The Christian Peacebuilding and Reconciliation resource page is the hub for all of the resources that I’ve gathered. Lots of free stuff and lots of links to great books to guide you and your community on on our peacebuilding and reconciliation journey.
I only post things here if I’ve used them and know they’ll be valuable. I’ll add links to this page as I use and find resources.
I recommend bookmarking this page for reference and convenience. Enjoy!
Contents
- My best Blog Posts about Reconciliation
- The best Books
- The best Podcasts
- The best Free Downloads
- The best Videos
- The best APPs
Blog Posts
Books
Overcome the fear of terrorism with these resources. The best way to combat fear is through understanding.
a. christian. muslim. friend. By Dr. David W. Shenk
Approach your muslim neighbours with love and understanding.
David Shenk is a friend and mentor of my wife and I. We’ve taken multiple classes with him and have been heavily influenced by his life of intentional peacebuilding all over the world. He focusses most of his effort on relationships between Christians and Muslims and this is a book of stories that illustrate the twelve paths to good interfaith relationships he’s learned over the last 40+ years of Christian peacebuilding.
Amazon Links – Paperback~Amazon Kindle
b. Reconcile: Conflict Transformation for Ordinary Christians By John Paul Lederach
Understand the practicality and power of Christian Conflict Transformation in a couple of hours
Most Christians have not thought about the implications of supporting state violence. Jesus instructions to forgive our enemies might not just be a supernatural challenge, it might be the most practical way to stop the cycle of violence, killing and fear. This book will walk you through the logic behind conflict transformation including clear examples from Lederach’s life.
John Paul Lederach is a peacebuilding practitioner. He has worked in the Middle East, Latin America and in our backyard here in the Philippines.
Amazon Links – Paperback ~ Amazon Kindle
c. Becoming a Peace Church – Free Ebook
This ebook and study guide was written by great peace theologians Alan and Eleanor Kreider. They have served as missionaries and Anabaptist mentors in the UK (and globally) for 30 years. They have been a great example of people following Jesus in more countries that I can imagine.
This free curriculum and study guide originally came from the Anabaptist network website but I’ve also added it below to be downloaded.
If you download this and have comments or thoughts about it I would love to hear about your experience here. We’ll be adapting it for the Philippines context soon.
Download the Course ~ Download the Study Guide
d. Tongue Screws And Testimony By Allen Kreider (Missio Dei #16)
How do we reject manipulative evangelism and reintegrate talking about sharing our hope in Jesus through faithful service, friendships and testimonies about the hope we have because of Jesus Christ?
In this free 35 page booklett, Dr. Allen Kreider asks why the North American Anabaptist-Mennonite Church has shied away from church planting. He analyses the reasons this trend emerged after the enlightenment and the rise of postmodern thought. He then provides 7 clear values and actions that we can take in our generation to share the hope we have in Jesus more honestly and confidently.
Free download link ~ Click Here
Christian Leadership for Reconciliation By Duke Divinity School – Center for Reconciliation – Free Booklet (56 pages)
From the Introduction
Reconciliation comes to us through the Word that became Flesh. It surprises us. It whispers to us. It draws us out of death into life. Reconciliation calls us toward one another; it ows through us to enact the love that meets us in the Word of God that makes all things new.
is way of life opens us up to a lively Scriptural imagination, where God frees you up to faithfully play with God’s Word, to feel God deep in your bones, to re ect God’s kingdom with your own hands and feet as you wait for God to light a path for God’s people. is invitation to re-ection in the midst of struggle is an invitation to imagine the world Jesus is calling us into, to lament and to hope, to live in the freedom of God’s Spirit who raised death to life everlasting.
You are invited to read the following re ections on Scripture as part of the conversation that invites you to re ect and act together, calling out to the Word that became esh for help, hoping to encounter the Holy One in your midst. May God’s face shine upon you as you imagine and enact new possibilities in the midst of struggle. May you see the world through the joy, tears, and life of Jesus. May you receive God’s life in the voice, the touch, the life of another, and may others see God’s life in you.
This (56 page) booklet is part devotional, part curriculum and 100% revolutionary to foster a Jesus centred ethos of peacebuilding, peacemaking and reconciliation as a follower of Jesus Christ.
Free Download Link ~ Click Here
Podcasts
a. Pray as You Go
A 13-minute daily podcast of guided prayer. This is daily spiritual practice to slow life down and look at Jesus’ face. Music – Scripture – Prayer.
Favourite Episodes
b. The Smart Passive income blog: How to Work a Room and Socialize for Success – with Susan RoAne :
This is a great episode about how to meet people confidently. How to nail a self-introduction in nine seconds, How to leave a conversation gracefully, Ingredients for a great first impression and much more super valuable stuff.
c. The Nomad Podcast with Shane Claiborne: Faith Not Worth Fighting For
Shane Claiborne has been an inspiration to many ever since his book The Irresistible Revolution came out, with its ‘What if Jesus really meant what he said’ message. For the last 20 years, Shane has been trying to live out Jesus’s message in a deprived area of Philadelphia, where he founded the new monastic community, The Simple Way. This journey has led him to a commitment to non-violence, ‘from womb to tomb’, which has been tested on many occasions. So tune in for a challenging and counter-cultural conversation.
Creative Active Non-Violence Tools
Video Resources
Foundational Christian Ideas
God is not Angry, The Gospel is Not Condemnation
God isn’t angry at humanity. He’s not grumpy and hoping to catch us so that he can punish us. He’s always turning towards us an encouraging us. He always looks exactly like Jesus. That’s why the Gospel stories in the bible are so wonderful. They show us exactly what the creator is like when he walks on earth.
If you are suspicious of the Four Spiritual Laws or the Roman Road and are looking for a way to explain who God is that looks a lot more like Jesus then watch this short video. It will help, a lot!
Apps
a. The Take Our Moments and Our Days – One year Anabaptist prayer liturgy app (Free)
I have a habit of praying with this book in the morning and in the evening. It’s a beautiful, Jesus centered Christian formation tool to guide and shape your prayer life. Hard copies are also available from Amazon.com.
This is the completely free version of the Take Our Moments and Our Days Anabaptist Prayer book. Download it from the Apple store for your iPhone and iPad or from the Google Play store for Android.
b. Mission Zhobia: Winning the Peace
An online peacebuilding video game that teaches practical international peacebuilding skills through working it out in a video game. From the website:
The game is available to play for free online. The member organisations hope it will help those working in conflict-affected contexts to be better able to analyse the environment and to engage in a more conflict sensitive way. Members of the general public who are interested in understanding and navigating the challenges faced by working in a peacebuilding environment are invited to play the game too.