Can you be peacemaker without being a politician, religious leader, or wealthy philanthropist? Can average people have any real impact for peace? Jim Mullins, co-founder of Peace Catalyst, promotes the idea of “carrot cake peacemaking” and encourages people to be creative with the resources around them and their own strengths in order to build peace.

Mustafa Akyol, a well-known Turkish journalist, discusses the difference between the Islamic faith and local traditional practices. In this compelling TED talk, Akyol asserts that traditions change and vary between regions, countries, communities, and are often shaped by globalization and other global activity.

“There are too many angry peacemakers!” bemoaned a friend of mine during an Evangelical Peacemaking Summit. Everyone laughed, because we all realized the irony of it. Sometimes those who wrestle with injustice and seek peace don’t embody the very message they bring. To spread peace, we need to be in peace. Let me share two practices that get to the heart of peacemaking and that help me keep the peace.

Jeremy Courtney, executive director and cofounder of Preemptive Love Coalition, speaks about living as an American in Iraq and pursuing a lifestyle of preemptive love. He says, “violence unmakes the world,” but “preemptive love unmakes violence. Preemptive Love remakes the world through healing.” This philosophy of preemptive love has led Jeremy and the staff of Preemptive Love to work in partnership with Iraqis to eradicate the backlog of children who need heart surgery in Iraq.

As we were leaving the mosque recently, the leaders there invited us to a special event that would include a dinner, special speakers, and a Muslim comedian. A Muslim comedian—at the mosque?? We were intrigued, so last Friday night we went to check it out.

Eboo Patel, an American Muslim and founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, talks about the increasing challenges of living in the U.S. as a Muslim and the need for people to protect and respect people from other faiths. Patel encourages people to promote peace, not in spite of their faith, but as a response to the robust peacemaking teaching found in their religious texts.

Today on the blog, we have something a bit different. This post was written by Christen Hansel, a friend of Peace Catalyst's, for her personal blog and we're reposting it here with her permission. It's very personal and a bit different than what we usually post, but it is a powerful story and one we hope will move you as much as it did us.

How can someone engage in respectful dialogue without compromising their deeply held beliefs? Teaching pastor at Mariners Church in Mission Viejo, Mike Erre, speaks on the necessity of “multi-faith dialogue” as an alternative to “interfaith dialogue.” “Multi-faith dialogue” is a genuine meeting of individuals who may not share similar beliefs, values, and/or experiences but are willing to meet, share their lives, and work for the common good.

In Peace Catalyst International, we aspire to launch a global movement of Jesus-centered peacemaking communities. To that end, our PCI team in Raleigh has helped to catalyze a significant movement of Muslims and Christians who are moving beyond unhelpful stereotypes and are building bridges of friendship and trust.Back in the fall, however, things took a major twist for us.