Four Books That Will Help You Be A Peace Catalyst
"The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7)
One of the best ways to acquire wisdom is through reading. The five books below describe Peace Catalyst International’s multifaceted approach to Jesus-centered peacemaking. Read them carefully and apply them practically to become a peace catalyst this year!
Christian. Muslim. Friend. Twelve Paths to Real Relationship by David W. Shenk
Christian. Muslim. Friend. focuses on the joys and challenges of Christian-Muslim friendship. And Dr. David Shenk knows something about friendships with Muslims, having spent over half a century engaging them! Shenk is one of the most Christlike and competent Jesus-centered peacemakers I know. He has written numerous books on Christian-Muslim relations, but I think this is his best one yet. This book regales you with story after story illustrating what it means to pursue peace and commend Christ. Read this book and you will be learning from one of the masters of our generation.
Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice
Reconciling All Things provides a profoundly biblical description of reconciliation in all its fullness. Katongole and Rice, co-founders of the Center for Reconciliation at Duke Divinity School, will help you see the vital relationship between the Gospel and peacemaking. In fact, the guiding text for the book (2 Corinthians 5:18-21) indicates that reconciliation is the ultimate value of the new creation. So when we work for peace we demonstrate the very nature of the new creation. This book will also help you confront the painful realism of the world in which we pursue peace. The chapter on lament is a much-needed addition to the spiritual life of any peacemaker.
Rick Love wrote Peace Catalysts to ignite a global movement of Jesus-centered peacemakers. But rather than explaining why reading this book will light a fire in your heart for peacemaking, let the following quote kindle your interest: “[Rick] Love challenged me to rethink the role of peacemaking in my own life, both with his own tale of stumbling into peacemaking out of conflict and his expose of just how central peace and peacemaking are from beginning to end in the Bible.” (from Jennifer Bryson’s “Reclaiming Peace by Love").
Grace and Truth emerged during a gathering of 50 international evangelical Christian leaders concerned about the increasing alienation between Christians and Muslims. To counter this trend we composed this booklet, a statement on how followers of Jesus should relate to Muslims. Though Rick Love is the lead author, Grace and Truth is a consensus document with substantial input from more than seventy leaders from around the world. As such, it uses language and emphasizes themes that bridge the spectrum of evangelical thinking. In contrast to the fear-mongering and Islamophobia perpetuated by the media, this book proposes a better way. It describes the way of Jesus. Read this book and find out what it means to follow the One who is full of both grace and truth.
