Jesus Was An Airborne Ranger by John McDougall

The Raid that Rescued Us.  The Mission that Defines Our Lives.  

You are trapped behind enemy lines. You feel it every day. Powerful forces want to destroy you and those you love. Completely surrounded, you see no means to escape. 

Sadly, the Jesus we often picture is too timid to help—more like a daytime talk show host than a dangerous Rescuer. 

Who would follow—much less risk everything—for such a leader?  

Get ready to see Jesus like you’ve never seen him before—a battle-scarred Combatant who stared death in the face and won. This is no Sunday-school Jesus, meek and mild. This is the Warrior Christ who has descended from the heavens, defeated the Enemy, and rescued humanity. Now, he calls us to continue his mission and fight for others—our families, our communities, and the world.

In Jesus Was an Airborne Ranger, Army Chaplain John McDougall offers an alternative to the soft, gentle caricature of Jesus. Only the Warrior Christ can impact our broken world. And only in following him can you find the life of purpose you’ve always wanted.

SUIT UP. It’s time to enter the fight with the first and greatest Airborne Ranger.

My review:

   This book has an intriguing title, but the book is not saying Jesus was actually an airborne ranger. The idea of the book is that too often we present a Jesus who seems like a meek little wimp, when he was far from that. The author has run into many guys who just couldn't relate to the Jesus that they were presented with, so he wrote a book to show that Jesus wasn't at all a wimp, but was far from a wimp.

  The author uses several stories from his experiences in the military and stories from the Bible to show the Christian life is not for wimps, and the Savior we serve was a mighty warrior, not a quiet meek guy that so many people want to portray Him as. Each chapter ends with an "After action review" that has questions and points to think about from the chapter.

  The book is interesting and well-written. In addition to getting his points across, the author also gives an interesting glimpse into life in the military and his work as a chaplain.

About the author:

John McDougall is a US Army Chaplain and a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan. Since graduating from West Point in 2000, he has served over 10 years in Airborne and Ranger assignments including the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the 82nd Airborne Division and the 75th Ranger Regiment. He was inspired to write "Jesus Was an Airborne Ranger" while returning from a training mission with his Rangers. Interestingly, he wrote the book while deployed in Afghanistan with a Ranger Battalion.


Jesus Was An Airborne Ranger is available from Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing.

Thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah for the review copy.