Making Peace

Introduction

In this book Peacemaking, the author Jim Van Yperen, the executive director of Metanoia Ministries, provides good insights into church conflict. His ability as a skilled, Christ-centered teacher enables him to frame this book biblically, using an interpretive approach to resolve conflict and form church community character under the lordship of Christ Jesus. His biblical approach in this book also confronts the reader with a call to self-examination on how they respond to conflict.

Summary

The first chapter of this book explains what Van Yperen sees as the root causes of conflict. According to him, conflict is always a complex interaction of cultural, structural, spiritual, and theological forces. He explains that we can deal with these conflicts together in the church by becoming a loving and submitting community under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

In the second chapter, Yperen mentions two different approaches used in the reconciliation process. First, the right-handed responder’s approach, which promotes spiritual discipline. Second, the left-handed responder’s approach, which emphasizes communicating God’s forgiveness and acceptance of the sinner. According to Yperen, both approaches are necessary; however, they are still inadequate because each emphasizes the individual rather than the church.

In the third chapter, Yperen addresses the need to lead and form biblical communities. His emphasis is on the church community that lives together in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the fourth chapter, the author gives five biblical reasons for conflict. These are: “conflict is primarily a broken relationship,” “conflict is a spiritual collision,” “conflict is inevitable,” “conflict is necessary,” and “conflict is an opportunity for positive change.” Yes, these are very important points in the book!

In the following chapters, from five to eight, Yperen talks about different ways of responding to conflict. He deals with four common negative responses (passive, evasive, defensive, and aggressive) that eventually harm the church. According to Yperen, the passive responder’s approach is superficial because it ignores the truth. Therefore, he encourages that a person should learn the biblical skills of confrontation and communication to avoid the passive approach. Secondly, evasive responders avoid answering directly and do anything to escape conflict or avoid “enemy fire.” According to the author, this type of response leads the church into greater trouble. To fix this evasive way of responding, Yperen encourages individuals to depend on the gospel of Jesus Christ, which gives freedom and power to change. For aggressive responders, all conflicts are about power because they view conflict as an opportunity to see who is the strongest or who is in control. According to the author, the primary need for such individuals is to control themselves. They must learn to bridle their words and actions, and also free themselves from false secular leadership thinking that promotes power and position.

The ninth chapter explains the true peace, “Shalom,” that reconciles and restores completely after a conflict. This peace comes when a person turns and lives together under the lordship of the One who is peace: Jesus Christ. Along with that, the author also identifies counterfeits of peace such as personal peace, agreeing to disagree, forgiving and forgetting, peacemaking, and détente.

In the tenth chapter, the author presents the model of submission through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. He calls it the stunning image of the Gospel—Christ, the author of life, who Himself submitted to death and shame.

In the eleventh chapter, the author calls us to bring our personal and collective lives under the lordship and into the light of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:8–11). He also addresses how private sin in the lives of leaders and believers can be devastating.

In the twelfth chapter, the author highlights the need for confession and forgiveness. According to him, sin should be confessed openly, humbly, and completely because as soon as it becomes known, the sinner and the community can embody reconciliation. In the final chapter, the author talks about the importance of reconciliation, which cannot be achieved by forgiveness alone but by reconstituting character with discipline and restitution.

Evaluation

In this book Making Peace, the author Jim Van Yperen has done applaudable work, as he has given a profound biblical approach to confronting conflict in the church community.

In every chapter, Yperen puts in his efforts to convict and equip his readers to resolve conflict from a biblical perspective. It’s helpful when he highlights that our first response to conflict is often negative because we lack biblical peacemaking principles.

I agree when the author says that we can have peace by living under the Lordship of Jesus, because I believe all conflict exists due to rebellion that primarily started in the heavenly places when Lucifer rebelled against God. Therefore, the author rightly highlights the need to live under the Lordship of Jesus, which is the opposite of rebellion against God that leads to chaos.

Yperen also strongly prioritizes the need for the church to be a Spirit-filled community, because it leads to transformation. I echo Yperen’s words—when “streams of living water” (John 7:38)—peace, joy, love, and unity—begin to flow from the community, there will be less chance for conflict.

However, to have a Spirit-filled community, I think the author should have addressed the need for consistency in the principle of believing and abiding in Christ, which activates the Spirit-filled life. Nevertheless, Yperen’s biblical framework on conflict is applaudable because it is confronting, and it has the power to transform both individuals and the community.

Yperen has also shown concern for building genuine biblical communities where sin can be exposed in a redemptive and restorative way. I believe that when we take this step, it will positively impact the church community because it will help sinners to be spiritually renewed with the help of an authentic community.

I also agree with Yperen when he addresses the wrong “superhero mentality” in the church community. This mentality breeds a culture of position, power, measurement, and comparison. I think many mega-church movements need this alarm that discredits the superhero mentality because it glorifies human achievement, performance, and self-esteem rather than God. Therefore, I agree with Yperen that church leadership should be encouraged to move toward the biblical principle of teamwork that promotes interdependence, mutual submission, and a common purpose that ultimately glorifies God.

The author also highlights the important truth of “spiritual collision” that leads to conflict. However, he falls short in giving some helpful spiritual steps to combat spiritual collision. I know that many conflicts in India happen because of the presence of dark forces. Some country’s are spiritual hub for witchcraft and idol worship, and even Christians consistently face conflict at their workplace, during travel, or elsewhere. Therefore, I think there is a need to equip the saints. They need to watch and pray consistently, lest they fall into the traps (conflicts) of the enemy and end up in serious trouble.

I would also like to highlight a brief comparison between this book Making Peaceby Yperen and another book, Conflict Congregation Management, which is a series of classic works by different authors compiled in one volume.

In Making Peace, the author takes a strong biblical-theological approach to conflict, whereas the other book, edited by David Lott, offers more practical, research-based insights for resolving conflict.

In Making Peace, Yperen addresses the root issue sin which often leads to conflict, and he offers biblical ways to restore and redeem the community. On the other hand, the Conflict Management book does not directly confront the issue of sin but highlights congregational conflict with some helpful steps (carefully chosen to reflect biblical teaching and Christian values). The focus in Conflict Management is to deal with conflict through techniques developed by key thinkers who understand how to resolve conflict in specific contexts. In contrast, Making Peace does not emphasize research-based techniques The entire approach is spiritual.

To conclude this comparison, I would say that both books are helpful, as each serves a specific purpose and provides key insights that are valuable for making peace in the communities we live in.

Conclusion

This book Making Peace should be considered a sound, helpful, interpretive biblical tool on conflict management because it sets the right biblical principles that directly deal with the root cause of conflict: sin. It positively confronts the reader, encouraging self-examination through the support of an authentic community that lives together under the Lordship of Christ Jesus. I believe that after reading this book, readers will be able to reflect on and work on their spiritual character in a way that helps form a more peaceful community. Therefore, I would recommend this book to all who are part of the church community so that they may work together toward making peace that is biblically promoted