I don’t know a single local church pastor who doesn’t believe in peacemaking. And yet, there is a clear gap between U.S. church leaders' stated support of biblical peacemaking and our actual pursuit of peacemaking in our ministry initiatives. I recently conducted a research project that collected data from 15 pastors in personal interviews and 297 pastors through an online survey. Their feedback on this issue was almost unanimous: “Yes, I affirm the theory of peacemaking as a biblical value. No, it’s not something our church is currently doing. Honestly, we’d have no idea where to start if we wanted to.”

The last couple months I've been trying to finish up my master's thesis at Near East University. The thesis is on how the U.S. government interacts with international religious entities.

The main thing I love about Peace Catalyst is its distinctively Jesus-centered approach to peacemaking. One of the most radically Jesus-centered Christians I know of was Charles de Foucauld, a Catholic monk who took the presence of Jesus to the heart of the Sahara desert around the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. The Muslim Tuareg tribes grew to love him, referring to him affectionately as the "White Father."

Recently I heard a preacher talk about Jesus’ story of the prodigal son. Whenever I hear that story, I place myself in the story. Am I the son who has gone too far and squandered what has been given to me? Am I the older son looking down my nose at others who don’t obey the rules as well as I do? But there is a third character in the story I never presumed to be: the father.

I had the privilege of doing mediation, peacemaking, and organizational consulting for a Christian organization recently. We faced a seemingly intractable conflict and dysfunctional organizational practices. As was expected, this led to tense moments and periods of confusion. However, there was success on all three fronts: mediation was accomplished, peace was experienced, and the organizational realignment was implemented.Why were we successful? Two reasons.

The U.S. is moving away from the state of perpetual war that has marked the post 9/11 era. President Obama’s May 23 speech on counterterrorism policy makes a strong case for moving the country in the direction of new, more comprehensive strategies that address root causes of terrorism as well as its violent manifestations. He rightly notes that “force alone cannot make us safe” and that perpetual war “will prove self-defeating, and alter our country in troubling ways.”

I sat down for a meal with Imam Karim and announced, “I am here to partner with you in your jihad against Islamophobia!” A big smile flashed across his face as he reached out to shake my hand across the table. But this conversation wasn’t just about my jihad against Islamophobia. As I explained to Imam Karim, I am on a jihad against all forms of religious discrimination and oppression.

World Refugee Day was June 20th, and in honor of that day and all the refugees among us, we'd like to share this blog from Josh Prather, one of our PCI staff who has been working with refugees in Phoenix for several years and has learned a great deal along the way.

The goal and focus of the meeting? To deepen relationships between evangelical scholars and activists who are committed to the pursuit of a biblical, comprehensive, and proactive peace and to work together to bring that form of peace to the nation and world.