Forwarded from "Revelation Files," by John Terry.  Excellent commentary.  Shocking statistics.
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Shammah: An Example of the Warrior Spirit
By:  Dr. Daryl Covington
www.karateforchrist.com
 
Foreword by John Terry:

Dr. Covington holds a B.S. in Biology, a Masters in Pastoral Ministry, a Doctorate in Ministry, and a PhD in Asian Studies.  He currently serves as the President of Karate for Christ International, as well as the Korean representative for Asia Reach Ministries.  He and his wife Brenda, along with their two daughters (Mikayla and MIriah) are currently residing in Seoul, South Korea, where they minister among the North Korean refugees.  He also holds a 7th degree black belt in Shines Hapkido.  He has co-authored three other books: Encounter the Warrior’s Heart, the Warrior’s Heart Revealed, and About My Father’s Business.
 
Excerpt from the book, Purpose Driven Martial Arts, an excellent resource about starting and running a Christian martial arts ministry.  I am co-owner of a Christian martial arts school (a Karate for Christ member school) and also have the privilege of serving as a Chaplain for the Christian Black Belt Association (Martial Arts Chaplains Association).  One of our young students (age 11) has answered a call to the ministry and preached his first sermon last Sunday night in his home church. 
 
FYI…One of the oldest recorded references to a martial arts system was found in the 1950’s when the Dead Sea Scrolls were uncovered.  Among the scrolls were references to a fighting system created by King David to train his elite guard in fighting.  This predates many of the Eastern martial arts systems by hundreds of years
 
John Terry
Revelation Files 
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From Dr. Daryl Covington:

II Samuel 23:11-12:  And after him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite.  And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentils; and the people fled from the Philistines.  But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord wrought a great victory.
 
There is a crisis in our country in our spiritual manner.  3 of 4 Americans do not believe in absolute truth.  We teach evolution and wonder why our kids act like wild animals.  The crisis is deeper than these examples, for it runs deep into the heart of American Christianity.
 
Within the Southern Baptist Convention alone, 70% of the churches are plateaued or declining.  Only 4% of all Baptists have ever shared faith.  Last year, in the Southern Baptist Convention, 10,000 churches saw no baptisms.  That is 1,040,000 sermons, 520,000 prayer meetings, 4,000,000 hymns, and well over 200 million in offerings and not one soul was reached.  These statistics exist in a nation where we have 45 million teens, of which 44 ½ million do not attend church.
 
Yes, there is a crisis in Christianity in the God Blessed USA.  Passive Christianity is the cause.  The great need in this country is to instill a little “warrior spirit” in the youth of our community so they will not bend, bow, or budge to the system of this world and can stand firm on the principles of God’s word.  This is what Christian martial arts can be used to do, build the X Generation to be warriors of Christ.
 
The interesting thing about Shammah was “why he stood”.  He was not defending all of Israel, the Holy City, the Ark of the Covenant, or the King.  He was fighting to defend a “field full of lentils”; a pea patch!  Fighting by himself, when the whole army fled, Shammah defeated the whole Philistine army, over a pea patch!  Why?  Because they were God’s peas.  We learn from Shammah the biblical concept of the warrior spirit, “If it is God’s, it is worth fighting for.”
 
In today’s society, many companies spend as much as 75% of their advertising budgets to sell their goods to the youth of our country.  The average church spends less than 1% of its total budget trying to reach the nation’s youth for the sake of Christ.  I believe our youth are worth fighting for.  In my years of ministry, I have been able to reach more kids with the gospel through martial arts ministry than I have through Sunday School.  Without exception, the kids that have been reached through the martial arts ministry, and adults, have become radical Christians that turned the community upside down for Jesus.  Why?  The warrior spirit.