Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael "MJ" Sharp

by Marshall King

Overview

A powerful story of one man’s radical commitment to peacemaking.

Michael “MJ” Sharp was a modern Mennonite armed with wit and intellect, but not a gun. The son of a Mennonite pastor, he demonstrated a gift for listening and persuading early in life. His efforts to approach others with acknowledgement rather than judgement gave him the ability to connect on a level very few managed. He also honed a deep commitment to peace, and after college he joined the Mennonite Mission Network and moved to Germany, where he persuaded soldiers to choose peace and free them of their violent systems.

At 34 years old, MJ was working for the United Nations Group of Experts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—urging rebels to lay down their weapons—when he was murdered, likely assassinated alongside his colleague Zaida Catalán by those with government ties. This compelling account of MJ’s life, death, and legacy from longtime journalist Marshall V. King explores what compelled Sharp to travel the world working for peace and the ongoing impact of his life and death in the ongoing story of Christian peacemaking in a war-torn world.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513808338
Publisher:	APG Sales & Distribution
Publication date:	01/11/2022
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	199,945
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Marshall V. King is an award-winning journalist based in Goshen, Ind. For more than 20 years he worked at the Elkhart Truth and he is an adjunct professor of communication at Goshen College. He is a member of Assembly Mennonite Church. Sharp’s parents are supportive of King’s work on this biography.
 

Table of Contents

Foreword 9

Author's Note 13

1 A Sunday Walk 17

2 The Mennonite Way 35

3 An All-American Boy 47

4 For Whom the Bell Tolls 57

5 Pushing Buttons and Playing Chips 71

6 Swords into Plowshares 83

7 Into the Heart of Africa 101

8 Peace Not Plunder 121

9 United Nations, Divided People 139

10 Dancing for the World 165

11 In the Face of Evil 179

12 Gathering on the Plains 199

13 Seeking Justice 215

14 What's a Hero? 233

Glossary of Key People, Places, and Groups 243

Acknowledgments 246

Notes 249

The Author 255