Had a hard time following this article. Was the point to compare para-church organizations selling firearm training as being equivalent to Al-Qaeda? I wonder if the author has spent time reviewing Al-Qaeda recruitment videos.

No, the point wasn't that. The piece rambles a bit, but it's finding techniques of radicalization in both evangelical Christian organizations and jihadists. Equating, no. Pointing out highly problematic practices, yes.

It would have been more interesting to also examine the path of Timothy McVeigh, since he was a radical Christian terrorist on par with an Al Qaeda terrorist.