6P: The Practice of Peacemaking
THE PRACTICE OF PEACEMAKING:
We seek understanding and cultivate peace across our social, racial, ethnic, economic, and political differences.
THE SIX PRACTICES OF WHOLE-HEARTED DISCIPLESHIP
Following Jesus is more than just an idea. Jesus invites us to live life in his way, a life animated by love for God and love for our neighbors that takes on concrete habits in our everyday life. These six practices form a community rule of life for our church. A rule of life is a set of values or practices that give shape to our life following Jesus. They aren’t “rules,” but a pattern, a template, for what following Jesus looks like.
MAKING PEACE
A 6P SERIES ON PEACEMAKING: AUGUST – SEPTEMBER 2024
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Matthew 5:9
The heart of the mission and message of Jesus is reconciliation: making peace between us and God. But the way of Jesus doesn’t stop there. Instead, Jesus invites us to engage a world full of brokenness, violence, and injustice with the reconciling power of his cross to restore and renew all things. The practice of peacemaking challenges us to seek forgiveness, to fight for justice, and to work for flourishing in our neighborhood and our city.
PRACTICE GUIDES
1
WHAT PEACEMAKING IS (AND ISN’T)
Making peace is at the very heart of God. When we make peace, we look like Our Father.
2
THE THEOLOGY OF SHALOM
God created a world of SHALOM – literally, peace. This theme runs through the entire story of God’s mission and helps us make sense of who we’re called to be.
3
MAKING PEACE THROUGH FORGIVENESS
Making peace means naming wrongs but also seeking to forgive those who have harmed us.
4
MAKING PEACE IN THE MIDST OF VIOLENCE
Our world is trapped in a never-ending cycle of violence. Jesus calls us to interrupt violence with non-violence and love.
5
MAKING PEACE THROUGH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Making peace means working to create shalom in our communities through relocation, reconciliation, and redistribution.
6
MAKING PEACE ACROSS OUR POLITICAL DIVISIONS
In a world dominated by left and right, Jesus invites us into a different way: the way of honoring and fighting for the imago Dei.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
Forgive: Why Should I And How Can I?
by Timothy Keller
The Gospel of Peace in a Violent World: Christian Nonviolence for Communal Flourishing
edited by Shawn & Marlena Graves
Be The Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation
by Latasha Morrison
Letter from Birmingham Jail
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
YOU WERE CREATED FOR COMMUNITY.
You weren’t meant to live life alone. That’s why at Wingfoot we believe the most important time you spend during your week isn’t an hour on Sunday but what happens every other day of the week as you live life with others.
JOIN A HOUSE CHURCH
The best way to work through these guides is in the context of community. House churches around the neighborhood will be discussing and practicing these things over the next few weeks. Find a community to join by here.
