Peacebuilding ‫ دس‬the Religious Other
Re-engaging Brethren Practiees
as a Foundation for Peacebuilding
Nathan Hosier
OTH conflict and religion are ubiqui-
tous, and conflict occurs in the presence of re-
ligion with some regularity. At times it ap-
pears that religion causes conflict, while at
other times it appears to exacerbate conflict.
On the other hand, religion at times seems
to be the driving force in creating peace.
In both of my professional experiences to
date I have lived in this "ambivalence of the
sacred," the ability of religion to be both a
force for conflict and an agent of peace. As
such, my impetus for thinking about theolo-
gy in relation to interreligious peacebuilding
is similar to that which undergirds Miroslav
Volf's Allah: A Christian Response. He writes
that his book is in response to the question,
"Why bother with God at all when dealing
with conflicts between Christians and Mus-
lims on the world stage? Even if the protag-
onists are religious people, are the conflicts
themselves religious? ©٢ are these, rather,
conflicts over worldly goods, such as free-
dom or territory, economic resources (oil!)
or political power in which religion plays
only a minor role?"^ Not only is religion in
relation to conflict an important topic, but
as described in Cod's Century: Resurgent
Religion in Global Politics, religion is play-
ing an increasingly weighty role in politics
around the world. In light of the fifth rule for
surviving in the new political landscape
described in this book‫" ־‬expect religious
actors to play a larger and mom pervasive
role [in politics] than conventional wisdom
F ALL 2013
anticipates"2— we must § ‫؛‬٧^ adequate
attention to interreligious peacebuilding.
The argument of this paper w ill be as fol-
lows. First, I w ill argue that the self-defini-
tion of the church's existence is necessarily
theological. We w ill see that there is a ri$l<
of separating practice from theology in
interfaith peacemaking. Religious people
often think that if we are going to work
together with the religious other on the
"ethical" or "practical" elements of life
together then we must at least temporarily
set aside theological issues and identity. I
w ill argue for a theologically rich practice.
From here I w ill demonstrate that our ethics
are inextricably theological to the point that
these two concepts are unable to be sepa-
rated without being mutually hollowed out,
but that this in no way precludes our
engagement in interfaith peacemaking. In
the second section, I w ill examine the
Church of the brethren beliefs and charac-
teristics of following the way of Jesus, the
New Testament as our creed, and the priest-
hood of all believers and examine how they
support interreligious peacebuilding.
Our Existence is
Theologieat
©٧٢ existence is theological. The Church is
a community that began and exists on the
basis of definite theological claims. This is
our identity, w hat, however, constitutes
‫ﻣﻊ‬ ‫وق‬
 identity? An ethnic identity is an inherited
identity. Benedict Anderson in Imagined
Communities writes of national identity that
nationality and nationalism "are cultural
arti‫؛‬acts ٥‫ ؛‬a particular kind. To understand
them properly we need to consider care‫؛‬ul-
ty how they have come into historical
Iftheological reasonsfo r
existence disappear, then
somethingmusttaketheir
place in orderfor the
community to continue ٠ and cheerful obedience to the plain, simple
being, in what ways their meanings have
changed over time, and why, today, they
command such a profound emotional legit-
imacy."3 Though inherited, this identity is
not static. It can change, be manipulated,
and be emphasized or deemphasized in
particular ways by individual members of
the group or by the group as a whole. In a
similar way to other forms of identity, an
ecclesial identity is constituted of core ele-
menfs. w hen there is no shared understand-
ing of at least some of foe core components
of this identity, then foe existence of the
group is tenuous. W hile ١٧^ as the church
may at times remain together out of habit or
common history, this history began and has
continued due to theological beliefs and
theologically formed practices. If theologi-
cal reasons for existence disappear, then
something must take their place in order ‫؛‬٠٢
the community to continue.
Though the Church ٠‫ ؛‬the Brethren is
non-creedal, both foe Brethren and creed-
professing churches hold theological trufos
as a core component of the community that
professes these beliefs. The Brethren have
claimed "foe ^^١٧ Testament is our creed."
W hile fois is obviously a much broader set
of beliefs ٠٢ text that requires interpretation,
it is nonetheless a religious statement that is
understood to be in some way normative or‫؛‬
e and ourbelie‫؛‬
,liIndeed
‫؛‬. the question
What is the chureh?," when asked by those"
within the community, must be answered
theologically. In very broad naming‫־؛‬
sel
terms, the church is the community -opeo ‫؛‬
-pie gathered around theological affirma
tions concerning the person o
and theestation‫؛‬
,Jesus,
‫؛‬
mani 0‫ ؛‬the Spirit in the
God
world. It may, however, be argued that the
Brethren have been highly practical sort of
people, □ale Brown quotes □..‫ ا‬Miller
claiming, "In the subtleties
speculativeo ‫؛‬
.theology the church takes but little interest
She is chiefly concerned in giving w illing
commandments 0‫ ؛‬Jesus Christ."^ Though
-concerned with the "plain, simple com
mandments 0‫ ؛‬-Jesus Christ", such state
ments remain significantly theological not i‫؛‬
-particularly abstract or metaphysical. Practi
.cal does not mean non-theological
-When engaging in interfaith peacebuild
ing there is the risk that by working on
practical" issues we forget that our actions"
e together are theological. To and assert‫؛‬
li
that practical work is theological work is
not to say that we must always talk about
theology while collaborating on projects
such as a joint education project, building
project, or a conforence on peace-‫؛‬ul coex
istence. The assumption is often made that
the everyday operations 0‫ ؛‬e are distinct‫؛؛‬ l
rom theological consideration. The risk‫ ؛‬0‫؛‬
such building
separation
the habit
is thato‫؛‬
-it may allow us to make ethically and theo
logically significant choices based on mere
-practical necessity. Is retributive punish
?ment necessary to deter potential criminals
Is war a necessary evilthis ace
in or
the
o‫؛؛‬
that situation? W ill forgiveness undermine
foe order of society? W hile one should not
-make a case from the most extreme exam
pies in order to prove a point, foe above
-questions and many other less consequen
tial decisions related to peacebuilding are
R E T H R E N L I F E 8c T H O U G H T
often answered in merely pragmatic terms
when in fact they are deeply theological.
A challenge of interfaith peacebuilding
may lie in part with the divergent means
and starting points of theology and political
philosophy. Theology, while bearing many
practical implications for how we live, does
not start with purely practical ‫ ؟‬uestions.
Theology does not start with, "Should I kill
this person if it w ill save mom lives?" but
begins with positing the existence of the
God of Abraham .‫ و‬Theology first posits
things about the world, the divine, and our
existence in relation to these. This starting
point determines a great deal about how we
think about complicated practical prob-
ferns. Additionally, theology has certain
authoritative or central texts, traditions, or
communal practices. These texts provide a
consistent point of reference to defend or
challenge ^ rfic u la r theological claims. Pol-
itics, on the other hand, may be defined as
the practical organization of public life.
Certain theologians or philosophers may
assert fee primacy of political discourse
over the practical mechanics, but politics
fundamentally is the practical organization
of public life, w hen applied to interfaith
peacebuilding, we experience two distinct
theological femilies seeking to agree on the
practical organization of public life. The
practical necessity of peaceful co-existence
stands alongside the theological challenge
of divergent religious claims. Though some
may argue that feis is precisely fee reason
for the setting aside of theology, I assert that
to ignore fee theological peculiarity of each
group not only empties out fee group's exis-
fence but undercuts and limits fee foil
potential of dialogue and peacebuilding.
Theology as Ethical—A Way
into Peacebuilding?
Given fee church's existence as an inextri-
cably theological body, we must not seek to
rid ourselves of theological distinctiveness
T A L L 20
since this would undo ou‫ ׳؛‬existence.
Rather, we must find a way to live with our
theological identity while engaging the the‫־‬
ological/religious other in the practical task
0‫ ؛‬organizing public life. One potential way
through this challenge is by examining the
foundations of theology. Is the truthfulness
Theology, while bearing
manypractimlimplkations
forhowwelive,doesnot
startwithpurely
practical questions ٠
or foundation of theology in any way relat-
ed to ethics or lived theology? Stanley
Hauerwas asserts as much when he writes,
"Christians are people who remain con-
vinced that the truthfulness of their beliefs
must be demonstrated in their lives. There is
a sense in which Christian convictions are
self-referential, but the reference is not to
propositions but to lives."6 It may not be
that the lives prove that theological claim A
is true but that they in some way bear wit-
ness to the likelihood that this is true. If, for
example, according to 2 Corinthians 5 we
are reconciled to God and are thus given a
ministry of reconciliation, we demonstrate
or undermine the truthfulness of this claim
by the way we embody reconciliation.
After establishing fee inability to separate
theology from practice within the church, we
are still left wife the challenge of how to en-
gage specific practical challenges theologi-
cally. Hauerwas claims that the church does
not have a social efeic, it is a social ethic.
By this he means that there is no universal
overarching non-specific social efeic. ft is
feat the church as a social ethic interacts
wife its specific location, culture and polit-
ical context as part of its living in fee story
of God. "Christian social ethics is not first of
‫ؤﺀﺑﻰ‬ 41
 all principles ٠٢ policies for social action but
rather the story of God's calling of Israel and
of the life of Jesus. That story re‫ ؟‬uires the for-
mation of a corresponding community which
has learned to live in a way that makes it
possible for them to hear that story."^
W hile teaching and developing peace-
Readingscripture is not
separatefrom the believing
community which is not
separatefrom tiring
in the ‫دس‬ harsh
realities ofthe ‫ ﻣﺤﺲ‬.
building curriculum with the Church of the
Brethren in northern Nigeria, I struggled to
think through and meaningfully engage with
Jesus' teaching on loving enemies, which I
took to include not using violence against
them, amid the very real threat of violence
faced by the future church workers I was
teaching. Part of my eventual response was
to draw three circles ٠٨ the chalkboard and
label them scripture, community, and world.
I used this as a model of a dialectic for liv-
ing the in-between tension of Jesus' teach-
ing and living this teaching. As a Christian,
I move between these three circles. I move
between reading scripture, going into the
world, and working through both of these
with the community. Reading scripture is
not separate from the believing community
which is not separate from living in the
sometimes harsh realities of the w o r ld
This approach assumes limitations of
knowledge while trusting in the commun¡-
ty's process of engaging with a fixed point
of reference and discussion. This process
assumes a process toward understanding as
a community rather than any one individ-
ual, clergy, ٠٢ institution having a claim on
42 ‫نص‬
full undestanding. This is the case both {٠٢
theology proper and theology in practice ٠٢
ethics. As Hauerwas notes:
Christian ethics is not what one does
after one gets clear on everything
else, ٠٢ after one has established a
starting point or basis of theology;
rather it is at the heart of the theologi-
cal task. For theology is a practical
activity concerned to display how
Christian convictions construe the self
and world. Therefore theological
claims concerning the relation of ere-
ation and redemption are already eth-
ical claims, since they situate how
one works methodologically.^
Theology, while making specific claims of
truth, is more process than end result. It is
the continual and repeated process from
generation to generation of re-engaging
scripture, tradition, and context in order to
think about God. This occurs not just in the-
ology. Rather, "the church is the lively argu-
ment, extended over centuries and occa-
sioned by the stories of God's calling of
Israel and the life and death of Jesus Christ,
to which we are invited to contribute by
learning to live faithful to those stories."‫؟‬
This ongoing thinking is essentially an
ongoing conversation concerning right
thinking, right worship, and right action.
Not only does this process teach us about
ethics, ٠٢ the way we should live, but it is
itself an ethical task. Talking about God
re‫ ؟‬uires character, humility, patience, and
skill. In this way the end result (if there ever
is an end) of theology not only molds our
ethics but the process itself is an ethically
charged activity. Ethics becomes theologi-
cal ("Is it just to kill? That is, who holds
life?"). Theology becomes ethical ("God
created humanity in the divine image. As
such, how do I interact with someone who
is created in the image of God but does not
adhere to my religious beliefs?").
R E T H R E N L I E E 8c T H O U G H T
 As a church thinking about interreligious
peacebuilding we must embrace the reality
that not only is our existence theological,
but our interreligious peacebuilding as a
practice is theological. It is not possible or
advisable to attempt to skirt these realities.
By embracing this we may learn to fully ap-
precíate our lives together within the m ulti‫־‬
faceted ecclesial and interfaith landscape.
This may allow a fuller embrace of divergent
practices and beliefs without an uneasy tol-
erance or the universalizing homogeniza-
tion of "it's all the same anyway."
Brethren Foci in the
Service of Peacebuilding
In the first part I argued that for Christians
theology and practice or ethics cannot be
separated. This section w ill propose several
practices of peacebuilding that may be
linked directly to specific theological
beliefs and practices. I attempted to address
theological characteristics that may not typ-
ically be associated with peacebuilding,
such as non-resistance or peacemaking. By
examining practices and beliefs that less
obviously support peacebuilding I hope to
make a stronger case. Following in the way
of Jesus, the New Testament as our creed,
and the priesthood of all believers w ill be
examined.
Following the Way ofjesus
The Church of the Brethren has based a
great deal of its life, practice, and belief on
discipleship or "following the way ofjesus."
Not only has the church taken many New
Testament admonitions such as "do not
swear oaths" (James) quite literally, but
there also has been a focus on fully entering
into the life and teachings ofjesus. This is an
emphasis on being transformed rather than
having arrived. Being on the way implies
continued learning and formation. The pri-
mary point of reference in this transforma-
FALL 2013
tion is the life and teaching ef Jesus as found
in the New Testament and read in commu‫־‬
nity. Such a disposition of continued learn‫־‬
ing rather than fortifying for defense allows
for more positive interaction with those of
other religions, w h ile presently our focus
w ill he on this idea of being on a journey of
We must embrace the
reality thatnotonly is
our existence theological,
butourinterreligious
peacebuildingas a
practice is theological
learning and formation there are many
other aspects of following in the way o f
Jesus that could he explored such as insep‫־‬
arability of belief and practice or as a foun-
dation of ethical behavior.10
Following in the way o f Jesus w ill be ‫ ؛־‬٧٢
ther narrowed to the concepts of engaging
risk and eschatological patience. These two
theological/ethical/spiritual practices w ill
then be expanded into the practice of
peacebuilding.
Risk to Engage
The spiritual practice ‫ ؛ه‬entering the way of
Jesus and being transformed bears with it
risl< and at times uncertainty. A type of cer-
tainty, however, is needed for conviction to
bear the fruit of committed peacebuilding.
W hile a level of certainty may be necessary
to establish the resolve needed for peace-
building, the spiritual practice of entering
the way of Jesus allows us to enter the risl<
and vulnerability of working for peace. O f
risk John Paul Lederach writes: "Risk is mys-
tery. It requires journey. Risk means that we
take a step toward and into the unknown.
43
 By definition, risk accepts vulnerability and
lets go of the need to an a priori control of
process ٠٢ the outcome of human affairs. ...
Fisk means stepping into a place where you
am not sure what w ill come ٠٢ what w ill
happen."11
The peacebuilder lives wifo risks and en-
Peacebuildingrequires an
awareness ofpower levels
and dynamics‫ااا’ﺀ س'ا‬
‫־‬
than ignoringßiem.
courages others to take risks. Not only is it
a risk to be a peacebuilder and to enter into
a conflict, but a primary task of fois person
is encouraging parties to take a risk to de-
escalate, de-militarize, come to the negoti-
ating/mediating table, ٠٢ genuinely partici-
pate-w hether in compromise, healing, dis-
cussing, ٠٢ forgiveness, when two parties are
engaged in a violent conflict, each prefers
to come to the negotiating table with foe
greater amount of power. Conflict résolu-
tion expert Bernard Mayer even asserts,
"Power is the currency of conflict/ '1^ In
every conflict, whether violent ٠٢ not, the
goal of each party is to increase their share
of power. Having the power means having a
greater ability to assert one's w ill. Even in an
everyday discussion ٠٢ argument we seek to
gain this power for our position through
persuasion. We seek to demonstrate that
our position has more merits or that for
whatever reason we deserve to have the
decision go our way.
In situations of relatively balanced power
bofo parties must compromise on their
desired outcomes. In conflicts of highly lop-
sided power the stronger party may impose
their w ill on the other. In situations of
uneven power the weaker party may
engage in activities to gain power relative to
the other party. In militarized conflicts the
44 ‫ده‬
weaker party may engage in guerilla war-
fare ٠٢ terrorism. These are the approaches
of groups unable to mount an open battle.
By using secrecy and an ability to disap-
pear, weaker parties seek to gain an ^^‫ ־‬٧ ٨^
tage in relation to the stronger party. W ith-
out engaging the moral or tactical difficul-
ties of any of these approaches it should
simply be noted that peacebuilding re‫ ؟‬uires
an awareness of power levels and dynamics
rather than ignoring them. As Mayer notes,
"The choice in conflict is not whether to use
power but how to use it."13 Additionally, to
bring conflicting parties together entails not
only a risk for the ^a ceb u ild e r but involves
asking the parties to face particular risks as
well. For both parties it may be that the
other party is gaining time to re-group, gain
strength, stall for time to get supplies, ٠٢
learn of the other's weaknesses or strategy.
This willingness to engage risk should be a
component of following the way of Jesus.
Eschatological Patience
The practice of following the way of Jesus
entails all aspects of life, not only doctrinal
belief. Alongside character formation, wis-
dom is something not easily r^antified. As
we follow the way of Jesus we are formed in
the patience, courage, and hum ility neces-
sary to build peace. These attributes both slow
us down and push us forward. These may be
juxtaposed as eschatological patience and
prophetic assertion. Frophetic assertion al-
ludes to foe push for justice for marginalized,
prophetic zeal as seen in foe Hebrew Scrip-
tures and Jesus overturning the tables in the
temple (from the Gospels), and the urgency
to build peace between estranged and con-
flicted parties.^ When thinking about peace-
building and the often related work of advo-
cacy, we are ‫ ؟‬uite familiar with foe image of
the prophet exposing injustice. On the flip
side of prophetic assertion is eschatological
patience, which points to our being part of
a story and movement of reconciliation that
R E T H R E N L I F E 8c T H O U G H T
is longer than our own lives. We recognize
that God and not we make history turn out
right, and we can rest and act in this hope.
Far from encouraging apathy, however, we
are called to move with the work of recon-
ciliation that God is already doing. Jurgen
Moltmann writes, "[Hope] sees reality and
mankind in the hand of him whose voice
calls into history from its end, saying,
'Behold, I make all things new,' and from
hearing this word of promise it ac‫ ؟‬uires the
freedom to renew life here and to change
the face of the w orld."15
In peacebuilding and conflict resolution,
‫ ؟‬uick results are not necessarily likely or
lasting. Solutions to intractable conflict or
systemic poverty and injustice are by défini-
tion deeply embedded and complex. The
world is full of rusting, well-intentioned
development projects and one-time interre-
ligious dialogue events, w h ile some good
may come from these efforts, efforts that
truly help should provide support and infra-
structure for development projects or create
the opportunity for multiple exposures to
cross-religious dialogue partners. Near the
beginning of our work in Nigeria there was
an interfaith conference on peaceful coexis-
tence. W hile this was a good in fe re n c e ,
the greatest benefit came from an interfaith
planning group that grew out of this one-
day event. As the group continued to meet
and plan for interfaith peacebuilding
events, my wife Jenn and I noticed visibly
increased levels of friendship and ease
between all members of the group. Central
to this is built trust.
Long-term engagement is critical to
peacebuilding. This typically involves conti-
nuity of specific individuals but may also be
achieved through consistent long-term
engagement in a conflict or community-
building endeavor. In my master's degree
thesis in International Relations I conducted
an analysis of case studies on religious per-
sons in international peacebuilding. Long-
term engagement was found in every case
FA LL 2013
study that ‫ ا‬analyzed, ©ne instance was
Mennenite Cenfral Cemmittee's ^esence in
Somalia even after most or all other interna-
tional organizations left the region .‫ ئ‬This
commitment to come and remain not only
allows for a greater understanding of the
cultural and religious context but demon-
Inpeacebuildingand
confiict resolution! quick
results arenotnecessarily
likely or lasting.
strates commitment. Such commitment
engenders the trust necessary ‫؛‬or effective
peacebuilding.
Following in the way of Jesus enters us
into the uncertainty of transformation, but
this transformation bears fruit in formed
character and resolve. The theological idea
and spiritual practice of the way provides
both the reason and the moral skills for
engaging in interfaith peacebuilding.
New Testament is Our Creed
The Church of the brethren's claim that the
New Testament is our creed both clarifies
and clouds our self-understanding. Creeds
were created to summarize, simplify, and
clearly state the beliefs of the Church.
W hile the intention of creed writing may be
good, the Brethren have felt that such con-
cise statements diminish rather than
enhance our understanding of God and our
place in the world. One common com-
plaint is that the creeds make almost no
mention of the life of Jesus but Jump straight
from birth to his death. For a people formed
by following in the way of Jesus this is an
inexplicable omission, fart of the Brethren's
response to the creeds has been to assert
that the New Testament is our creed. By
doing this we have allowed for closer atten-
‫ؤص‬ 45
 tion to the life of Jesus but we have also
opened ourselves to almost endless inter-
pretations and readings of what it means to
be a Christian.
The New Testament as creed points to a
willingness to cross-examine our beliefs
and assumptions and to be challenged by
Perhaps thefundamental
difference is thatdiabgue
requires vulnerability,
while negotiation requires
gainingastrongposition ٠ Indeed, many people tend to e-‫؟‬uate interre
scripture. The process of reading and inter-
preting scripture in community flattens the
authority structures that have historically
developed within the Church. The practice
of reading scripture in community is a dia-
logic process that brings everyone into the
discussion. This has foe potential to disrupt
the buildup of authority structures that dis-
empower non-professional theologians
who faithfully read scripture. Dale Brown
writes that in this Anabaptist communal
hermeneutic the "locus of authority shifts
from the text itself or the hierarchy of foe
church or foe technically (qualified biblical
and theological scholars to committed
believers around the W o rd ."^ This practice
is much different from the practice of gath-
ering and airing opinions but rather
empowers all to give serious thought to the
text and the way of Jesus. In this we do not
arrive at truth by having it dictated from
authorities nor do we merely take a demo-
cratic poll to find the opinion that happens
to be popular. The New Testament as creed
points to foe process of faithful reading and
discerning in conversation with one anofo-
er and the text as guided by the Holy Spirit
The practice of reading the Scriptures to -
gefoer and taking the New Testament as our
46 ‫و‬
creed provides a glimpse into a valuable
spiritual practice ٠‫ ؛‬.dealing with differences
Thisallows
practicedialogue
and belie
as ‫؛‬
a method ٠‫ ؛‬-truth-finding rather than impos
ing doctrine. This spiritual and community
discipline both -‫؛‬orms our character and en
h le / e n-‫؛‬orces/strengthens/builds the prac
tice 0‫ ؛‬-peacebuilding. This points to a w ill
ingness to askuestions-and‫؟‬
built on relationships we may be able to ask
significant
uestions that would be offensive in a di‫؛؟‬-
erent context. why, For example‫؛‬
given‫ ״‬,
the Brethren history ٠‫ ؛‬being persecuted, do
or religious
you notminorities‫؛‬
stand up
today?" The process of asking -‫؟‬uestions, lis
.tening, and sharing is the core of dialogue
ligious peacebuilding with dialogue. W hile
peacebuilding practice is much larger than
dialogue, dialogue and the values that
undergird it are deeply embedded in the
process 0‫ ؛‬.building peace
Dialogue is essentially a listening and
-sharing process. It is different from negotia
tio n ^ in that negotiation has the purpose of
reaching an agreement, often through offers
and counteroffers. In this sense negotiation
-is moro about "hammering out an agree
-ment" than coming to a deeper understand
ing. This defining of difference between
negotiation and dialogue is not to disparage
negotiations. To come to a settlement and
,agreement over the terms of ending a war
-dividing land or other resource, or deter
mining legal obligation, negotiations are
-necessary. Dialogue increases understand
ing and may build empathy for the other
party. It may be used before negotiations in
order to allow the parties to come to the
negotiating table. Perhaps the fundamental
difference is that dialogue re-‫؟‬uires vulnera
bility, while uires
negotiation
gaining rea‫؟‬
strong position. The New Testament as
creed may facilitate a dialogic process of
community discernment that in turn is
formative for foe skills and attitudes of
peacebuilding and dialogue ,
B R E T H R E N LIFE ‫ه‬ THOUGHT
Priesthood o fA ll Believers
A person's vocation is not synonymous with
his or her job or profession, ‫ ؛‬ederach writes
of "voicewalkers" who, at the center of their
being, know their vocation to peace.^
These people have a vocation towards
which their life is bent. W ithin the Brethren
church we have often named this a calling.
We are all called to service. The apostle
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 that
we are all members in the Body of Christ.
As members of the church, the visible body
of Christ, we all have vocations to ministry.
The discipline of peacebuilding seeks to
take into account all aspects of communi-
ties and societies that contribute to the
absence of peace and wellbeing. Conflict
and injustice are caused. These breakdowns
in community do not arrive from nowhere.
Since there are typically multiple causes,
overt and hidden, to each conflict, peace-
builders must not lim it themselves to singu-
lar professionals and single methods or ex-
planations of causation. This need for many
people and many skills corresponds to the
priesthood o f all believers with their many
gifts for ministering. The involvement in
peacebuilding by this spectrum of skills may
lead toward a practice of making peace
which is antifragile.20 Antifragile peace-
building is not fragile to unexpected events
nor is it resilient (robust) to such changes
but benefits from unexpected developments
and complex contexts. Peacebuilding prac-
tice that comprises fee vocation of all mem-
bers of fee community gains ‫؛‬٢٠٨٦ complex-
ity and disorder because members are able
to take advantage of emerging possibilities.
Given fee multifaceted and complex
causes of co nflict-relational, cultural, and
structural— an effective ^a ceb u ild in g stmt-
egy and practice w ill account for many of
these. As in the apostle Paul's analogy of the
body, peacebuilding ideally involves many
types of people, in many societal locations,
with many skills, engaged in many efforts.
W hile theologians for peace are important,
T AL L 2013
so are political scientists, w h ile boilders
meet needs for shelter, teachers teach chil-
dren so that cycles of poverty can be bro-
ken. Patient people work through the slow
process of trauma healing, and managers
help organizations to function. Lederach
writes: "People find innovative responses to
Peacebuildingideally
involvesmanytypesof
people, in manysocietal
locations, with many skills,
engaged in many efforts ٠
impossible situations not because they are
well trained professionals or particularly
gifted. Innovative responses arise because
this is their context, their place. The essence
of response is not found so much in what
they do but in who they are and how they
see themselves in relationship to others.
They speak w ith their lives."^ Peace-
builders are peacebuilders as a vocation.
God has gifted the community of faith to
minister as the Body of Christ and function
as peacebuilders.
Trusting that God has e‫ ؟‬uipped and is
e‫ ؟‬uipping even if we do not recognize it
indicates a deep trust that all are created in
the image of God and that all have the
potential to minister for peace. The priest-
hood of all believers is a trust that God can
work through anyone. Peacebuilding is not
only for specialists in conflict analysis,
ordained ministers, people who have stud-
ied other religions extensively, or theolo-
gians; it is the task of everyone. This belief
corresponds to the principles of community
building and network weaving. Such com-
munities and networks are a needed foun-
dation on which to build peace and are at
the core of peacebuilding itself. Communi-
ty building and network weaving entail a
‫ﻫﺺ‬ 47
 process of finding the skills that already Networks and Surprise
exist within fee community. This is not only
It seems obvious that more people working
a practical way to find the skills and get to
for peace inevitably is better than fewer
know people but empowers people who
people, w h ile this may be true, more peo-
would typically not e n g a g e because they
pie working for peace does not necessitate
feel they have nothing to contribute. This
a stable and enduring peace in an in-
empowerment of marginalized persons is a
tractable c o n flict.^ In the same way, having
a team of Ph.D.'s analyzing and advising
Buildingcommunitystarts may be helpful, but even perfect analysis
does not necessarily get us to a turning
with huMingtrust. point. In the end it seems that there is an
inability to generate a predictable or guar-
peacebuilding "good" in and of itself. In
anteed resolution. This is like trying to pro-
addition to finding particular skills, weaving
duce video that goes viral on the Internet.
networks connects these skills and builds
One can produce a video that goes viral but
relational connections across societal lines.
cannot decide to make a video hit this sta-
Such relationships are vital to sustained
tus. I was in a meeting once where some-
peace, ‫״‬w hen relationships collapse, the
one said something to the effect that, "We
center of social change does not hold. ٨٨ ^
need to produce a viral video." This struck
correspondingly, rebuilding what has feilen
me as quite odd. Everyone and every organ-
apart is centrally the process of rebuilding
ization would like to do this. Only a few
relational spaces that hold things together."^
w ill manage this, however. In conflict,
Network weaving and building entails
everyone wants a lasting and stable peace
empowering community members to build
in which his or her needs are met. Wanting
peace through contributing to addressing a
this and working for this does not necessar-
cause of conflict and tying this into a larger
ily get us to this point. Though we cannot
strategy of peacebuilding, w h ile a trained
manufacture or engineer peace, we may get
peacebuilder may provide fee service of
there through tinkering and discovery, [ed-
developing a larger strategy, feis, if fellow-
erach writes:
ing its own values, should not be imposed
from on high but should emerge from the
For many years I struggled with this
community through participatory pfenning
nagging paradox in my work in
and analysis.
peacebuilding. The more I wanted to
In a healthy community, people know each
intentionally produce a particular
other, know who does what, watch out for
result, the more elusive it seemed to
each other and their property, and in some
be; fee more I let go and discovered
manner function as a cohesive though flex-
the unexpected openings along the
ible organism. Not only are most of our com-
way, at the side of the journey, the
munities no longer like this, but in conflicted
more progress was made. I found
or war-torn locations trust and mutual assis-
myself reflecting on the notion that
tance are replaced by distrust and attempts
my greatest contributions to peace-
to harm. As such, building community starts
building did not seem to be those feat
with building trust. After trust has begun to
emerged from my 'accumulated skill'
be repaired, locating specific skills or spe-
or 'intentional purpose.' They were
cific tasks bofe accomplishes the task and
feose that happened unexpectedly.^
also empowers people by demonstrating
their worth to the larger community.

4» ‫ص‬.‫و‬ R E T H R E N L I F E 8c T H O U G H T
 Nassim Nicholas Taleb examines a simi-
lar insight in his The Black Swan: The
Impact ofthe Highly Improbable, he asserts
that the truly significant events or break-
throughs are ones that are not predicted or
predictable.^ In light of his detailed look at
highly improbable events he recommends
being risk-averse when foe stakes o‫ ؛‬nega-
tive conse‫ ؟‬uences are high but opening
ourselves to positive gains by opening our-
selves as much as possible to such events.^
The work of both Taleb and Federach may
be applied to the priesthood of all believers
and peacebuilding. The priesthood of all
believers paired wifo networking and
empowering local non-pro‫؛‬essional peace-
builders opens communities to a greater
possibility of discovering a solution and
transforming a conflict. This greater possibil-
ity is not a grand scheme launched by
expert peacebuilding practitioners and the-
orists but the cumulative exposure to a pos-
itive improbable event by the tinkering of
individuals in the community. The priest-
hood of all believers partially diminishes
the power of clergy and peacebuilding pro-
fessionals by empowering the true "priest-
hood" and foe community for greater
progress toward peace.
Concluding Thoughts
I began by arguing that as the Church our
identity is intrinsically theological. As such,
our practice of ^a ce b u ild in g should live in
and engage fois theological identity. By
embracing our theological peculiarities I
am not arguing ‫؛‬or an imperial imposition
o‫ ؛‬these particulars on others but rather an
honest engagement with the religious other
‫؛‬rom our unicjue theological locations. In
line with these assertions I then explored
three particular theological themes ‫؛‬rom my
In the end itseems ‫ﻣﻪ‬
there is ‫ س‬inability
togenerate apredictable
orguaranteed resolution ٠
specific theological location: t^e Church of
the Brethren. The purpose o‫ ؛‬this was
twofold. First, I hope that it w ill generate
thinking that allows the Church of the
Brethren to dynamically work ‫؛‬or peace
‫؛‬rom a distinct and firm theological basis.
Second, I hope that fois w ill act as a model
‫؛‬or other ^ e e b u il^ r-th e o lo g ia n s to dis-
cover the resources ‫؛‬mm within their own
theological landscapes. ٠
Nathan Hosier Is the coordinator of the
Church of the Brethren Office of Public Wit-
ness in Washington, D.C. Along with his wife,
Jennifer Hosier; he served as a teacher and
worker in peace and reconciliation with the
Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. He holds
an M.A. in International Relations from Salve
Regina University and a B.A. in Biblical Lan-
guages.

1. M ir o s la ^ lf , Allah: A Christian Response (New York: H arpe^ne, 2011), 3-4.

2. Munica Duffy Tuft, Daniel Philpott, Timuthy Samuel Shah, God's Century: Resurgent Religion and Global
Politics (New Yurk: W.W. Norton & Cumpany, 2011), 213.
3. Benedict Ander‫־‬sun, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread o f Nationalism (Lun-
don: Verso, 2006), 4.
4. Dale Brown, Another Way o f Believing: A Brethren Theology (Elgin, IL· Brethren Press, 2005), 14.
5. This is related to foe oft made claim of Stanley Hauerwas. "The claim that foe church is a social ethic is
an attempt to remind us that foe church is foe place where the story of God is enacted, told, and heard.
Christian social ethics is not first of all principles or policies for social action hut rather foe story of
God's calling of Israel and of foe life of Jesus." Stanley Hauerwas, Christian Existence Today, Essays on
Church, World, and Living In Between (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 1088), 101.
6. Hauerwas, Christian Existence Today, 10.

TA LL 2013 ‫ص‬
 7. Hauerwas, Christian Existence Today, 101.
8. Stanley Hauerwas, Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics (Notre Dame: University of Notre
Dame Press, 1083), 54-55.
9. Hauerwas, Christian Existence Today, 10^.
10. Willard M. Swartley calls this mimesis in A Covenant o f Peace: The Missing Peace in New Testament
Theology and Ethics (Grand Rapids: W illiam B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006).
٦٦٠ John Raul Lederach, Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul o f Building Peace (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2005), 163.
12. Bernard Mayer, The Dynamics o f Conflict Resolution: A Practitioner's Guide (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
2000), Kindle 671-72.
13. Mayer, The Dynamics o f Conflict Resolution, 671-72.
14. Walter Brueggemann divides fois assertion into two aspects. He writes, "[M ]y governing hypothesis is
that the alternative community is concerned bofo with criticizing and energizing. On foe one hand, it is
to show foat foe dominate consciousness (which ‫ ا‬have termed 'royal') w ill indeed end and that it has no
final claim against us. On foe other hand, it is the task of the alternative prophetic community to present
an alternative consciousness that can energize the community wifo fresh forms of faithfulness and vital‫؛‬-
ty." Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination, 2nd Ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), 59.
15. Jurgen Moltmann, Theology o f Hope (New¥ork: Harper & Row, 1967), 26.
16. Chantai Logan, "Reflections on Mennonite Work in Somalia," Borders and Bridges: Mennonite Witness
in a Religiously Diverse World (Telford, PA: Cascadia, 2007).
17. Brown, Another Way o f Believing, 101.
18. Edward Kaufman, "Dialogue-Based Process: A Vehicle for Peacebuilding," People Building Peace //: Sue-
cessful Stories o f C/'v//50c/ety (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005), 473.
٦ 9. Lederach, Moral Imagination, ٦ 67.
20. Nasim Nicolas Taleb, Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (NewVork: Random House, 2012).
21. Lederach, Moral Imagination, 165.
22. Lederach, Moral Imagination, 75. Mayer calls this being "Smart flexible," adapting to context in building
web. Mayer, The Dynamics o f Conflict Resolution, 186.
23. Admittedly, if one could achieve the theoretical perfect situation in which everyone was actively work-
ing for peace, caring for foe needs of ofoers, forgiving, and communicating in a healthy way all of foe
time then perhaps there would be a lasting peace.
24. Lederach, Moral Imagination, 115.
25. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact o f the Highly Improbable (NewVork: Random
House, 2007).
26. All this is not to say that only big dramatic gains in foe work of peace are usefol. Many important moves
toward peace are almost imperceptible. For example, a relationship may gradually grow into a rich and
trusting cross-community bond, w h ile this may appear to be a small victory it cannot be manufactured
or guaranteed. We can act in ways that build trust with another person but we cannot guarantee that foe
relationship w ill grow. Subtle personality characteristics, unconscious historical bias, the present lifo situ-
ations, and a myriad of other factors play into the success of such relationships. We often say we Just do
not "click" with some people. As such, this broader point is not to diminish foe apparently small gains
but to note that even these small gains are in some ways beyond our control.

50 ‫زص‬ B R E T H R E N L I F E 8c T H O U G H T
 ‫آلﻣﺂورلم؛‬

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