How can you serve in the military and love your enemies? Crosspoint Highlights
Release Date: 04/17/2025
Bridges instead of islands: The state of the military sisterhood / September 2025
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
OCF MINISTRY NEWS Check out and attend any of these local events: Aspentime Retreat: 26-28 September at Spring Canyon (Buena Vista, Colo.) BBQ Bonanza: 3-4 October at Fort Leavenworth (Kan.) OCF Hampton Roads Region Annual Fall Picnic: 4 October at Fort Monroe, Va. USNA Fall Retreat: 10-13 October at White Sulphur Springs (Manns Choice, Pa.) OCF Mid-Atlantic Fall Retreat: 14-16 November at White Sulphur Springs (Manns Choice, Pa.) Start an OCF small group: Read Rich's...
info_outline
Military Brats React: What makes the difference in raising military kids
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Show Notes In this second part of “Military Brats React,” host Courtney Burdick continues the roundtable conversation with 2LT Dani Volle, USA, ENS Mary Ann Leonard, USN, and Matt Taylor as they reflect on their experiences growing up in military families. While the first part of the discussion centered on the challenges and mental health struggles faced by military kids, this episode shifts to the “strengths-based perspective”—seeing the good that can come out of a hard, transient lifestyle—. Have thoughts or want to share your own experience? Reach out to...
info_outline
Military Brats React: Mental health, faith, and finding strength
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
In a recent Crosspoint episode, In this follow-up conversation, Courtney Burdick hosts three fellow military kids—2LT Dani Volle, USA, ENS Mary Ann Leonard, USN, and Matt Taylor—for a roundtable-style reaction episode. Having met at they discuss stories from their respective military kid experiences, thoughts on Claire’s research, and more. Have thoughts or want to share your own experience? Reach out to Courtney at [email protected]. If you would like to share your own story, Alternatively, if you have an idea for a guest or topic we should consider for a...
info_outline
Faithful Leadership: You won’t get this perfect—and that’s OK
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
The July episode of Crosspoint served as Part 1 of a conversation with LTC Lee Robinson, USA, director of the U.S. Military Academy’s American Politics Program and an academy professor in the Department of Social Sciences. We began answering this overarching question—"What does it look like to follow Christ in uniform, when your faith is personal, your authority is public, and the Constitution sets the boundaries?” In Part 2 we continue this timely discussion on how Christian military leaders can live out their faith with integrity, while respecting the pluralism of today’s armed...
info_outline
“Just see God at work”: Prioritizing Biblical mentorship / August 2025
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
OCF MINISTRY NEWS Become findable on the OCF Directory: to add or update your group’s information on our online directory of Bible studies. Apply for Spring Canyon’s Deputy Center Director opening: and apply NLT 15 August. Check out our new Widowed Ministry webpage: helpful resources, invitations to fellowship, and scholarship funding for summer programs at the Conference Centers. GUEST SPOTLIGHT Why is mentoring important to the Christian in the military? Answering that question and others in this episode are COL Jim Brown, USA (Ret.), and...
info_outline
How do you balance free exercise and non-establishment as a leader? / Crosspoint Highlights
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Guest: LTC Lee Robinson, USA In this Crosspoint Highlight from July 2025, LTC Lee Robinson explores the delicate balance military leaders must strike between free exercise of religion and non-establishment under the First Amendment. He emphasizes that the amendment’s brevity—and its ambiguity—stem from the compromises between Federalists and Anti-Federalists at the time of America’s founding. Lee explains how the language evolved, rejecting broader proposals like prohibiting any laws “touching religion” to avoid overly limiting the federal government. He encourages military leaders...
info_outline
Was America founded as a Christian nation? / Crosspoint Highlights
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Guest: LTC Lee Robinson, USA In this Crosspoint Highlight from July 2025, LTC Lee Robinson tackles the complex question: Was America founded as a Christian nation? Lee draws a distinction between the first founding (e.g., Puritan colonies with explicitly religious laws) and the constitutional founding rooted in liberty and freedom of conscience. He explains that while America’s early cultural fabric was deeply influenced by Christianity, the U.S. Constitution intentionally avoided establishing a state religion—rejecting even a proposed religious test in Article VI. Citing Alexis de...
info_outline
Christ & the Constitution: Navigating the “wall of separation between church and state” / July 2025
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
OCF MINISTRY NEWS Sign up for summer programs at the Conference Centers: Visit ocfusa.org/CCexperience to find the right program and week for you at Spring Canyon (Buena Vista, Colo.) or White Sulphur Springs (Manns Choice, Pa.). Consider your next steps at the Caleb Challenge Career Transition Strategies Workshop (12-14 September): Visit White Sulphur Springs’ website to learn more about and sign up for this impactful weekend. Update your information and stay connected: Whether it's your address, military status, rank, contact...
info_outline
Special announcement: Leadership workshop with LtGen Clint Hinote, USAF (Ret.)
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Information about Summer R&R 7 at White Sulphur Springs, and speaker LtGen Clint Hinote, USAF (Ret.): About the Topic: Wherever we are, God calls us to lead. He calls us to lead ourselves, our families, our units, our communities, and our culture. The Bible contains many accounts of leaders, including stories about their successes and failures. In this session, we will examine Biblical leaders and learn from their experiences. We will celebrate the good and be honest about the bad. In doing so, we will seek practical truths we can apply to our lives because we can always learn and grow as...
info_outline
The “hidden epidemic” among military children / June 2025
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
OCF MINISTRY NEWS Sign up for summer programs at the Conference Centers: Visit ocfusa.org/CCexperience to find the right program and week for you at Spring Canyon (Buena Vista, Colo.) or White Sulphur Springs (Manns Choice, Pa.). Connect with OCFers at USNA and USAFA: OCF at USAFA: Pre-Inprocessing Day Reception (Class of 2029), 24 June, Monument, Colo. USNA OCF: Class of 2029 Open House, 25 June, Annapolis, Md. Volunteer as a Local Leader at one of these locations: Columbus AFB, Fort Campbell, Fort Drum, Fort...
info_outlineWelcome to Crosspoint Highlights:
Big ideas. Short episodes. For your busy schedule.
Guest: Col Chet Arnold, USMC (Ret.)
From Episode 46: “May a Christian Serve in the Military?” Listen to the full episode here.
Highlight Summary:
Can a Christian serve in the military and still follow Jesus’ command to love their enemies? In this Crosspoint Highlight, Col Chet Arnold, USMC (Ret.), tackles the difficult topic of killing in combat from a Biblical perspective. Drawing from both the Old and New Testaments, Chet explains why understanding the sanctity of life and the God-given authority of government is essential for military believers. He also challenges listeners to avoid dehumanizing their enemies and to grieve the loss of life—even in war—through the lens of being made in God's image.
Be sure to check out our article by the same name, "May A Christian Serve in the Military?"
Key Takeaways:
- The sanctity of life is foundational: All people are made in God’s image—even those considered enemies.
- God delegates authority to governments: Genesis 9 establishes the basis for protection and justice, even when that includes the use of force.
- Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek applies to personal offense, not to military or governmental responsibility (Matthew 5:39).
- Dehumanizing the enemy leads to spiritual and emotional damage: Christians are called to mourn every life lost, even in war.
- Grieving rightly matters: Proper understanding of life’s value can reduce the impact of trauma and moral injury after combat.
Mentioned Bible Verses:
- Genesis 1 – Humans are created in the image of God.
- Genesis 9 – God delegates to human government the authority to take life in matters of justice.
- Matthew 5:39 – “Do not resist the one who is evil… turn to him the other [cheek] also.”