Warrior Training — The Way of the Sheep Dog

Retired Army Lt. Col., author, and West Point professor Dave Grossman once wrote, “If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath — a wolf. But what if you have capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizen? Then you are a sheep dog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path.”

That framework hits close to home for a lot of men. We feel tension between passivity and aggression, between wanting to protect and not knowing how to channel strength in a godly way.

In this episode of *Tribe Talk*, Mike and Jim explore what it means to walk the hero’s path as a Christian warrior. They take Grossman’s categories of sheep, wolves, and sheep dogs and hold them up to the life of Jesus, the ultimate example of a perfectly balanced warrior: strong yet gentle, powerful yet submitted, capable of righteous anger yet ruled by love.

Together they talk about:

- How to honestly assess your tendencies in soul, body, and spirit: sheep, wolf, or sheep dog

- The ways Jesus modeled courage, restraint, sacrifice, and holy confrontation

- Practical steps to train as a warrior in everyday life, not just in extreme moments

- How to cultivate a deep love for people while developing the capacity to protect and stand firm

If you’ve ever wondered whether your strength is a problem or a gift, this episode will help you see how God designed you to use it. You’re invited to move from drifting or reacting to deliberately walking the hero’s path, in step with the Warrior-King Himself.

Listen in as Mike and Jim call men to embrace “the way of the sheep dog” and become warriors shaped by the heart of Jesus.