“Blessed are the
peacemakers… for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9
Two easy answers to that question might be “students” or
“children.” An answer that speaks to our greater purpose at LCES is “Kingdom
builders.” Last week I observed a few moments of a classroom meeting where a
guided classroom discussion was taking place in a circle format. Disagreements
and tensions around how a recess game was being played were being taken on with
a strong direction toward establishing a peaceful, communal, and joyful way to
interact. It struck me in the moment that while the intricate details of the
particular problem will long be forgotten in the future, the process they were
going through was transformational in learning how to walk the hard road of not
avoiding conflict. Patterns were being intentionally former here.
A former parent shared with me that his now adult child had
attended our school decades ago, and was quick to share how influential the
school’s program was in shaping his child’s further education and vocational
decisions. That child is now working overseas to actively pursue peace through
reconciliation in cultural settings where deep-rooted tensions cause conflicts
to repeatedly simmer to the surface. Specifically, he attributed the Peacemaker
program (still running here at LCES) with cultivating a significant awareness
of the reality of a conflict and strategies to resolve conflict.
When peace and reconciliation
overcome conflict, the Kingdom is built.
When grief and sadness are
chased away by faith-nourished hope, the Kingdom is built.
When loneliness and
desperation are washed away by communal joy, the Kingdom is built.
When apathy and
disillusionment are replaced with passionate purpose, the Kingdom is built.
How do you build God’s Kingdom? One class, one child, one
moment, one lesson, one conflict at a time.
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