Jeff Burns - building bridges of reconciliation, peacemaking, and friendship between Muslims and Christians in the U.S. and overseas.

I did my first video on the I Follow The Path Facebook page last Friday.  Check out the new equipment, backdrop, and Islamic art.  The calligraphy says, "In the name of God, most merciful and compassionate."  Looks pretty cool don't you think?

 

Pathways to Peace

Following Jesus Down The Road Less Traveled

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=871&v=FJHBTpOjH-g&feature=emb_logo

About Jeff

Jeff Burns is a peace and human rights, activist.  He has been active in building bridges of reconciliation,  peacemaking, and friendship between Muslims and Christians in the U.S. and overseas for the last ten years. Jeff served as the East Coast Regional Director for Peace Catalyst International for four years. PCI focuses on reconciliation and peacemaking in the way of Jesus.
Recently, he played a key role along with his friend Imam Abdel Azim helping to secure Meriam Ibrahim’s  release from prison in Sudan.  Jeff believes that most of the problems in the world could be solved over a few meals if we would go to the people we perceive to be our enemies, listen to them, talk about Jesus, and put some of their interests above our own.
From 2005 until 2009, Jeff was a regularly featured writer for the Muslim newspaper IQRAA, a publication of the Muslim American Public Affairs Council of North Carolina. He has been invited to speak in mosques and was a guest speaker at the Muslim American Society Annual Convention in 2009.
Before his calling as a peacemaker Jeff served as a senior pastor for 18 years. He went on to become a part of the house church movement in the U.S.  As a leader in the house church movement; Jeff served as an elder in the Sojourners Simple Church Network in Raleigh, NC for nine years where he started an intentional community that focused on peacemaking with the local Muslim community.
When he left the pastorate in 2004, he went on to become a Certified Life and Relationship Coach. Currently, he is working on advanced coaching certifications in leadership and success coaching with Jack Canfield and John Maxwell.  In addition to running his successful coaching practice, Carolina Coastal Coaching, he uses his coaching skills in peacemaking.  Through the years Jeff has learned that coaching not only helps individuals but also transforms and brings diverse people from other faith backgrounds together as friends who normally would have nothing in common. It has been his experience that once they become friends, start eating together, sharing their faith and culture with each other, then they can settle their differences and work together for the common good.  Coaching works on so many levels including peacemaking.
His passion as a coach is to motivate people to align their dreams with God’s dream for real peace on earth to inspire, gather, and mobilize them to both save and change the world. He has friendships with leading Muslims in various cities and is working with mosques and churches to form partnerships of peace and reconciliation.
Jeff is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in Pastoral Studies and Philosophy.  He has an M.Div. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest. He received a Doctorate of Ministry that focused on Christian/Muslim relationships from Regent University, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Jeff believes that the greatest bridge of commonality between Muslims and Christians is in the teachings of Jesus. He has been proclaiming this message to both Muslims and Christians after he discovered two significant events: finding that Jesus is mentioned 93 times in the Qur’an, and a supernatural encounter with a Muslim boy named Omar (see the famous story here How A Muslim Child Saved An Evangelical Minister’s Soul )
He lives in Carolina Beach, North Carolina with his lovely wife of 29 years Oceana, and their eight-year-old beautiful, energetic daughter Olivia. When Jeff is not working and traveling, his greatest joys are walking with his wife on the beach and body boarding with his daughter at low tide.

About the Image at the Top of this Blog

Image Credit: Abigail Chopel

Dave and Sherry Hall were in West Africa helping the university, and medical students follow Jesus, as well as doing small business development and family counseling. Their kids were about 6 and 4, and they were living in Ghana at the time the photo was taken. They were living in half a duplex in Accra, with 14 Ghanaians residing on the other side.
On the day of the picture, Sherry found the five kids playing dress-up on their balcony with her clothing. That day, they had added a new twist. The Ghanaians had chalked their faces white. Dave and Sherry’s kids had charcoaled their faces black. Voila, kindred hearts and Kingdom colors. These precious children were more interested in friendship and fun than anything else; color doesn’t divide them. They painted their faces so they could be the same as their friends! In their own childlike and playful way, they model God’s Dream for us all and His desire for us to become a Beloved Community of love and friendship.

About the Header Image

The image at the top of this blog was drawn by Abigail Chopel of Simba Studios.
Abigail is native to her hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. She studied Illustration at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. Abigail has designed company logos and web graphics, illustrated a children’s book, and created many prophetic illustrations to inspire and give viewers a glimpse into the heart of God. She loves her family, her friends, and practicing TaeKwonDo.
Visit Abigail’s online studio to see her other art!
The About page contains the story behind this image.

 PART 9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFsHeUAK4wg

FRÉMAUX SOORMALLY 1 second ago

Sorry, my great Brother, Martin Luther King was not even a Christian, but a Black racist, a political Zionist, a sexual pervert, an Arab, Muslim, and Islam hater. This was fully documented even if Google has removed much of the material proving this, but I have saved most of them when I was writing for Crescent & Cross, the Ugly Truth website hosted byt my Catholic Brother around 2011 or 2012. Captain Joe Cortina confirmed much of what I had uncovered! As for Mandela, he was used as a puppet to further Jewish and European interests in South Africa. He was a traitor. I am not in politics and never voted, so I have no reason to lie! BAFS

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What Happened After Omar?" Part 9: Steve Teaches Muslims How To Hunt & Fish.

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What Happened After Omar? Part 8: Christians Help Muslims Enjoy Prayer

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How A Muslim Child Saved An Evangelical Minister From A Life of Hatred

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How A Muslim Child Saved An Evangelical Minister’s Soul

by Jeff | 38 Comments

Prior to 2005 I hated Muslims. I would not have admitted that openly, but my deepest feelings toward them were resentment, distrust and bitterness. Now, ten years later, I love them and see them as my brothers, sisters and dear friends. What brought about such a radical change of heart? It took place one afternoon in a Starbucks when I had an encounter with a Muslim boy named Omar.
Three months before I met Omar, I had been invited to attend a class at a church on Muslim/Christian relationships. I laughed at the invitation when I received it. My wife, Oceana, told me she felt like I should attend the class because I had a deep prejudice against Muslims, especially Arabs. I had always prided myself on being a progressive pastor who promoted racial reconciliation in the churches that I had lead, but when it came to Muslims I just could not see them the same way. After some prodding and prayer on the part of my wife I finally decided to take the class.
As I read books on Islam and attended the class, I began to realize that I was judging and condemning a group of people that I really knew little about. I read Muslim, Christian, and secular authors on Islam. I made a point to hear all sides. I did this to ensure that my conclusions concerning Islam would not be romantic in nature, but would be based on a sense of honesty, realism, and empathy.
I was not naïve in processing this information. I am concerned about the radical extremists who are committing horrible acts in the name of Islam, but I am equally concerned that the U.S. foreign policies toward the Muslim world have helped create much of the resentment that the Muslim world and other nations have toward us. Suffice it to say, I believe I am a more committed Christian today because of my genuine friendships with Muslims.
Although the class and the books I was reading were impacting my view of Muslims, it would take a small child named Omar to completely turn my heart around.
One day I was sitting in a Starbucks reading a book about Muslims and their culture. The more I read the book the more frustrated I became. I decided to pray for guidance on this issue. I closed my book and prayed: “God, surely you are not calling me to reach out to Muslims in friendship and to build bridges between Christians and Muslims. I want you to know that I have no desire to do this because it would stretch me way beyond my comfort zone. But if you are, I need you to give me a sign so clear I will never doubt it.”
I went back to drinking my coffee and felt a sense of relief. I did not believe He would answer that prayer. Within a couple of minutes, a little boy walked over and asked if he could borrow one of the highlighters that I was using to mark my book. I said, “Sure.” He got in a chair and said, “By the way, my name is Omar. I am five years old and I am here to teach you Arabic.” I was stunned. Omar’s mother called to him to leave me alone, but I told her that Omar was fine.
God had my complete attention.
Omar began writing in Arabic and coaching me on how to do it. Afterwards, I approached his mother and told her that I believed Omar would be a great teacher one day. She told me that Omar was a shy child and he did not typically approach strangers. She was trying to figure out what compelled him to come over to me. As I left Starbucks that day, I began my journey of walking with Muslims as a genuine friend.
I have never doubted that God sent Omar to soften the heart of this Christian who had forgotten the words of Jesus. He said that His followers must love their neighbors as much as they love themselves, and that we even love, forgive and pray for our enemies.
I no longer see Muslims as my enemies and I can say that I have a deep love and genuine friendship with many of them. I encourage Muslims and Christians to form friendship groups and to eat together; to discuss the Bible and the Qur’an, not to debate, but to find out what they have in common and to gain understanding about how they are different; and I encourage churches, mosques and synagogues to partner together on humanitarian projects.
Some will say that I am compromising my faith by what I am doing. I believe such endeavors of mercy are at the core of the teachings of Jesus the Messiah.

←"Dad, You Have To Go To The Sudan And Try To Help Meriam Ibrahim and Her Baby!"

American Muslims Help Rebuild Churches →

About Jeff

About

Hi! I’m Jeff Burns. Thanks for visiting my blog! Go to my About page to learn more about me.
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About the Header Image

The image at the top of this blog was drawn by Abigail Chopel of Simba Studios.
Abigail is native to her hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. She studied Illustration at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. Abigail has designed company logos and web graphics, illustrated a children’s book, and created many prophetic illustrations to inspire and give viewers a glimpse into the heart of God. She loves her family, her friends, and practicing TaeKwonDo.
Visit Abigail’s online studio to see her other art!
The About page contains the story behind this image.

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You Downloaded My Book!   Hello! My name is Jeff Burns, At some point, you downloaded my FREE eBook called The PEACE PATH: A Practical Manual For Reconciliation Between Muslims, Christians, and ALL People of Peace. I hope you found it helpful.  It represents what I have learned as a Christian peacemaker between Muslims and Christians over the past fifteen years.  I designed the book to be a simple model that anyone could use to begin the process of peace and reconciliation.  I know it works between Muslims and Christians, but it is being used in other contexts.  I receive messages from around the world from people who have successfully attempted to use my humble model. Here is an email from a Christian young man I met in Australia eight years ago who put my model into practice and a Muslim who is putting my model into practice in his community. Christian Practitioner: Hey Jeff, I just wanted to write to you to say thank you for your trip several years ago to Sydney, Australia. I was profoundly impacted by that week, and especially by your sharing, and since then have made many small efforts of bringing Christians and Muslims together here in Australia. The more significant thing I'm doing now is that I've created a two-day camp based on a lot of your model that is being used in very extreme communities in Indonesia, in Islamic universities, and with Islamic leaders. It is multiplying itself out into many different islands and communities. Thanks again for your willingness to come "Down Under." It's still producing fruit and multiplying. I hope to catch you some time along the way. Also, there are invitations for us to do this in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Tunisia, so who knows if Sudan might end up on the list as well. Blessings, Z Muslim Practitioner: Grateful for your time and effort, Jeff, you have to know that you are really making a difference in the way people view each other. If only more people could hear your message. The world really needs it right now. While we all say everyone is entitled to their opinions, the truth is, we loath each other for our opinions sometimes to the extent that we forget we're all brothers and sisters in this world on a journey back to Eden. Hopefully, our intentions and deeds are accepted, and we don't find ourselves elsewhere. Your message (Model) reminds us that we need to help not hinder one another with pointless bickering. I've adopted your method (Model), and as a Muslim, I've started to see the Bible and Quran are testaments of the same faith from the one God. The devil really is in the details. Our Books tell us our intention judges actions. Just a quick message to tell you your Message (Model) is traveling, and you are now my Christian minister! I pray God's peace and blessing upon you and your household. Ameen. M Become Part of The Peace Path Movement I hope you will take this simple message and start living it out in your communities. I wanted to invite you to check out my YouTube Channel called, I Follow The Path.  The goal of my channel is to help facilitate a global peace movement online.  Here is the link to my most recent video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxyR0EcxmrU Here's How You Can Help! Please Subscribe, Like, Share, Comment, and Ring the Bell in the upper right-hand corner for future alerts when new videos come out.  Also, starting in July or early August. I will be posting blogs again on my website.  You were automatically subscribed when you downloaded my book.  I was seriously ill in 2019 and had to stop blogging for a while.  But now, I am coming back! If you are not interested, you can unsubscribe at any time, but I hope you will stick around and take the peace journey with me. Once again, Thank you for downloading and reading my book. Let's change the world together! Dr. Jeff Burns P.S. Check out the story about how a little Muslim boy named Omar saved me from a life of hatred and prejudice.  God used Omar to lead me to spiritual awakening and my call to become a peacemaker.  https://jeffburns.org/how-a-muslim-child-saved-an-evangelical-ministers-soul/ Endorsements:

Ramadan was difficult for many of our Muslim friends during COVID-19.  Pray for our friends during this challenging time when they yearn to be with other Muslims and celebrate their holiest month. I did my first video on the I Follow The Path Facebook page last Friday.  Check out the new equipment, backdrop, and Islamic art.  The calligraphy says, "In the name of God, most merciful and compassionate."  Looks pretty cool don't you think?

"The only way to permanently get rid of an enemy is to make them your friend " -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFsHeUAK4wg Copyright © 2020 JB@JeffBurns.Org, All rights reserved. Thanks for wanting to learn about how you can create paths to peace. Our mailing address is: JB@JeffBurns.Org Silver Sloop Way Carolina Beach, NC 28428 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.