by Stephen Rodgers

As many of you know, we recently began going through Ken Sande’s book The Peacemaker as a church during our second-hour service.  (I believe that the Grace Life ministry is going through Peacemaking for Families).  To take advantage of this opportunity, we at the Beacon wanted to do our part to create something of a reference for the church; a series of posts that could be looked back on to remind ourselves of the key principles of the classes.

To that end, starting next week, Cesar Vigil-Ruiz will begin a series of articles that correspond to the class.  Just as we’re going through a chapter a week in church, he’ll focus on a chapter a week here at the Beacon.  We will not be doing this concurrently with the classes at church, and there are a few reasons for that:

1. The classes at church are subject to some minor scheduling issues; for example, we don’t meet during the weeks that the College Life ministry or the Singles Life ministry have their annual retreats.  The Beacon doesn’t take those kind of breaks, so we wanted to be able to set a smooth schedule.  This means letting the classes get a little ahead of us before we start our series.
2. People tend to retain information better over the long-term when they have repeated exposure to the material, as opposed to merely intense exposure.  This is why most people who cram for an exam (in any subject), tend to forget the material shortly thereafter, but people who continuously expose themselves to the material time after time tend to remember it.  Our hope is that by having a gap of 2-3 weeks between the class at church and the article here, we’ll be able to serve in that way.
3. Last but not least, this gives us time to gather up all the class-related material (audio recordings, notes, Powerpoint presentations, etc.) and make them available to you along with the article.

JP Moreland once wrote (Love Your God with All Your Mind) that the study of a book begins not with reading the first page, but with reading the table of contents.  To that end, I’d like to give you a very brief outline of the structure of the book, and how the 12 chapters line up with the famous (at least at our church) “4 G’s of Peacemaking.”

This won’t have much original material (after all, Peacemaker Ministries puts this all on their website), but I think it will be helpful to understand what’s ahead.

The Four G’s

Conflict is not necessarily bad or destructive. Even when conflict is caused by sin and causes a great deal of stress, God can use it for good (see Rom 8:28-29). As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Cor 10:31-11:1, conflict actually provides three significant opportunities. By God’s grace, you can use conflict to:

• Glorify God (by trusting, obeying, and imitating Him)
• Serve other people (by helping to bear their burdens or by confronting them in love)
• Grow to be like Christ (by confessing sin and turning from attitudes that promote conflict).

These concepts are totally overlooked in most conflicts because people naturally focus on escaping from the situation or overcoming their opponent. Therefore, it is wise to periodically step back from a conflict and ask yourself whether you are doing all that you can to take advantage of these special opportunities.

Part 1 – Glorify God (1 Cor 10:31)

Biblical peacemaking is motivated and guided by a deep desire to bring honor to God by revealing the reconciling love and power of Jesus Christ.  As we draw on His grace, follow His example, and put His teachings into practice, we can find freedom from the impulsive, self-centered decisions that make conflict worse, and bring praise to God by displaying the power of the Gospel in our lives.

This section includes the following chapters:

• Chapter 1 – Conflict Provides Opportunity
• Chapter 2 – Live at Peace
• Chapter 3 – Trust in the Lord and Do Good

Part 2 – Get the Log Out of Your Own Eye (Matt 7:5)

Attacking others only invites counterattacks. This is why Jesus  teaches us to face up to our own contributions to a conflict before we focus on what others have done.  When we overlook others’ minor offenses and honestly admit our own faults, our opponents will often respond in kind.  As tensions decrease, the way may be opened for sincere discussion, negotiation, and reconciliation.

This section includes the following chapters:

• Chapter 4 – Is This Really Worth Fighting Over?
• Chapter 5 – Conflict Starts in the Heart
• Chapter 6 – Confession Brings Freedom

Part 3 – Gently Restore (Gal 6:1)

When others fail to see their contributions to a conflict, sometimes we need to graciously show them their fault.  If they refuse to respond appropriately, Jesus calls us to involve respected friends, church leaders, or other objective individuals who can help us encourage repentance and restore peace.

This section includes the following chapters:

• Chapter 7 – Just Between the Two of You
• Chapter 8 – Speak the Truth in Love
• Chapter 9 – Take One or Two Others Along

Part 4 – Go and Be Reconciled (Matt 5:24)

Finally peacemaking involves a commitment to restoring damaged relationships and negotiating just agreements.  When we forgive others as Jesus has forgiven us and seek solutions that satisfy others’ interests as well as our own, the debris of conflict is cleared away and the door is opened for genuine peace.

This section includes the following chapters:

• Chapter 10 – Forgive as God Forgave You
• Chapter 11 – Look Also to the Interests of Others
• Chapter 12 – Overcome Evil with Good

I hope that overview is helpful in orienting yourself for where we’ll be going over the next couple months.  We’re looking forward to it.