What is the person of peace?   It's a term that is increasingly used both in the church and in the mission field.  Practitioners of disciple making movements (DMM) often talk of searching for the person of peace and yet different groups use the term in different ways.  All are correct but for those just beginning to explore the idea of the Person of Peace, a clarification might be in order.  

Some define the Person of Peace (PoP) as anyone who welcomes and opens up their relational network to to the messenger - be that a missionary or a local lay believer crossing the street in their neighborhood.  In this use, the PoP doesn't necessarily need to be someone who initially accepts the message, but rather gives permission to the messenger to share with the group.  They are often a gatekeeper of sorts - an elder of the village or the patriarch of a family.  God is using them to open the door for the message to go forward in their context.  This is also sometimes referred to as a House of Peace.

A second way the idea of the Person of Peace is used is to simply indicate someone whom God has prepared to receive the gospel.  They are a seeker, a God prepared person.  Perhaps they've had a dream or a vision or have had a crisis in life that caused them to do some deep soul searching. Their heart is prepared to respond to the gospel.  They are ready to receive the messenger and the message.

A final way I often hear to idea of the Person of Peace discussed is that they not only are prepared to receive the gospel, but they are also ready and able to reproduce and share the good news with other.  They receive the message and the messenger but they also readily receive the mission.  When the woman at the well believes Jesus in John 4 she immediately takes that message back to he village where she tells everyone the good news and brings them to Jesus.  Many would also refer to this person as a "Fourth Soil Person" who reproduces 30, 60 or 100 times from the Parable of the Sower. 

All of these definitions work but as you are reading the literature or listening to interviews with practitioners, it is helpful to understand how they are using the term.  It was a bit confusing for me the first time I ran into the different ways it was being used.  

Perhaps there are other ways to think about the Person of Peace.  If so, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Until then, I'd encourage you to download this discovery tool to help you learn about the Person of Peace from Jesus' ministry in the gospels.  Trainer's notes are included on page three.

As we immerse ourselves in the story of the scriptures, we allow the Holy Spirit to use them to shape our view of the world, of ministry and of ourselves.  Scripture hammer trainings allow a trainer to step out of the way and allow the Bible to do the heavy lifting of the training.  They require little charism on the part of the trainer, are hard to argue with and place a tool in the hands of those we are training that is immediately reproducible.

The basic idea is to create a list of scriptures that all point toward the basic Biblical principle or lesson you are wanting your trainees to grasp.  A scripture hammer study is best done in groups of 2-5 and then debriefed as a group.  You can create your own for any topic you'd like to train on. 

I've created a one page handout with six scripture hammer studies that I've learned from others and that I've been using to train.  The focus of these particular studies are:

• Discovering the Father's Heart
• Gospel Conversation Hammer
• Discovering the Person of Peace Principle
• Discovering the Relational Network
• Discovering Obedience in Scripture
• Discovering Disciple Making Prayer

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[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SIX STUDIES]

I've written previously about a few of these topic and you can check those out at the links below:

• The Father's Heart
• Person of Peace
• Disciple Making Prayer

A short video sharing a framework for understanding suffering.  This framework has helped me understand the role of suffering in the life of the disciple of Jesus.  The sound quality isn't perfect, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.  What would you add to this framework?  How have you been developing a theology of suffering? 

​Share your thoughts in the comments below.

In the 18th chapter of the book of Luke, Jesus encounters the rich young ruler.  If you’ve been a follower of Christ for long, it is probably a familiar story.  If not, stop and read it here.  

A devout man approaches Jesus wondering what he must do to be saved.  Jesus walks through the commandments - have you obeyed these?  The man replies confidently that he has kept the commands all of his life.  And then Jesus does a curious thing.  He asks the man to do one more thing: sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.

The story follows that, because the man was very wealthy he became very sad and presumably, walked away.  Following Jesus is a tall order.

My friend Justin uses this story in trainings to highlight the reality that Jesus isn’t looking for lukewarm Christians.  This isn’t the only time that Jesus’ words and teaching drive away potential followers.  There’s that crazy scene in John 6 where “many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”  Jesus is looking for committed disciples.  He will build his kingdom not with crowds but with dedicated disciples.  While the world yearns for numbers, Jesus is looking for committed men and women.  

Justin lays out what this commitment might look like using the great commission. He draws out five commitments from the passage and they provide a helpful rubric through which I can reflect on my own heart.  I think they will be helpful for you as well.  

Five Commitments To Be A Disciple of Jesus

1. Authority - Are you willing to submit everything to the authority of Jesus?
2. Go - Are you willing to go anywhere to make disciples for Jesus?
3. Baptize - Are you willing to baptize new believers?
4. Teach Obedience - Are you willing to teach new believers to obey everything that Jesus has commanded?
5. Presence - Are you willing to daily abide in Christ?

It starts with our willingness and commitment.  If you are a leader, a good question to ask first is, "Am I willing?" but the next question has to be, "Are the people I am investing in willing?"  Are they committed disciples or merely lukewarm attendees.  You can fill the pews with the latter but Jesus wants to transform your community, your city, your state and nation - he will turn the world upside down with unschooled, ordinary men and women if they will commit themselves to living the surrendered life and being with Jesus.

As we answer this question we can begin working toward the next question as well:  Are they able?

• Do they know how to submit to Jesus' authority?  If not, can you train them?
• Do they know how to go to the lost?  If not, can you train them?
• Do they know how to baptize new believers?  If not, can you train them?
• Do they know how to make disciples by teaching others to obey Jesus?  If not, can you train them?
• Do they know  how to abide in Jesus?  If not, can you train them?

​It is no mistake that Jesus bookends his commission with authority and presence.   I can do much in my own power but Jesus reminds me that unless I live the surrendered life which I can only do if I abide in Him and experience His presence, little of what I do will have any eternal impact.

"What can I do?"

It's a question that Jesus' disciples all across the world are wrestling with during these unprecedented times.  Covid-19 has locked us indoors and it seems the best way to love others is to stay away from them.  These are indeed strange days.

For many, you've spent the last years investing in the lives of friends who do not yet follow Jesus.  You love them dearly.  You've served them tirelessly and now, you can't see them.

And so we ask, "Lord, what can I do?"

For many the last years have been spent doing things for God.  We serve the church.  We help with programs.  We feed the poor.  We go to this event and that activity.  We lead Bible study.  We do, do, do.

And so when the world comes to a halt, we ask, "Lord, what can I do?"

For myself, this has been a journey into a lesson the Holy Spirit has been trying to teach me for the last few years.  I'm a slow learner!  I am by nature, a doer.  Perhaps we all are.  But in this moment, when "doing" has been in many ways stripped away, I've found myself wandering, wondering, worrying. 

Am I doing enough?  Am I doing  the right things?  And who am I?

The first week in particular was tough.  I'd wander in and out of a sort of discombobulated haze, not knowing up from down, not knowing what I'd do with myself once I finished the next email I was writing or the call I was on.  My "doer" was being battered and I didn't know what to . . . well, do.

In it all I could hear the whisper of God in the distance, an inviting calm that, as the days wore on and my chaos subsided, I began to listen to and to recognize.  

Be my child.
Be my friend.
Be a member of my church.
Be a citizen of heaven.
Be my workmanship.
Be my new creation.
Be justified and righteous.
Be secure in my hand.
Be free from condemnation.

Be with Me.  Be with Me. Be with Me.

How are you finding ways to simply be with Jesus this week?