“That’s NOT the Gospel Andy!” I bristled inside as I felt another contrary voice rise up. Many dear friends have sought, with good intention, to re-direct my thinking and efforts back to what I should really be doing as a minister. Apparently peacemaking should not be the main thing, whatContinue Reading
Peace with God. Who should be included in the circle? What are my limits? One of the discoveries I’ve made in this journey of peacemaking (both in Israel/Palestine conflict and in Christian/Muslim bridge building) is the trap we sometimes fall into thinking God’s peace is all about me, or byContinue Reading
One of my greatest joys in my work is the human connection with my Muslim friends. During prayers in the mosque recently, this cute girl wanted to crawl on daddy’s back. Don’t kids do that in any culture? I received permission from Dad to show this. We laughed from deepContinue Reading
A powerful morning with stories of reconciliation featuring keynote speakers, Slobodan Petrovic and Ahmet Shala, ethnic Serb and Albanian sharing their journey of loving one another in spite of the history of conflict between their people. Kaniz chided me today saying I need to get more Muslims to come outContinue Reading
My journey in peacemaking: Confessions of a fence sitter. Prologue (beginning thoughts for a longer conversation)(feedback welcome. Respectful feeback). “That’s NOT the Gospel Andy!” I bristled inside as I felt another contrary voice rise up, seeking with good intention to re-direct my thinking and efforts back to what I shouldContinue Reading
A Local Church Pastor
“Through personal storytelling, biblical preaching, and literally getting us out of the church and into a mosque, Andy walked alongside our church with the question, “Compelled by God’s love, what does it mean to love our Muslim neighbor?” Wise, gentle, and prophetic, Andy doesn’t just talk about peacemaking–he lives it.”Website
Lay Church Leader
“Andy spent a weekend at our church recently speaking about his bridge building relationships with Muslims. This approach resonates in contrast with so much media attention to extremists. It was a new message for a lot of our members, but they seemed willing to listen and be open because of Andy’s gentle and non-threatening presence. Now we can discuss this topic more freely and see our Muslim neighbors in a new light, building friendships as God leads.”
Professor of Reconciliation Studies
“We recognize you as an agent of change for reconciliation and an influential community leader. We’d like to invite you to influence the next generation of community leaders here at Seattle Pacific University.”
Pastor
“Andy Larsen recently gave a presentation and engaged our congregation around the question, “Who is our neighbor?” His knowledge and experience as a bridge-builder and peacemaker was evident as he encouraged us to look outside our normal circles of friendships. Andy is well-suited for this ministry as he travels effortlessly between Muslim and Christian communities and invites us to do the same.”
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