Band of Brothers: Currahee with Paul McDonald
Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, we use the series Band of Brothers to reveal the path of our masculine initiation. Maturation and whole heartedness are not optional to survive the world we live in. The process begins with consent, volunteering to receive the training we need to fight the battles we will face. The process will be painful, costly, and beautiful. But it is a path that leads to greater life, and freedom-for ourselves, and those entrusted to our care. Hi ho silver, and let’s discover God’s truth in this story.
Quotes
To become a man of integrity and character, you must go through your initiation.
I need something to prepare me for when life hits me in the face, because it will.
We must organize our lives around being trained, initiated, and prepared for the battle for our hearts, and the hearts of those entrusted to our care.
If you want to be a man who makes history, it won’t be by becoming civilized.
What sounds like an attack and criticism may just be preparation for what’s ahead.
We should want our flaws to be exposed before we go into battle because battle will expose them.
We should have the approach that it’s all learning.
Themes
Band of Brothers as a map for our masculine initiation (overview)
Episode 1 (Currahee): Why is initiation so important? What does it look like?
Episode 2 (Day of Days): How to collect a band of brothers
Episode 3 (Carentan): What do we do when fear overwhelms us?
Episode 4 (Replacements): How to handle imposter syndrome
Episode 5 (Crossroads): What happens when we have to work behind the scenes?
Episode 6 (Bastogne): Power of presence
Episode 7 (The Breaking Point): How to respond to loss around you
Episode 8 (The Last Patrol): What happens when we get taken out?
Episode 9 (Why We Fight): Was the fight worth it?
Episode 10 (Points): How do we make history?
Concepts from Survival School (Wild at Heart)
Maturation and wholeheartedness are mandatory, non-options for living in the world today.
Idea of narrative: Do you look at the world as a process of initiation and learning, or a destination you’re trying to get to?
You are perfectly designed for the life you’re living in…and this moment is perfectly designed to take you out. When things blow up, that doesn’t mean you screwed up.
Walking with Christ is both costly and beautiful.
Every man is only as strong as the man beside him.
There’s no strength without struggle. If there’s no struggle, there’s no strength.
The enemy uses pain, disappointment, and heartbreak to make us believe God is gone.
We must organize our lives around being trained, being an apprentice, being initiated
Beginning the journey
Begins with consent, volunteer for this process
“A civilized place for civilized men.” The world is not a civilized place. So we must not try to become civilized, but prepared. No one remembers the civilized people at home—they remember the warriors.
Sobel’s approach to training prepared Easy company for the realities of warfare. All his criticism and pointing out deficiencies was all to prepare them for battle. He treats them unfairly because battle is unfair.
Resources
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” - G.K. Chesterton
“Don’t as what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.” - Howard Thurman
“In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off big-time, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.” - Hebrews 12: 4-11 (MSG)
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” - Revelation 3: 19-20 (NIV)
“Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.” - Job 5:17 (NIV)
“My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.” - Proverbs 3:11-12 (NLT)
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
Questions
Who is your favorite character in Band of Brothers? Why?
Who do you dislike the most? What do you dislike about him?
What is your favorite episode of the series? What draws you to that episode?
How does the approach of being initiated change your perspective on your life and what you have faced?
What does it mean to consent to the process of becoming wholehearted?
How do you open the door and let Jesus in each day? Where is that difficult?
What crowns are you striving for that don’t last?
How does Sobel’s tactics mirror the life you’ve experienced?
More info
Check out our YouTube channel (@menatthemovies) for bonus content.
Find us on the socials:
YouTube: @menatthemovies
Facebook: @menatthemovies
Instagram: @menatthemovies
TikTok: @menatthemovies
Twitter: @_menatthemovies
If you would like to support our work (and get some behind-the-scenes perks), visit our Patreon page. Get invites to livestreams, bonus episodes, even free merch. If you’d like to do a one-time contribution (a cameo appearance), visit www.menatthemovies.com/investors.
Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster
Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston
Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).
Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock.
Links: