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The troubling giants that the world faces are daunting. In fact, it’s easy for even the strongest Christian to be tempted to just give up and accept these problems as being “the fate of the world.” But God wants us to respond, and He promised to build our faith in the process. Here's how the PEACE framework calls us to respond:
All over the world conflict results when people either avoid or attack each other. Reconciliation is about repairing broken relationships. It’s about our individual relationship with God being restored and our connection to our fellow man repaired.
Whether we are at home, at work, or in public or private settings, relationships with others that are broken or frayed take a terrible toll on our lives. The same forgiveness and love that God has freely offered to us must be shared with others as we seek renewed connection with those whom we have hurt or have hurt us. This is how our relationship with God and our connection with others reaches healing and health.
We promote reconciliation when we:
• Connect with partners to accomplish mutual goals even though there still may be unresolved issues on which we disagree
• Join networks of other like-minded people ready to tackle the giants in their own community and in communities around them
• Bring people together so that genuine fellowship with God and with others can be nurtured
• Offer God’s love, forgiveness and hope to a world of people who are disconnected from their relationship to God and their fellow man
God becomes visible in the world today when people share the message of reconciliation with others, start churches and fellowship groups, and live a life that demonstrates that the love of Jesus is at work within us. We are commanded by Jesus to preach the Good News and to tell others that God loves us and he expects us to love and forgive others, as well.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5: 17-19)
When we promote reconciliation we will discover that we can work shoulder to shoulder without having to see eye to eye.
All over the world people are suffering because of selfish and tyrannical leaders. This Giant of self-centeredness may be seen in the demanding dictator, the overbearing boss at work, or even an unloving husband or abusive parents in the home. The PEACE Plan addresses self-serving leadership by equipping those who are in charge to think and act as caring servant leaders.
“Without wise leadership a nation is in trouble.” (Proverbs 11:14)
“Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.” (Proverbs 16:12)
The PEACE Plan works to develop servant leaders who imitate Jesus and accept His life as our model. The world today needs more people who lead with a servant heart, like Jesus.
“The one who serves you best will be your leader.” (Luke 22:26)
“That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage." (Matthew 20:28)
Only when servant leaders step forward will we see nations prosper, businesses thrive with honest and credible supervision, and families know true significance as they are ministered to by heads of households that have learned to love like Jesus loves.
To that end, PEACE seeks to:
• Offer training and mentor relationships to equip those who are in leadership to sacrificially serve and responsibly manage those who are in their care
• Spend time with young people to teach them the meaning of integrity and the power of a positive lifestyle
• Establish clear guidelines and provide models for a compassionate leadership style in the home
• Develop a network of government and business leaders to encourage and support values that promote good governance, justice, and fairness
As we equip leaders we discover that dynamic leadership builds itself on a foundation of sacrificial service.
Poverty is a far bigger problem than simply having no money. We have seen money thrown at problems all over the world with no measurable relief given to those who are suffering. A proven response is to train people in basic job skills that can make a difference in their lives, and in the lives of their communities and families. It’s imperative to teach competent business skills that are vital to sustaining and developing entrepreneurial success.
It’s common for successful members of societies to overlook and ignore the needs of the poor and destitute who can seem so insignificant. The poor are not insignificant to God.
“God blesses those who are kind to the poor. He helps them out of their troubles.” (Psalm 41:1)
“What God considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering.” (James 1:27)
It is easy to forget the specialized talents and unique life experiences that many of us have been privileged to develop over time. These often-forgotten treasures of life lessons can be utilized to combat poverty whether initiating a simple idea or instituting a complex blueprint for change.
Together, through PEACE, we can:
• Offer simple encouragement and practical training in basic life skills to lift the poor out of the clutches of poverty
• Present healthy models with good work habits to educate and stimulate the development of successful life skills
• Teach modern techniques in a variety of areas and help others discover what it means to follow through to completion a well-built plan
• Reinforce the importance of integrity in the workplace and how it relates to all of our relationships at work and ensures success in the home
• Share what we have with those who have so little and help them leverage this practical help to bring about their maximized success
“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord – and he will repay you!” (Proverbs 19:17)
“Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing; do not close your eyes to poverty.” (Proverbs 28:27)
Together, through PEACE, we address the giant of poverty by:
• Coordinating the connections between government, business, and the local church
• Empowering opportunities for new storehouses of funds in local churches to specifically address relief needs
• Inspiring the creation of new tools created by regular members of churches in order to develop new economic solutions
• Encouraging training for appropriate micro-credit solutions and poverty assistance through the local church
• Fostering partnerships with organizations that are already working in micro-credit and macro-credit
• Connecting specialty training and coaching in the development of geographic-specific business opportunities
Caring partnerships, coupled with training opportunities and skills development, can slow down the spread of poverty.
Assisting the poor consists of giving our time and skills along with our money.
Sadly, diseases for which the Western world cured in the 19th and 20th centuries continue to destroy lives in the poorer nations today.
For example, we know how to clean unhealthy water and dig deeper and more sanitary wells. It is vital that we pass these skills on to others. We have developed cheap and powerful cures and have learned preventative measures that can eradicate Malaria in our lifetime. We know how to prevent the contraction of AIDS and stop the spread of this killer disease in its tracks.
Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Therefore our response to the sick and diseased among us must be the same as that of Jesus. He responded to the sick with compassion, mercy, tenderness, and caring.
As we serve the sick with compassion, we must be prepared to:
• Relieve the embarrassment of the sick by accepting those who suffer in whatever condition we might find them
• Give hope to those who have given up on life who can no longer believe that there are answers for their health and medical troubles
• Carefully and accurately diagnose the symptoms of those who are suffering and then help to get the right medicines and make them available to treat the afflicted
• Teach proper habits to combat the simple enemies of good health; unsanitary living conditions and disorder
• Ask God to heal those who are sick by learning to pray the effective prayer of the righteous in full belief and confidence in the healing power of God
• Partner with health care providers and other organizations to establish new models of health care which will operate out of existing church facilities and utilize the lay membership of the church
• Create thousands of distribution points for health care where none now exist as we utilize the facilities owned by the church, everywhere
• Establish and help to develop basic health care training programs in which the local congregations become the teachers
“If you see someone in need, and have the means to do something about it, but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love in you? It disappears!” (1 John 3:17)
When we care for the physical needs of others we must remember that they have spiritual needs as well.
How can a country grow and be strong economically when its citizens can’t read, can’t write, and don’t know the fundamentals of math and science that so many take for granted? It’s no wonder that so many countries around the globe so poor.
Without these basic and crucial abilities, any higher education is certainly out of reach as is the ability to earn income to support a family.
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6)
There’s a desperate need for teachers and schools and materials to help people, especially young children, grow in their understanding of life and the world around them. This includes a strong foundation of religious training that leads people to a deep connection with God through Jesus.
“Your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost!” (Matt. 18:14)
When we teach a child the keys to successful living when they are young, we are passing on skills that will serve them for their entire life.
“Teach the children how they should live, and they will remember it all their lives.” (Proverbs 22:6)
Illiteracy is overcome by learning to read and write. Ignorance is overcome with training, accountability and discipline. People must be equipped to live successful lives by others who have more experience. These important issues for life training might include reading, writing and arithmetic, but a well-rounded education will also include health and hygiene issues, too.
“After Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught as one who had real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law.” (Matthew 7:28-29)
The PEACE Plan confronts the giant of illiteracy and ignorance by utilizing:
• Millions of volunteers from local churches, government entities, private businesses, and non-profits working together effectively in the community to teach reading, writing, and other necessary life skills
• Free online training content accessible in churches where the geographic location may have limited internet access
• Church-to-church training of skilled teachers to expand the workforce of those who are willing to teach others
These problems are gigantic, but ordinary people of faith, working together, can chip away at the chaos and bring hope to the hopeless.
"God blesses those who work for peace for they will be called the children of God." (Matthew 5:9)
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