All-in-all, Gun Lap is exactly the book I hoped it would be. It features a man who is running his final lap engaging in conversation with the people beside him and the people not too far behind him. He is passing along the lessons the Lord has taught him.

Would it be strange to say that my favorite part of Robert Wolgemuth’s Gun Lap is the dedication? I think you’ll understand if you allow me to explain. Several months ago Robert sent me a note to say he was writing a book about a man’s “gun lap,” the final lap of a man’s race through life. It is a book meant to guide those already running their final lap and to equip those who are approaching it. Having just watched the memorial service for my son, Nick, and having heard me speak of how Nick ran his short race well, Robert wondered if he could dedicate the book to him. And of course we were honored that he would do so. So now there is a book for older men that is dedicated to a younger man—a book calling older men to sprint strong to the finish line, just as my boy did. It’s a blessing.

But though my favorite part of the book may be the dedication, that’s certainly not all I enjoyed about it. I’ve often said that from the days of my young adulthood I’ve anticipated the days when I’ll be much older. Having witnessed a number of negative examples of older men, I’ve been eager to prepare myself now for who and what I will be then. Robert Wolgemuth is just the kind of man I’d trust to guide me. And that is exactly what his book is about.

In the introduction he explains “I’m writing Gun Lap for myself and for men like me. … Men who find themselves at the point in their lives when they’re running their last lap. Or I’m writing it for men who are getting ready to start their final lap, and they have some questions, maybe even some anxiety about it. This is no small thing—examining our very own lives at this point on our journey. Taking our last lap. In fact, it’s a big deal.” It is, indeed, and it merits some serious consideration and preparation.

Read More