World peace is no joke. Beauty queens who want world peace are not silly. They voice what most of us yearn for deep down inside: peace. And it is God who puts that desire in us.

On December 27th Erika Menendez, a woman who has had numerous encounters with the mental health community, pushed Sunando Sen onto the New York subway tracks, where he was crushed by a train, because she thought he looked like a Muslim or Hindu.

There are so many books I haven’t read yet. But out of the ones I have read, I consider these to be the top ten books on peacemaking and conflict resolution (as of the end of 2012).

As I wrote about in my last post, there were some uncomfortable moments when the former Christian, now turned Muslim, tried to convert us. Overall, though, I appreciate the opportunity to have experienced what it's like to be on the receiving end of evangelism. I learned some things. Here are some lessons I learned from the Muslim evangelist.

Insulting another person’s faith is usually not a good way to kick off a relationship. I thought of the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I did not like having my faith insulted. Maybe I should not be condescending about other’s concepts of God. Maybe we should think twice before we go into attack mode and attempt to dismantle another person’s faith.

Douglas E. Noll’s Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts provides a profound overview of the field of peacemaking. The heart of the book, though, is his rigorous critique of diplomatic peacemaking methods and robust apologetic for the importance of emotions in peacemaking. Noll’s detailed illustrations and solid research make this one of the best books I’ve read this year!

Today we want to share with you the release of a new book by Lisa Gibson, award-winning and bestselling author and conflict coach, who spoke at our Evangelicals for Peace conference at Georgetown. Her book is called Releasing The Chains: Timeless Wisdom On How To Forgive Anyone For Anything, and in it she gives a step-by-step process of how to forgive and life-changing examples of others who have applied these principles to their lives.

One of the most prominent and significant conflicts in the Bible took place in Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 15. We know it as the Jerusalem Council, and It is also a brilliant example of peacemaking and conflict resolution.

What happens when a Southern Baptist Pastor takes the Great Commandments as seriously as he does the Great Commission? We don’t have to guess. It is happening at Northwood Church in Dallas, Texas. Bob Roberts Jr. and his church are breaking out of the evangelical box and modeling “bold love.”