*This article is a guest written piece. 

There is no denying that we live in a world marked by conflict.

Did you know that there are currently 4 major conflicts/wars that have resulted in 10,000 or more deaths per year for the last two years?

Consider that in 2017 the conflict in Syria resulted in over 39,000 deaths, the Mexican drug conflict resulted in nearly 15,000, the war in Afghanistan 14,000, and the war in Iraq over 13,000. 

Then consider the rest of the world and places like Myanmar, the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Somalia plus 10 other countries where armed conflicts have resulted in casualties between 1,000 and 10,000 people in the last two years alone. 

Let this fact sink in for a moment…there were 15,590 people killed by guns in the United States last year not including gun deaths by suicide. 

What does all of this death lead to? 

Thousands upon thousands of funerals. Mothers and fathers who weep uncontrollably, lives cut far too short, communities torn apart, neighbors turned into enemies, hearts hardened and lives imprisoned by fear. 

Let’s face it: it is really hard at times to not get caught up into the narrative of fear.

It can be difficult for us to resist the world’s story that sows mistrust in others and encourages us to circle the wagons and live in a posture of defensiveness.

At times, we might even try to shut the rest of the world out and live in a pseudo-safe cocoon-like environment where we are surrounded by comfort and quarantined off from the problems of the “world”.

The Journey of Peace

Even though it was 11 years ago, there are many days when it feels like just yesterday: when getting dressed in the morning included putting on a full set of body armor strapped with loaded magazines and picking up my rifle for another day in the life of a soldier serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

There are many aspects from my life as a soldier that I miss everyday. The camaraderie with the men and women I served alongside. The shared sense of struggle and unique bonding that occurs when people face adversity together, and the feeling of exhaustion after a long day of work. 

However, there are other aspects of my life as a soldier that I do not miss. 

I do not miss carrying around a weapon of war to the bathroom and dining hall. 

I do not miss living in a perpetual state of fear, wondering if the worst is about to happen to someone I love.

I do not miss looking at others with constant suspicion of their motives.

I do not miss the look on people’s faces after they have suffered unthinkable tragedies.

I do not miss the toxic culture surrounding combat that entices anger, bitterness, and hatred within the human heart. 

I do not miss being separated, both physically and emotionally, from family and friends.

I do not miss war. 

I do not understand a culture that glorifies the brutality of war.

Bravery, selfless service and sacrifice…these are worthy of our honor and respect. But the ugliness of war should never be glorified. I will never understand the culture of fascination that surrounds weapons of war and treats them like accessories to one’s life, for I know these are nothing more than tools of destruction that reflect the ugliest part of our humanity. 

I refuse to worship war and all of its tools and instruments. I refuse because I have been called to follow the Prince of Peace.

It is for times such as these that we have been called.

As Christians, we need to be careful not to confuse the “absence of conflict” with peace. True peace for the Christian is not understood as being found in perfect harmony or serenity, but rather, peace is to be understood in a twofold manner. 1) As the very presence and being of God. 2) Peacemaking as a ministry of reconciliation.  

PEACE FOUND IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD.

The biblical words for peace, shalom (Hebrew) and eirene(Greek), both convey the understanding that God is the very source of peace. It is God’s presence with us in the valley of the shadow of death that brings peace, not the green pastures or still waters. 

Consider the words from the Apostle Paul:

“Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have.  I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”Philippians 4:11-13

And the blessing of Aaron:

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

Galatians reminds us that peace is a fruit of God’s very Spirit:

“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.” Galatians 5:22-23

God’s abiding hope and presence in our lives is the ultimate source of real peace.

Peacemaking As a Ministry of Reconciliation

The Christian life is one that is always being made new. The Holy Spirit is continually pursuing us and inviting us to live into God’s narrative of healing, forgiveness, and sense of wholeness (shalom).

The Letter of Paul To The Galatians reminds us that we have not only received a calling to “live like Jesus” or to “love like Jesus”, but that Jesus lives inside of us. 

“And it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”Galatians 2:20

The Christian life is not a matter of behaving like Christ, but of allowing Christ himself to live in and through us, and here’s the thing about Jesus: he is always inviting us to join him in the ministry of reconciliation and peacemaking. 

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9

The church embodies the very peace of God when we embrace our foundational purpose of bearing witness to the resurrection of Christ that leads us to seek peace in all areas of our society and around the world. 

Living in the 21st century world we will certainly still hear the voices of fear, discord, and division that are ever present in our lives, but they cannot motivate us, because we are followers of Jesus. 

As citizens of the global world, we will be tempted to choose “sides”, fan the flames of tribalism, and circle the wagons, but we must resist because we are agents of reconciliation. 

As individuals, we will be tempted to build our own kingdoms and serve our own interests, but we must seek first the kingdom of God because we are servants of all. 

When we choose peace over conflict we model the very essence of Christ to a hurting and broken world. 

Rev. Lorne Hlad

Lorne served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006-2007, and currently serves as pastor to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Loveland, OH

GOD, COUNTRY, FREEDOM, AND THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS

Dana Loesch, former writer and editor and spokesperson for the NRA, tweeted out this message on Monday morning, May 7th:

New record attendance for #NRAAM:   87,154 law-abiding attendees over the three-day weekend in Dallas. #2A

The NRA had just completed it’s annual meeting in Dallas.  President Trump and VP Pence were among the many well-known people in attendance.  It is important to remember that the NRA contributed $11,438,118 to the 2016 Trump campaign.  The Huffington Post reports that the NRA spent a total of $419 million during the 2016 election year. 

YOU JUST CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!

A significant constituency at the meeting were those identifying as Evangelical Christians.  Sunday morning’s prayer breakfast was telling in terms of the enmeshment of evangelical faith and guns.  Former all-star MLB player, Adam LaRoche, was giving a testimony. 15 minutes into it he took off his sweater to reveal a black tee shirt that read:

Jesus loves me and my guns.

The attendees gave their loud acclamation.  Oliver North – yes, that Oliver North, controversial figure from the Iran contra-affair and political conservative – is the heir apparent to lead the NRA.  In a rousing 45-minute speech he mixed faith and guns as the divine birthright of American freedom.   Joe Gregory, a charter member of the NRA’s Golden Ring of Freedom, which consists of donors who give $1,000,000 or more to the NRA, opened the breakfast with this prayer:

Lord, we put our faith and trust in you and not in governments or militaries or our own technology or even the strength of our own arms.  Still, we humbly ask you to direct and bless our efforts against those who would seek to take away those freedoms.  Empower us to protect the peace of our homes and ensure the safety of those defending the homeland overseas and deliver us from despots of tyranny.

When the breakfast was over, a reporter asked an organizer why there were no prayers for those killed by gun violence and no mention of the mass shootings.  The organizer replied, “It must have been an oversight.”

And so it was – God, country, freedom, and the right to bear arms.  Any attempt to challenge that covenant is seen as coming from the Evil One.  Keynoter LaRoche reminded everybody that Jesus said in Matthew 10:34,

I did not come to bring peace but a sword.

A STUBBORN STATUS QUO

Since February 14 when Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 and wounding 17 more, making it the deadliest school massacre, we have seen movements rise up all across this country.  There have been social media campaigns, organized marches, school walk-outs, mass marches on Washington, testimonies before congress, heart-rending speeches by kids from Parkland, and pleas from other victims of gun violence to our elected leaders to do something.  This country has seen the largest ground swell of protests against gun violence and current gun laws since December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children, ages 6 and 7, at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.  The results of the protests and the outrage this time around is about the same after all the noise following Sandy Hook died down.  Basically, no change in the status quo.

USAMERICA IDOLATRY – GUNS ARE OUR GOLDEN CALF

When it comes to a love affair with guns, USAmerica’s gun culture is certainly an outlier among developed countries and even among all.  Consider these sobering facts:

• Worldwide, there are an estimated 650 million civilian-owned guns. The U.S. population is 5% of the world population; yet, USAmericans own 48% of all guns.  That’s almost 50%!
• In terms of private gun ownership, the top ten per capita gun-owning countries are: U.S.A., Yemen, Switzerland, Finland, Serbia, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Uruguay, and Sweden.  The U.S. has 90 guns per 100 people.  10th place Sweden has 31; thus, per capita gun ownership in the U.S. is 3 times that of Sweden.  2nd place Yemen has 55 guns per 100 people.  In other words, gun ownership in the USAmerica is 64% higher than in 2nd place Yemen!
• The homicide rate by firearm in USAmerica is such an outlier among developed countries that our homicide rate is almost 4 times that of 2nd place Switzerland and over 21 times the rate in Australia.    
• Annual deaths by gun violence for persons 15-29 now exceed deaths in vehicle-related deaths, 11,947 versus 10,881 (2016).  Only deaths by drugs exceeds deaths by firearms.
• From 1966 to 2012, USAmerica ranked number one in mass shootings with 90.  A mass shooting is defined by 4+ victims, not counting the shooter.  The Philippines was 2nd with 18, followed by Russia with 15, Yemen with 11, and France with 10. 
• Mass shootings for 2014 = 100.  2015 = 135.  2016 = 142.  2017 = 154.  2018 is on pace to break 2017’s pace.
• As of April 20, 2018, on the 19th anniversary of “Columbine,” there had already been 20 school shootings in USAmerica.  That’s 1.25 per week.
• From 1982 until the present, 79% of the killers in mass shootings obtained the weapons legally.
• The general weapon of choice in mass shootings is an AR-15 or equivalent.
• How many assault rifles are in the United States? We do not know.  Lobbying by the NRA has prevented there being a gun registry in USAmerica.

AN INCONVIENIENT TRUTH OR A DIRTY LITTLE SECRET

Mass shootings are primarily a white male problem.  Since 1982, women represent half of the casualties in mass shootings; yet, only three mass shootings were perpetuated by a woman.  And the race of the males is almost overwhelmingly white.  So the perpetrators of these hideous crimes of mass carnage are not the “murderers, rapists, and criminals” coming from “shithole countries.”  They are white USAmericans.  If they were of another ethic group, then there would have been long ago the labeling of the them as “terrorists.”  But because they are white males we choose to focus on things like mental health rather than the heart of the matter.  The United States does not have the market cornered on mental health issues; nor do men. 

WHY?

So why are white men committing mass murders?  Is it because of a catastrophic sense of male entitlement that drives the desire to kill?  30% of mass shooting occur in the workplace.  Is it anger at them, or those people who are taking over our country?  And what about those who murder in our schools?  What is the anger and entitlement that drive them?  

Whatever the reason there is no denying that we have a culture in this country that worships men with guns.

THE CHURCH’S WITNESS

The alliance of faith, patriotism, and guns is not of Jesus.  It is of Emperor Constantine.  Stay tuned for the next blog when I will explore the church’s witness in the midst of our gun culture.

In the abiding hope of the empty tomb,

There are young ones and more seasoned ones. 

They come in all genders – male, female, LQBTQIA. 

They may be brown, white, black, and come from any number of ethnicities and nationalities.

They cover the entire political spectrum and may identify with any socio-economic classification. 

They have differing levels of education. 

What they all have in common is a gift, and that gift makes them outliers among leaders. 

The gift is the capacity to so influence others that they bring about true transformation (as opposed to pseudo-transformation) of people or systems of people - the kind of needful transformation for which life and the world hunger.

This rare and necessary leader may enter a minimally performing organization that has a toxic culture of infighting, backbiting, duplicity, entitlement and the like and bring about not just a changed organization but also an organization that is new.  It is new in its vitality, life-giving culture, and the effectiveness and clarity with which it goes about its mission and achieves its vision.

This rare and necessary leader may be called to a congregation that has been in years of decline, marked by conflict, inward focus, and has a history of chewing up and spitting out pastors who dared to change things; and, yet this leader with the gift and the right spirit is able to midwife the emergence of a new congregation that is vibrant, externally focused, birthing new life to those a part of it and impacting the culture and world around it.

Persons who have been influenced by this leader with the gift often say things like, “I never knew church could be like this,” or “We have totally reordered our lives in light of the gospel, are striving to live intentionally, have discovered that we are exponentially more generous than before, and we love our newfound lives!” 

Who is this rare and necessary leader? 

We know it when we have entered such a leader’s sphere of influence.  We recognize such a rare leader not only in the church, business, and the non-profit world but also in politics and public life. 

Leadership gurus call this particularly gifted one, “The Adaptive Leader.” 

Before going further here, let’s clarify a misperception of the meaning of adaptive leadership.  When many hear the term, “Adaptive Leader,” they presume, “Oh, this is someone who is really adept at adapting to change.”  Though being nimble in adjusting to change is a desired trait in any leader, this is not the gift of the adaptive leader. 

The gift of the adaptive leader is the capacity to facilitate transformation in others, that is, the adaptive leader midwifes the adaptation and embrace of others to change.

In the big picture of things, an adaptive leader then brings about a change of worldviews – a change of paradigms through which people and systems understand themselves.

It facilitates persons abandoning long-held beliefs and strongly-held loyalties in order to be grasped by and give themselves to a new set of loyalties and beliefs.

When Jesus called people to “repent,” he wasn’t asking them to feel bad about themselves. He was asking them to reconstruct their minds – to see things entirely differently because a new day, a kairos time.  God is on the scene. 

Adaptive leadership re-stories people and communities, enabling them, in biblical language, to die to one way of self-understanding with its assumptions and priorities and to rise to a new life.  

Of course, adaptive leadership that is midwifing a change of worldviews, especially those that challenge long-held beliefs or we-have-always-done-it-this-way cultures is a perilous undertaking. 

Ask Galileo, or ask Martin Luther King, Jr, or ask Jesus of Nazareth.  But the drive and passion of an adaptive leader overrides the perils because the change vision is so worthy that failure to achieve the outcome is not an option. 

So, let’s look at five defining traits of this rare and necessary leader:

 

Embodying a conviction of the spirit.

An adaptive leader sees a situation and is so internally convicted that the drive to transform it burns deeply inside.  The one with the gift sees a vision of what is possible and puts one’s own life on the line to achieve it.

The leader is so consumed by the vision that she eats, sleeps, and dreams it.  There is very little reprieve from the consistent dwelling in the vision that needs to be achieved. 

Because others do not share in the same internal burn, the authentic adaptive leader is often misunderstood.  This means that the adaptive leader will find herself to be lonely; yet, the fire within burns. 

Courage.

The adaptive leader needs that internal burn because she or he will almost certainly be attacked by others.

Albert Einstein once said, “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”  The adaptive leader knows that what Einstein calls “the mediocre mind” is incapable of understanding one who refuses to bow down to the status quo and its prejudices. 

It is almost certain in today’s wired world that a bold adaptive leader is going to experience anonymous attacks on social media and sabotage from those most threatened.  But the adaptive leader has grit.

And in the face of nay-sayers, saboteurs, and even those who make up lies to smear the change-agent, the adaptive leader has an internal conversation that says, “Just be big.  Do not get sidetracked.  Don’t lose your focus or drive.” 

Inspiration.

The primary tools of an authentic adaptive leader are vision and inspiration.

The leader is internally inspired and influences transformation through inspiration.  This means that the adaptive leader inspires rather than manipulates people.

The one with the gift leads not by controlling people but by unleashing them.  Choosing transformational leadership over transactional, the leader invests in people rather than manage them, and deploys them as opposed to a quid pro quo employed relationship.  

A Differentiated Self.

The drive and focus of an adaptive leader are so clear that there will certainly be others who will judge the leader as being harsh or arrogant.

Ed Friedman in his manuscript, A Failure of Nerve, delves deeply into this.  The adaptive leader is a human, and humans want to know that they are loved and valued; yet, the adaptive leader is able to differentiate the self and overcome people-pleasing urges because of the drive of the convicted spirit to achieve the sought-after transformation.

Enthusiasm.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” 

Despite the great challenges associate with inspiring and driving change through all the hurdles and pushback, the adaptive leader embodies enthusiasm and a joy that are contagious. 

In Haiti, persons of faith struggling to effect change rise with a song in their hearts, Sa se yon jou grammet la te fѐ.  “This is the day the Lord has made.”  This day – right here, right now – is not a dress rehearsal for another day.  This day is the real thing.  So, let us rejoice and be glad in it!  

To those of you called to lead, knowing the high stakes of this day, be reminded of the words attributed to the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:

I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called…

In the abiding hope of the empty tomb,