OUR WORLD
REVIEW & INTERVIEW
Peace Behind the Wire:
A Nonviolent Resolution
By Kit Cummings
I suspect that most of us can point to some events in our
lives that were excruciatingly painful at the time, but in
some way made us stronger and wiser. In the case of Kit
Cummings, his journey from gifted speaker, trainer and
pastor of a megachurch to addiction, divorce and a 12-step
recovery program gave him both the humility and the empathy to be able to connect with inmates and at-risk youth
around the world, and help them turn away from violence.
C
ombining the skills of a corporate change agent with the
spiritual principles underlying
all faiths, Kit went into some of
the most violent prisons in the
country with an audacious idea.
He got convicted felons, whose
very survival was based on being more ruthless
than the next guy, to sign a pledge of peace and
non-violence for 40 days. He called it the “Power
of Peace Project,” and developed seven powerful
steps to practice daily, like treating people with respect, not retaliating to provocation, not cursing,
lying or stealing, and being a peacemaker wherever they go.
Kit was able to give these desperate, hopeless men
a sense of hope and purpose that they could live
better and maybe keep their sons and brothers
from making the same mistakes they had. He was
able to connect with the best part of them and truly see and acknowledge the divinity within them.
Like water makes a desert bloom, the seeds of
peace that were planted took root, flourished and
reduced the violence around them to levels that
were unheard of.
21 | NEW CONSCIOUSNESS REVIEW