After 4 combat deployments to Afghanistan and over 300 direct-action night raids on higher-value terrorist targets, I’ve learned a little bit about mission.

I believe there’s nothing more important than the mission. Accomplishing the mission is everything. It’s the single macro focus and the guide that determines all actions.

There are also tiers to how mission is executed. For example, when our Ranger platoon would go out on missions, 4 different teams in the platoon each had different responsibilities and roles to play in the overarching mission execution. In the most basic sense, each team was on a mini mission.

Each of these teams and their sub-missions helped accomplish the overall mission of the military operations, and each one was very different, yet necessary if the mission was the be accomplished.

At the same time we could never afford to sacrifice the whole mission for the individual team’s mission. There wasn’t a directive to “execute at all costs”, but rather, there was instruction to “execute, so long as the team, platoon, and civilians’ safety was preserved, and as long as pushing forward still supported the overall mission outcome.”

We call this mission outcome or goal “The Commanders Intent”.

The commander's intent describes the desired end state after the mission is completed. It is a concise statement of the purpose of the mission and must be understood two levels below the level of the issuing commander. It must clearly state the purpose of the mission. It is the single unifying focus for all subordinate elements.

The commander of life is God. He has an intent, end state, and goal that he’s bringing to fruition through mankind. He has chosen us to partner with him as the Church and as individual families within the Church.

God laid out his intent in Genesis 1:28 and Matthew 28:18-20. His original mission before the Fall (when he could have created anything, any way that he wanted) was for man, through his individual work and in partnership with his own family, to become fruitful, multiply, fill the world with the principles and ways of God, and bringing order out of chaos, so that the untamed spaces could display the glory of God. Matthew 28 brings a new light and fresh perspective - an addendum of sorts - to how God will accomplish the same original mission, this side of the Fall.

The Church has a mission. A single overarching mission of restoration of the things that were once lost. Glorifying God and enjoying him forever. The garden experience, seen in Genesis and Revelation.

This being the backdrop, it’s important for you to now understand that you have a role to play in the mission of the Church. You have a family - a team - that has unique roles and responsibilities on its own mini-mission, which supports the accomplishment of the commander's intent and the overall mission of the platoon, the Church.

As a husband and father, you must realize that:

You are mission-critical.

Your health and fitness matters.

Your spiritual disciplines and transformation matter.

Your mental health matters.

Your development of self-discipline and healthy habits matters.

Your mission matters.

In order to accomplish the mission there needs to be 3 key elements addressed:

1. Vision

2. Training

3. Execution

Mission success lies at the intersection between vision, training, and execution.

Without a vision for your family and what unique mission you’re on, it’s like wandering the forest without a compass. You’re doing a lot of walking, but are you really moving in the direction you’re supposed to? If we didn’t know our commander’s intent and the ideal outcomes of the mission for each team, then how would we propose we accomplish those? Also, if we knew the commander’s intent but didn’t understand how our team played a critical role in it, we may actually hinder the overall mission. Are you hindering God’s mission right now? Worth considering.

Without training, you’d be entering into dangerous territory without the coaching, teaching, development, repetition, discipline, and knowledge needed to ensure safe and effective mission success. The amount of training I went through as a Ranger was massive. You train before and during the selection process, you train before every deployment, and you even train while deployed. Training never stops, even amidst execution. They are like a ven diagram. Training is a life-long pursuit. You never arrive. Accept that now and you’ll see 10x the success in your life.

Without execution, you’re just a bench player. You’re standing on the sidelines of life holding the vision and the training you need to execute, and you’re having no impact as you watch idly from a distance. Imagine if I was in Afghanistan and our commander gave me a mission, and we just took it, set it aside, and instead went on our way to workout, eat dinner, and go to bed. We would not have been able to have the impact on that war that we had, and we probably would have been fired on the spot! You must execute, whether you want to or not. Whether you feel like it or not. Those aren’t deciding factors. Not if Jesus is Lord and you truly believe.

The Mission-Fit Framework™ is the pathway that is built into the 'Dad's Tactical Fit Guide' and is designed specifically to help men think about their health from a completely different perspective. To form a fitness plan that is fitting to the commander’s intent as well as the unique mini-mission you’re on. To prepare you to live your life the way God intended. Not to live someone else’s life, meet other peoples expectations, or become some caricature that culture or the Church has been passed on to you.

You are mission-critical.