ELDERS TEACHING RESOURCE
THE WAY OF PEACE
The Way of Peace is profoundly Biblical. It is also beautiful and inspiring.
Teaching it can be exhilarating because of how wonderful it is. It can also be difficult because of how it runs counter to our natural selves and our cultural assumptions. This site has documents, videos, podcasts, and references for you to use as you prepare to teach the Way of Peace winsomely and accurately.
How to teach the Way of Peace
Scroll down to see five videos of narrated PowerPoint presentations. The first introduces the Way of Peace and suggests reasons why you should teach it. The second and third presentations offer help for teaching the Way of Peace. The Way of Peace is beautiful and inspiring, but it is also controversial at points, so the fourth presentations highlights common misunderstandings and other pitfalls in teaching it. The final presentation narrates some resources that are available here to help you understand and teach the Way of Peace.
Teaching the Way of Peace, Introduction
Teaching the Way of Peace, How to Construct a Persuasive Presentation
Teaching the Way of Peace, How to Construct a Vision and Passion Presentation
Teaching the Way of Peace, Sensitivities
Teaching the Way of Peace, Resources
The Way of Peace document
The following Word document was written at the request of the Elder Body. As you will see, it is still in its draft form. It has not been formally approved by the Elders. It should not be read as an official statement of the ACCA. You may find this helpful for teaching and defending the Way of Peace as we understand it. It includes considerations of Scriptural passages that some see as contradicting the Way of Peace.
Scriptural Stepping Stones
Use these videos to think about what Scriptures you might use as you prepare your presentation on the Way of Peace.
Genesis One: The Way of Peace Begins in the Beginning
Theme: The first revelation of God's character is that he is creative. Importantly, he creates, affirms, and celebrates life.
Keywords: Genesis, life, creation, creativity, character of God
Useful for: Building a case for the WoP as typical of God's character, and for a Vision and Passion WoP presentation.
Genesis Two: The Character of God
Theme: If we see each other as God sees us--as specially created bearers of His image, for the purpose of fellowship with him--can we do anything less than seek peace with each other?
Keywords: Genesis, creation, image of God, Beatitudes
Useful for: Building a case for the WoP as typical of God's character, and for a Vision and Passion WoP presentation.
Genesis Three: Redemption in the Midst of Justice
Theme: God's character includes righteousness and justice, yet in the midst of his imposing of justice he lays out his offer of and plan for redemption. God prefers mercy and redemption.
Keywords: Genesis, the Fall, sin, mercy, justice, Messiah, Savior, character of God
Useful for: Building a case for the WoP as typical of God's character, and for a Vision and Passion WoP Presentation.
Genesis Four: Cain and Abel
Theme: God's merciful character and desire for repentance and forgiveness is on display when a man murders one of God's precious children.
Keywords: Cain, Abel, sin, murder, capital punishment, mercy, character of God
Useful for: Building a case for the WoP as typical of God's character, and for a Vision and Passion WoP
The Conquest of Canaan
Theme: The violence of the conquest of Canaan was likely not God's original intent, and we've probably exaggerated it anyway. What violence did occur is probably more of an example of God's faithfulness and mercy than a rationale for violence today.
Keywords: war, God's faithfulness, mercy, conquest, Canaan, genocide
Useful for: A Persuasion WoP presentation and apologetics
King David the Warrior
Theme: King David was a man after God's own heart, said God himself. He was also a warrior. Here we discuss how David being a warrior was more of a problem than we might think.
Keywords: David, war, mercy, earthy kingdom, two kingdoms, government violence
Useful for: A Persuasion WoP presentation
Peter and Cornelius
Theme: Peter, led by the Spirit, threw wide open the door to God's kingdom when he baptized the Gentile Cornelius. What a beautiful story of God's boundless mercy! But the Bible does not say that Peter demanded Cornelius leave the military. Is that a problem for the Way of Peace?
Keywords: Peter, Cornelius, Gentile, baptism, military, government violence, idolatry
Useful for: A Persuasion WoP presentation
Jesus in the Temple
Theme: Mistranslation of the Greek turns the beautiful story of Jesus making peace with all the nations into a story of Jesus committing violence against his people.
Keywords: Jesus, Temple, Violence, peace with nations, whip
Useful for: A Persuasion WoP presentation
Jesus and the Two Swords
Theme: It is true that Jesus told his disciples to buy swords. On the surface, that seems problematic for Christian nonviolence. This video digs deeper and suggests that actually his command may be an important stepping stone along the Way of Peace.
Keywords: sword, two swords tradition
Useful for: A Persuasion WoP presentation
The Sermon on the Mount, Introduction: God Speaks to the Refugee
Theme: Two famous messages from God were delivered on a mountain top, the first with the establishment of Israel's earthly kingdom, the second when the Messiah announced the Kingdom of Heaven. The Sermon on the Mount is the Constitution for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Keywords: Sermon on the Mount, Jesus and the WoP, character, humility
Useful for: A Vision and Passion WoP presentation
The Sermon on the Mount, II: The Character of Followers of the King
Theme: The Sermon has been called the Constitution of the Kingdom. It begins with the humble and peaceful character of the Kingdom's citizens.
Keywords: Sermon on the Mount, WoP character
Useful for: A Vision and Passion WoP presentation