Bryan
My blogs
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Location | Blacksburg, Virginia, United States |
| Introduction | In my graduate level work, my studies focused on the ambiguity of religious faith and how faith might be used to contribute to a just peace rather than to exacerbate conflict. I am particularly interested in Jesus and how following him can provide a way toward peace, mutual transformation, and reconciliation amidst religious difference and tension. We live at a time when people of differing religious and nonreligious backgrounds are interacting with greater frequency, and oftentimes, these inter-religious interactions are characterized by tension, distrust, and fear. However, several years of practical experience in religious education, the non-profit world, and interfaith work, particularly with Christians and Muslims, have given me hope that interfaith relationships can be mutually transformative. Most recently, I have been drawn to interfaith peace work in the Balkans, where ethno-religious tensions remain after the wars and ethnic cleansings of the 1990’s. My family has received an invitation to work in Kosovo from Kosovo Hope, a local nonprofit organization, and we will be joining Muslim Kosovars to do religious formation and peacemaking work with youth and families. |
| Interests | Jesus, The World, People, Cultures, Languages, Interreligious Peacebuilding, Religious formation, Kosovo, The Balkans, Christianity, Islam, Christians, Muslims, Peacemaking, Reconciliation |
| Favorite Books | The Bible, The Irresistible Revolution, Life Together, The Cost of Discipleship, Provocations (Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard), The New Friars, Bruchko, Ragamuffin Gospel, Tale of Three Kings, Celebration of Discipline, In the Name of Jesus, Radical (by David Platt), Myth of a Christian Nation (by Greg Boyd), Compassion (by Henri Nouwen) |
"All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don't tiptoe."