEAL and his dedication to evangelism both in the Seals and afterwards. This is the story of Chad Williams, the book, Seal of God(Get it?).

“But James, is it any good?”

There are things I like and things I didn’t. I am predisposed to like stories about God turning lives around and this is one of those stories. As a wee lad, Chad Williams was a bit of a troublemaker and very competitive. When he wasn’t getting into trouble and partying too hard, he excelled at Baseball and skateboarding (even had a Vans sponsorship). When he decided to become a Seal he set his eye on the prize and trained full force. His dad put him in contact with Scott Helvenston, former Seal, to help train him (actually the original goal seems to have been to weaken Chad’s resolve by showing how difficult Seal training was). Scott became a mentor, friend and ‘like a second father’ to Chad.

Scott went to Iraq to work a security detail he was killed on the streets of Fullujah. Chad saw this and felt evil enter him. Driven by rage and wanting revenge, his desire to become a Seal became an obsession. He coasts through Basic training in the Navy and completes the grueling Seal training.

This was Chad’s life goal and he though it would love his new found status and would feel complete. Instead he felt empty and when he was home for weekends from the Seals he would drink and fight and engage in self destructive behavior. But he goes to an evangelistic crusade and becomes a Christian and his life radically changed.

However, this isn’t a Pollyanna tale either. He begins to live for Christ and live his life out of Christian convictions, but this brings really challenges to his life. His girlfriend doesn’t understand. He suffers a cruel hazing from fellow Seals because he won’t go out drinking and to strip clubs anymore (evidently the military isn’t too tolerant of alternative lifestyles). His fellow service men wonder if he has what it takes to be a Seal anymore and he ends up having to switch Seal teams to allay some of the tension. But he grows in Christian conviction, becomes an evangelist and gets the girl. A happier ending could not be conceived.

“I get it, nice story. But what didn’t you like?”

There is a matter of tone. Chad is a competitive guy and he’s proud of all he accomplished. Along the way he comments about the strength of his will and his physical condition. It is though he wants to prove you can be a Christian and a tough guy. This kind of rubs me the wrong way.

“You’re just jealous because your idea of athletic accomplishment is not being picked last in a pick up basketball game.”

Ouch. Yes that’s true. On a more serious note, these sorts of books make me worry about the blend between God and Country sort of Christendom. For Chad, his devotion to Christ is of a different order than his military duty, even bringing about opposition from his fellow troops. On the other hand, the climax of the book has Chad pinned down in an ambush in Fallujah (where Scott Helvenston was killed). He is able to return fire and get he and his men to safety. This proves that he could be a Christian and still kill the enemy if he has to.

While I lean in the direction of Christian pacifism, I lack the courage and conviction to say I am a total pacifist. On the other hand, proving that you can be a Christian and fire a machine gun in the ally is not a victory for the Christian faith. While Chad is open about the psychological impact of training, there is silence about the impact of actual combat. Similarly, Chad criticizes those who think Iraq was all about the oil and not about freedom (after all he’s been there so he knows). I don’t trust his political analysis and am afraid that a lot of what he says here makes him end up glorifying war and the war machine (though that isn’t his stated purpose).

But as a personal story of what God can do in someone’s life this is a good book. It is a quick light read and Chad is a likable enough guy.

Thank you to Tyndale for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for this review… (altro)

First off, let me say that I do not often read nonfiction, and even less often is the nonfiction I read centered on Christianity-based thoughts and ideas.

Being relatively new to Christianity myself, sometimes I find Christian-based works obtrusive and, for lack of a better word, pushy. With SEAL of God, this was not the case. While there is a Bible quote at the beginning of each chapter, and more references in the later chapters, it was unobtrusive and I was able to become absorbed in the story in a way that few others have been able to grab me.

Chad Williams' accounts of what basic training and advanced SEAL training entailed were descriptive enough that I could feel as though I was going through it with him. Of course, it may have helped that I had worked out for the first time in many years yesterday, so my muscles were sore and achy as I was reading! But seriously, I could imagine the pain and physical and emotional strain that one would go through in that kind of environment.

With the details of his rebellious childhood and achieving a goal, only to find it was not good enough, I was able to relate to all of those points. I was your classic overachiever as a child, always having to one-up myself, and sometimes, I still struggle with that even today.

When Chad accounts what happened that night at church, when it was intended to be just a rouse to get to stay another night just so he could continue his partying and what actually happened was a revelation and a change of life, I felt like I was there with him. When I found my way to church, it was because it was what I thought would make other people happy, and was just going along for moral support for my husband. Somewhere along the way, things just clicked for me, and the message had sunk in.

Not long after that, I struggled to find what God's purpose for me was, and yet, as I stopped struggling, the answer became very clear. My journey to faith is not much different from Chads, and I felt that I was able to relate on a personal level to a man I had never met. I literally had chills as I read this account of one man's life. I was so pulled in that I read this book in under 24 hours. For anyone who has struggled with what God is trying to tell them, I feel that this is a must read.

If I had to give criticism, it would be that I would have preferred for the footnotes to have been listed at the bottom of the page they appeared on, rather than on a separate page at the end of the book. By the time I found out what the footnote was related to, I had to go back and find where it originally appeared and re-read it to be able to relate it to the story. Thanks to Tyndale for a review copy.… (altro)

First off, let me say that I do not often read nonfiction, and even less often is the nonfiction I read centered on Christianity-based thoughts and ideas.

Being relatively new to Christianity myself, sometimes I find Christian-based works obtrusive and, for lack of a better word, pushy. With SEAL of God, this was not the case. While there is a Bible quote at the beginning of each chapter, and more references in the later chapters, it was unobtrusive and I was able to become absorbed in the story in a way that few others have been able to grab me.

Chad Williams' accounts of what basic training and advanced SEAL training entailed were descriptive enough that I could feel as though I was going through it with him. Of course, it may have helped that I had worked out for the first time in many years yesterday, so my muscles were sore and achy as I was reading! But seriously, I could imagine the pain and physical and emotional strain that one would go through in that kind of environment.

With the details of his rebellious childhood and achieving a goal, only to find it was not good enough, I was able to relate to all of those points. I was your classic overachiever as a child, always having to one-up myself, and sometimes, I still struggle with that even today.

When Chad accounts what happened that night at church, when it was intended to be just a rouse to get to stay another night just so he could continue his partying and what actually happened was a revelation and a change of life, I felt like I was there with him. When I found my way to church, it was because it was what I thought would make other people happy, and was just going along for moral support for my husband. Somewhere along the way, things just clicked for me, and the message had sunk in.

Not long after that, I struggled to find what God's purpose for me was, and yet, as I stopped struggling, the answer became very clear. My journey to faith is not much different from Chads, and I felt that I was able to relate on a personal level to a man I had never met. I literally had chills as I read this account of one man's life. I was so pulled in that I read this book in under 24 hours. For anyone who has struggled with what God is trying to tell them, I feel that this is a must read.

If I had to give criticism, it would be that I would have preferred for the footnotes to have been listed at the bottom of the page they appeared on, rather than on a separate page at the end of the book. By the time I found out what the footnote was related to, I had to go back and find where it originally appeared and re-read it to be able to relate it to the story. Thanks to Tyndale for a review copy.… (altro)

I always had a special interest for military-themed books (even though I don't read them very often) and this one was a freebie on Amazon, so there was really no reason not to grab this book. The only reason why I did not give it five stars is because of the ending: it really felt like the author was forcing his beliefs onto me, and I truly dislike it. This is one thing that I do not think most of the fervently religious people will ever understand: you don't just shove your religion in other people's face. This is contradictory to the idea of "freedom of choice" that they so strongly defend. For heaven's sake, just let me believe whatever I want!!
That being properly vented, I dare saying it was even a bit better than I expected. The story itself is very enjoyable and the author talks about several aspects of the military training to which I was completely oblivious: the ordeals, the risks, the psychological effects it has on people. So far, I had only seen war through news and video games, but reading reports of war written by someone who has actually been there and seen all sort of things is a different thing. It was also interesting to know more about how the Navy SEALs acted when they were not working (and I was actually disappointed to see that some of them are no better than reckless teenagers, even when they have families worried about them back home), how was their lives as civvies (or at least part of it), how was their relationship with their colleagues (even though I thought this part was a bit lacking, but given the personality Williams said he had, it wasn't anything I was not expecting).
Even after the book started to have a stronger religious appeal (which I usually dislike - and SEAL of God was no exception), the story did not go downhill as I imagined it was about to happen (well, at least not until the final pages, when he finally drops off his job as a Navy). In fact, the story got even more interesting because, aside the excessive Bible quotations, Chad's most difficult problems actually seemed to start at that point, and this is what I really wanted to know regarding a soldier in war: not how his faith was tested, but how he dealt with personal issues in the middle of the battlefield.
Overall, I'm glad to say that this is a book that was definitely worth reading. It was really tough to put it down. But I think that for my next war-related reading, I'll look for something with a lesser religious appeal, for the sake of my own sanity.… (altro)