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Churches take aim at recruiting efforts among young people

Discussion in '2005 Archive' started by Ben W, Jul 30, 2005.

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  1. Ben W

    Ben W Active Member
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    By Robert Rhodes
    Mennonite Weekly Review
    Mennonites concerned about the appeal of military recruitment are taking steps to inform high-school-age youths about tactics that might be used to lure them into the armed forces.

    Titus Peachey, a peace education advocate for Mennonite Central Committee, said it was encouraging to see Anabaptists turn recruiting concerns into a public issue.

    He also doesn’t want churches to underestimate the military’s appeal among their own young people.

    “I’ve had a number of contacts from people wanting to get something started,” said Peachey, who helped design Thermostat, a multimedia resource from MCC that explores witnessing for peace from an Anabaptist perspective. “I’ve been really pleased that there’s been an interest in working with this in a public arena.”

    One church that has been addressing military recruitment in its own ranks is Calvary Community Church in Hampton, Va.

    There, youth pastor Glen Guyton — a former Air Force captain who left the military as a conscientious objector in 1990 — emphasizes alternatives to military service when young people go in search of options for their lives.

    Despite the heavy military presence near the congregation, Guyton said more of the 250 youth at the church are looking at college and other options, such as voluntary service, when it comes to life after high school.

    “I think the young people have more options and are more aware of what options are out there,” Guyton said. “I just try to be realistic with them. . . . They are seeing that the military is not just somewhere to go to get college paid for.”

    Guyton said his own military experience helps him address the realities of life in the armed forces with youth who are sometimes eager to experience what the military offers. Guyton said he can’t steer everyone away from the military, but he can tell them what they will find there after enlistment.

    “I just want the young people to have a realistic viewpoint on it and make their own decision,” he said.

    With dwindling numbers — and an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq — causing the military to look hard at its recruitment strategies, some in the historic peace churches are concerned that tactics used by recruiters to sign up more young people will become even more aggressive.

    http://www.mennoweekly.org/JULY/07-18-05/RECRUIT07-18.html
     
    #1 Ben W, Jul 30, 2005
  2. KenH

    KenH Well-Known Member

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    I think these efforts to hurt the recruitment of our armed forces are very wrongheaded. Just who do these anti-recruitment folks think is going to protect their hides if people don't enlist in the armed forces?
     
    #2 KenH, Jul 30, 2005
  3. emeraldctyangel

    emeraldctyangel New Member

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    Agressive? Like what? A DRAFT? LMHO!

    This Guton person knows nothing what life is really like in the military these days he has been out for 15 years!! What is he going to be able to realistically tell people? Well it doesnt matter, and this is why...anybody who would listen to that fear mongering doesnt belong in the military in the first place.

    Ive been in for 12 years, and the Lord has watched over me every single minute of every single day.
     
    #3 emeraldctyangel, Jul 31, 2005
  4. rivers1222

    rivers1222 Member

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    -----------------------
    Hey ECA,
    First, personally, thank you for your service. Second, I dont put much weight on this clown. Working with young people for the last couple of decades, I realize they can seperate the meat from the garbage very easily.
     
    #4 rivers1222, Jul 31, 2005
  5. Martin

    Martin Active Member

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    ==This issue is a bit deeper than the protection of America. Historically the Christian Church has been divided on the issue of armed service. Some Christians oppose it, others approve of it. In fact one reason early Christians were persecuted is that they would not join the army (to use modern langauge). They believed that fighting in an army is unChristian.

    Now I personally disagree with that view. However we must understand that this is more about doctrine/theology than it is about America or any thing like that. In other words this is not a political issue. I respect their view and I support their right to have that view. While I disagree with their position I agree with their concern. The military does mis-represent itself to young people. I see this all the time. I understand why they do it, and to some degree I guess they have to, however young people need to be informed of the high (and possibly final) cost of joining the armed services (mainly in this day).

    In Christ,
    Martin.
     
    #5 Martin, Jul 31, 2005
  6. Martin

    Martin Active Member

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    #6 Martin, Jul 31, 2005
  7. emeraldctyangel

    emeraldctyangel New Member

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    Misrepresent? I was never promised a job working in the White House rose garden. You get clothes, food, and a roof over your head (well most of the time LOL), a steady paycheck, college education, health insurance, and 30 days of paid vacation. BUT you have to work just like everyone else to get it. The costs of serving your country were far higher in the past than they are now.

    I agree with your points on doctrine/theology. I think somewhere along the line someone decided it was far better to have Christian solidiers pushing back those who would rather kill every man, woman, and child who do not believe in what they would have us believe.

    As for me, I would rather be hated for who I am, than loved for whom I am not.

    Everybody dies, who really lives? Soldiers do.
     
    #7 emeraldctyangel, Aug 1, 2005
  8. OCC

    OCC Guest

    "This Guton person knows nothing what life is really like in the military these days he has been out for 15 years!!"

    But others who haven't been in since Vietnam do?

    I think if they are having recruiting problems they need to increase the age limit for people to join? How can the Navy's limit be 35 but the Air Force's is what, 29? I'm sorry...30 year old men can do an Air Force job.
     
    #8 OCC, Aug 3, 2005
  9. emeraldctyangel

    emeraldctyangel New Member

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    "others who havent been in since Vietnam do?"
    Want to put an arrow on the page where you are reading from brother?

    Not to point out the obvious, but 30 year old men are doing Air Force jobs.
     
    #9 emeraldctyangel, Aug 3, 2005
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