A culture of peace

I’ve been reminded of late that cultivating a culture of peace is vital to any church, and especially to a church plant. I say “especially” because a new church’s DNA is still in formation in the first years (different from real DNA in that respect). If we begin to emphasize the need for a culture of peace with each new believer, by God’s grace we will see a church of peace. It’s been interesting to see the cultural differences from Chia to Santa Marta. In Chia, the people tended to conceal things more than here, although we also see that tendency here. A person from the Coast is generally more likely to explode and say everything he or she thinks no matter how it comes out. My coworkers and I have also noticed that with many people a direct exhortation (“You’re worse than an unbeliever because you’re not providing for your family!”) may be better than subtly trying to explain the point. At any rate, we desire to inculcate the biblical teachings on peacemaking from the very beginning. The Slippery Slope from Peacemaker Ministries has proven to be worth gold here in Colombia.