{"id":701,"date":"2017-06-01T14:01:40","date_gmt":"2017-06-01T13:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/conexion\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/"},"modified":"2019-05-20T14:28:12","modified_gmt":"2019-05-20T14:28:12","slug":"first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation","status":"publish","type":"conexion","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/","title":{"rendered":"First Word: Practicing radical and life-changing reconciliation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Events such as last week\u2019s terrorist attack in Manchester reminds us all too well of the strife, wars and conflict littered across our world.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s international terrorism, vulnerable people forced to flee their homeland because of conflict or persecution, or living in a society which doesn\u2019t tolerate dissent, we can all identify with forces or situations beyond our control.<\/p>\n

The natural reaction to pain and suffering is that we erect walls to protect ourselves. But what happens when those same walls end up entrapping us?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On a smaller scale, harsh words or conflict in our relationships can mean we easily slip into feelings of resentment or bitterness. This is not just something which hurts ourselves in the long run, but it doesn\u2019t represent the kingdom values Christ died for.<\/p>\n

Trying to forgive where there is significant pain can be extremely difficult; any mention of complete reconciliation can seem almost impossible.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

When we sat down and started to think about ideas to feature in issue two of Conexion<\/em>, (and thank you to all those who got in touch about issue one of Conexion<\/em> last month), I was struck by how powerful it would be both to explore and to write about the topic of reconciliation. This proved to be the case as I spoke to some of those involved in the work of reconciliation within the context of historic and long-running national conflicts.<\/p>\n

Just listening to some of the harrowing stories told by Rwandan Antoine Rutayisire<\/strong>, or seeing how students in Colombia are trying to heal divisions on campus with a creative project, or witnessing how Northern Irish minister Steve Stockman is helping bring about healing to decades-old divisions in his home country, it all tells and demonstrates of the gospel of Christ radically transforming relationships and communities. It\u2019s exciting stuff!<\/p>\n

Not only were these all deeply moving stories, but they acted as powerful examples of how to \u2018do\u2019 reconciliation. I look forward to hearing how you\u2019ve been challenged by them.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n
<\/figure>\n

We\u2019re also pleased to bring to this issue some thought-provoking words from Michael Ramsden<\/strong>, international director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministry (RZIM).<\/p>\n

Michael spoke at the IFES European Student Evangelism Conference at Easter and offers Conexion<\/em> his thoughts as to what we can expect to see\u200a\u2014\u200aand what to pray for\u200a\u2014\u200aacross the region\u2019s universities over the next few years.<\/p>\n

Also included is a piece from Bret Staudt Willet<\/strong>\u200a\u2014\u200adirector of ministry in digital spaces with Intervarsity USA\u200a\u2014\u200aon how technology can help both to shape us, and to change the world.<\/p>\n

In addition, we continue the In An Elevator<\/em> feature by talking with IFES East Asia Associate Regional Secretary, Annette Arulrajah<\/strong>, while there are also IFES General Secretary Daniel Bourdann\u00e9\u2019s<\/strong> key encouragements from the past year.<\/p>\n

In all that you do this month, we hope these articles act as an inspiration, encouragement and challenge to you.<\/p>\n

We look forward to hearing what you think.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Richard Woodall, Content Manager<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":62,"template":"","area":[],"theme":[],"class_list":["post-701","conexion","type-conexion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Word: Practicing radical and life-changing reconciliation · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Events such as last week\u2019s terrorist attack in Manchester reminds us all too well of the strife, wars and conflict littered across our world. Whether it\u2019s\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Word: Practicing radical and life-changing reconciliation · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Events such as last week\u2019s terrorist attack in Manchester reminds us all too well of the strife, wars and conflict littered across our world. Whether it\u2019s\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IFES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-05-20T14:28:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cbe7a-1ujag1kx8hatvcpzruhunqq.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/\",\"name\":\"First Word: Practicing radical and life-changing reconciliation · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cbe7a-1ujag1kx8hatvcpzruhunqq.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-01T13:01:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-05-20T14:28:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"Events such as last week\u2019s terrorist attack in Manchester reminds us all too well of the strife, wars and conflict littered across our world. Whether it\u2019s\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cbe7a-1ujag1kx8hatvcpzruhunqq.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cbe7a-1ujag1kx8hatvcpzruhunqq.jpeg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Conexi\u00f3n\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"First Word: Practicing radical and life-changing reconciliation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/\",\"name\":\"IFES\",\"description\":\"A movement of students sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. Locally. Nationally. Globally.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#organization\",\"name\":\"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png\",\"width\":262,\"height\":262,\"caption\":\"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First Word: Practicing radical and life-changing reconciliation · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog","description":"Events such as last week\u2019s terrorist attack in Manchester reminds us all too well of the strife, wars and conflict littered across our world. Whether it\u2019s","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"First Word: Practicing radical and life-changing reconciliation · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog","og_description":"Events such as last week\u2019s terrorist attack in Manchester reminds us all too well of the strife, wars and conflict littered across our world. Whether it\u2019s","og_url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/","og_site_name":"IFES","article_modified_time":"2019-05-20T14:28:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cbe7a-1ujag1kx8hatvcpzruhunqq.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/","name":"First Word: Practicing radical and life-changing reconciliation · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cbe7a-1ujag1kx8hatvcpzruhunqq.jpeg","datePublished":"2017-06-01T13:01:40+00:00","dateModified":"2019-05-20T14:28:12+00:00","description":"Events such as last week\u2019s terrorist attack in Manchester reminds us all too well of the strife, wars and conflict littered across our world. Whether it\u2019s","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cbe7a-1ujag1kx8hatvcpzruhunqq.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cbe7a-1ujag1kx8hatvcpzruhunqq.jpeg","width":1920,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/first-word-practicing-radical-and-life-changing-reconciliation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Conexi\u00f3n","item":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"First Word: Practicing radical and life-changing reconciliation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/","name":"IFES","description":"A movement of students sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. Locally. Nationally. Globally.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#organization","name":"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png","width":262,"height":262,"caption":"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/conexion\/701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/conexion"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/conexion"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/area?post=701"},{"taxonomy":"theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/theme?post=701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}