We are called to be a missionary people. We are called to answer spiritual questions. People are asking different questions today. Peacemaking helps us answer contemporary questions. Peacemaking helps us be a people that are true, real, and beautiful.
The church is the most overpromised and underdelivered product today.
Christianity is not about what we do, it's about what we are.
Expansive faith means that although the Bible is truth, it's not the only truth. Be open to science and art and philosophy. When we are open we build bridges to others. The Church is not a fortress we hide inside. We are called to go into the world - not to be the world but to go into the world - to connect, to love, to bring peace, to bring Christ into the world.
The Hebrew word shalom means more that the absence of war. It is harmony, it is bringing love, light, and compassion to others.
See people as people - do not see them as their mistakes, their sins, or their labels.
Peacemakers are seen by the world as the children of God. How does the world see me?
The three tools of peacemaking are faith (mine is a broken hammer and some bent nails), love, and community.
Love doesn't work as the only tool in your box. Richard Rohr says love is not love until you don't expect something back. Love is dynamic.
You can't go backwards in life. The only way to deal with fear is to go forward into it and through it.
Burdens should be shared. That makes them meaningful.
What is God giving us to do as a community so that we can sow peace into the world? The mission starts with our commitment to this community.
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