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Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael "MJ" Sharp
"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. Hisefforts 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 Catalâan 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"--
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
254 pages, Hardcover
Published January 11, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 30, 2021
It's not a surprise how Michael (MJ) Sharp's story ends - King begins the book with it, and you may remember the news stories in 2017, "UN worker kidnapped and killed in the Congo." Disarmed tells the story in engaging detail, covering MJ's growing up years in the US, his volunteer work in Germany and Africa, and his United Nations work gathering information about the armed groups creating unrest in Congo and neighboring countries. But this is not a heavy book; it's funny, engaging, and you really get to know MJ, the context of his work, and why and how he felt called to do the work that he did. I have never been to Africa, but now feel like I have a better understanding of the complexities of the political situation in the Congo. A must read!
December 15, 2021
King’s journalistic skills in interviewing shine in this debut publication about the inspiring life and work of MJ Sharp as a radical peacemaker. The chorus of voices help the reader better understand MJ’s talents, passions and struggles. King also provides cultural context and educates the reader, in surprising depth, about the geopolitical complexities of the United Nations' work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This biography will certainly be required reading for future peace/justice studies curriculum!
January 29, 2022
For those familiar with Mennonites and pacifism, this story is both an inspiring and terrifying tale of the possibilities of committing to a life of peacemaking. For those unfamiliar, Marshall V. King offers historical and philosophical context for the ideas that inspired MJ Sharp. King’s journalism background means that this book is full of facts and details that make the reader feel present. I finish this book feeling both inspired and introspective, wondering how I can further lean into living out my beliefs.
February 2, 2022
Intense and well-done. I actually really appreciated the short last chapter that contemplated whether MJ was a martyr or a hero (or “assassinated”).
(This is not the point, and I never knew MJ, but I was floored to learn how many things I had in common with him. We both went to BCHS and then EMU. Then we both edited the Weather Vane in the spring semester of our sophomore year at EMU, which is somewhat uncommon in itself—although others may have done that as a sophomore, I’m not aware of it. Then he and I both studied at Philipps-Universität Marburg, and we both lived in an *intentional Christian community, while we were in Germany*. This is a lot of weirdly-specific things to have in common with someone you don’t know. And yes, clearly our life paths were drastically different after we left Germany… at that point all similarities stopped.)
(This is not the point, and I never knew MJ, but I was floored to learn how many things I had in common with him. We both went to BCHS and then EMU. Then we both edited the Weather Vane in the spring semester of our sophomore year at EMU, which is somewhat uncommon in itself—although others may have done that as a sophomore, I’m not aware of it. Then he and I both studied at Philipps-Universität Marburg, and we both lived in an *intentional Christian community, while we were in Germany*. This is a lot of weirdly-specific things to have in common with someone you don’t know. And yes, clearly our life paths were drastically different after we left Germany… at that point all similarities stopped.)
January 3, 2022
The violent solutions of the world have failed us repeatedly and we need stories of complex people with deep conviction and belief, who are willing to risk everything to listen, humanize our enemies and possibly grow peace in new ways. This book, Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael "MJ" Sharp, does that in beautiful ways!
Marshall V. King's journalistic approach brings together voices from around the world who knew MJ Sharp in various ways (friends, relatives and coworkers) and pays attention to the details of his life and death giving shape to a story that is both inspiring and challenging. I'm gratefully left with a much deeper knowledge and appreciation for the history, conflicts and beauty of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its people. As a Mennonite myself, I appreciated the ways King shared from this religious group's beliefs, culture with deep sensitivity and understanding. He asks the question of whether MJ was a hero or a martyr, and allowed me to deeply respect and admire the choices MJ made in his life (and death), and yet also gently allowed him to be fully human with quirks and faults. While I have a number of people close to me who knew MJ well, I did not. Reading this book made me wish I had.
While the book does have some graphic descriptions to the violence in the DRC, I encouraged my 10-year-old son to read it too...and he quickly devoured it in 2 days and appreciated it! I am thankful that he has a story like this that he can connect to in a variety of ways (MJ's love for poker, his Porsche and his adventurous spirit are hard for a young boy to not be intrigued by), and also hopefully be challenged by as he develops his own beliefs about the answers to the violence in the world and what Christian faith means as we live in and engage a broken world with courage, compassion and creativity.
I highly recommend this book!
Marshall V. King's journalistic approach brings together voices from around the world who knew MJ Sharp in various ways (friends, relatives and coworkers) and pays attention to the details of his life and death giving shape to a story that is both inspiring and challenging. I'm gratefully left with a much deeper knowledge and appreciation for the history, conflicts and beauty of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its people. As a Mennonite myself, I appreciated the ways King shared from this religious group's beliefs, culture with deep sensitivity and understanding. He asks the question of whether MJ was a hero or a martyr, and allowed me to deeply respect and admire the choices MJ made in his life (and death), and yet also gently allowed him to be fully human with quirks and faults. While I have a number of people close to me who knew MJ well, I did not. Reading this book made me wish I had.
While the book does have some graphic descriptions to the violence in the DRC, I encouraged my 10-year-old son to read it too...and he quickly devoured it in 2 days and appreciated it! I am thankful that he has a story like this that he can connect to in a variety of ways (MJ's love for poker, his Porsche and his adventurous spirit are hard for a young boy to not be intrigued by), and also hopefully be challenged by as he develops his own beliefs about the answers to the violence in the world and what Christian faith means as we live in and engage a broken world with courage, compassion and creativity.
I highly recommend this book!
January 23, 2022
A quick and easy read that holds a powerful story and compelling challenge for each of us to be fully engaged in life. An inspiring portrait of faith - not the orthodox version, but the hands-dirty version. I bought four additional copies to give to each of my children.
January 5, 2022
What does it mean to be following a way of life that doesn’t make sense to the grim realpolitik of the world? Noted journalist Marshall King probes that agonizing question in his examination of the life of his friend MJ Sharp. Sharp was working as a field expert for the United Nations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) when he and a fellow worker were assassinated in the field. King builds his description of Sharp’s death around careful research and broader historical context, bringing together Sharp’s radical Mennonite Christian faith and the history of colonialism and exploitation in the Congo. King’s winsome writing also paints a picture of Sharp’s unique personality: a brilliant scholar with an IQ of 160 who was bored in school; a pacifist worker who befriended soldiers and guerillas; and an Anabaptist devoted to communal simple living who invested in business start-ups and funded himself by playing a wicked game of poker. King’s global and intimate research is particularly impressive during an age of COVID, reaching UN officials and Sharp’s childhood friends. Sharp’s life, and his community’s after his death, shows us a particular picture of what it means to be a true follower of Christ, no matter what the cost. That powerful thread should pull all readers of this man’s life to find their own way to not just survive, but make the world thrive in our all-too-brief time here.
January 21, 2022
“You can always listen,”—Michael Sharp
Michael “MJ” Sharp believed in listening with people. He listened with American soldiers at the Military Counseling Network near the military base in Germany, who wanted to become conscientious objectors. He listened with both the refugees and armed militia in eastern Congo (DRC) while working with Mennonite Central Committee. He continued listening with the armed militia groups in eastern Congo when he became an investigator for the Group of Exports reporting to the United Nations Security Council. On March 12, 2017, Sharp and his U.N. colleague, Zaida Catalan, were traveling to meet with a militia leader when he and Catalan were assassinated in the jungle. Sharp was then 35 years old.
Marshall V. King brings Michael Sharp into focus, highlighting Sharp’s Mennonite family and upbringing, his commitment to nonviolent peacemaking, and his commitment to listening with people.
Michael “MJ” Sharp believed in listening with people. He listened with American soldiers at the Military Counseling Network near the military base in Germany, who wanted to become conscientious objectors. He listened with both the refugees and armed militia in eastern Congo (DRC) while working with Mennonite Central Committee. He continued listening with the armed militia groups in eastern Congo when he became an investigator for the Group of Exports reporting to the United Nations Security Council. On March 12, 2017, Sharp and his U.N. colleague, Zaida Catalan, were traveling to meet with a militia leader when he and Catalan were assassinated in the jungle. Sharp was then 35 years old.
Marshall V. King brings Michael Sharp into focus, highlighting Sharp’s Mennonite family and upbringing, his commitment to nonviolent peacemaking, and his commitment to listening with people.
May 1, 2022
“I have said on more than one occasion that we peacemakers should be willing to risk our lives as those who join the military do. Now it’s no longer theory.” -John Sharp, Father of slain UN Worker Michael (MJ) Sharp.
I was a social studies teacher for 15 years. When the news of MJ initially broke, I wrote this piece, A Community in Mourning, in the context of a social studies teacher. Someone tasked with teaching global conflict, human rights, democracy.
In my experience, social studies classes - especially history classes - are hyper-focused on war. They break down chapters in US History books by war: French/Indian, Revolutionary, 1812, Civil, WWI, WWII... You get the idea... And yes: certainly this is an oversimplification.
We need historians who study war. But think of all the grandfathers who are well-versed in World War II trivia. Is it not worthwhile to also read stories of peace? Revolutions and revolutionaries who refused to be cowed, but also refused the easy answer of violence.
In that way, it reminded me of "Prepared for a Purpose: The Inspiring True Story of How One Woman Saved an Atlanta School Under Siege." We're so focused (here in the States) on school shootings, that stories of peace - with a low body count - get pushed to the side and forgotten. If we know about Columbine, and Sandy Hook, and Marjory Stoneman - maybe we should also know of Antoinette Tuff.
...Not to get too far off on this tangent, but while I thought of the Antoinette Tuff connection loosely - violence to violence, peace to peace - King's paragraph here also reminded me of the uniquely - or at least especially - American problem of school shootings:
While we may shake our heads and say, "Only in America," this book reminds us that while school shootings may be an American problem, violence is not. We may worry about school shooters, but thankfully we have not had to worry about child soldiers. And lest we become arrogant and think only of Disarmed, or Hotel Rwanda, or Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, it might serve us well to remember how quickly Ukraine devolved into war.
And war. War. War. The book focuses on MJ, a peacenik Mennonite from Menno-USA - just like books on Gandhi focus on Gandhi. Books on MLK focus on MLK. Books on Malcolm focus on Malcolm. But revolutions and movements and wars are larger than one person.
Each one an individual life. And individual soul created Imago Dei.
The challenge is that in each of these movements it wasn't just that there were people lined up behind MLK... there were people in front of him and beside him. Before and after. Remember Fannie Lou Hamer testifying before Congress, Ralph Abernathy mentoring King and taking over the SCLC. Jesse Jackson cradling King's head. Thousands and thousands and thousands of unnamed marchers.
It's the difference between movements and individuals.
But it is worthwhile to read a story about an individual within the peace movement.
A book like this asks us to consider the nature of justice, vengeance, peace, love and compassion. What is it we want and need?
There are a few questions at the end of the book asking whether MJ is a martyr or hero. I think the only answer to give is the one that MJ's father, John, gave: "That's not for me to say." But I will say this: MJ's story pushed me along the path to becoming Mennonite myself. That it's one thing to pay lip-service to peace and forgiveness, and it's another to attempt to truly live it.
I was a social studies teacher for 15 years. When the news of MJ initially broke, I wrote this piece, A Community in Mourning, in the context of a social studies teacher. Someone tasked with teaching global conflict, human rights, democracy.
In my experience, social studies classes - especially history classes - are hyper-focused on war. They break down chapters in US History books by war: French/Indian, Revolutionary, 1812, Civil, WWI, WWII... You get the idea... And yes: certainly this is an oversimplification.
We need historians who study war. But think of all the grandfathers who are well-versed in World War II trivia. Is it not worthwhile to also read stories of peace? Revolutions and revolutionaries who refused to be cowed, but also refused the easy answer of violence.
In that way, it reminded me of "Prepared for a Purpose: The Inspiring True Story of How One Woman Saved an Atlanta School Under Siege." We're so focused (here in the States) on school shootings, that stories of peace - with a low body count - get pushed to the side and forgotten. If we know about Columbine, and Sandy Hook, and Marjory Stoneman - maybe we should also know of Antoinette Tuff.
...Not to get too far off on this tangent, but while I thought of the Antoinette Tuff connection loosely - violence to violence, peace to peace - King's paragraph here also reminded me of the uniquely - or at least especially - American problem of school shootings:
After a gunman in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, shot ten girls in a one-room Amish schoolhouse in 2006, killing five of them, the Amish leaders emphasized forgiveness and reconciliation that shocked many outsiders. People took notice when members of the Amish community attended the shooter's funeral after his suicide and set up a charitable fund for his family, and wanted to know more about this countercultural—and biblical—commitment to forgiveness.
While we may shake our heads and say, "Only in America," this book reminds us that while school shootings may be an American problem, violence is not. We may worry about school shooters, but thankfully we have not had to worry about child soldiers. And lest we become arrogant and think only of Disarmed, or Hotel Rwanda, or Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, it might serve us well to remember how quickly Ukraine devolved into war.
And war. War. War. The book focuses on MJ, a peacenik Mennonite from Menno-USA - just like books on Gandhi focus on Gandhi. Books on MLK focus on MLK. Books on Malcolm focus on Malcolm. But revolutions and movements and wars are larger than one person.
It was also a marker in a killing spree that got the attention of US diplomats.
The Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed that 251 people, including sixty-two children, were killed between March 12 and June 19 in Kasai-Central.
Each one an individual life. And individual soul created Imago Dei.
The challenge is that in each of these movements it wasn't just that there were people lined up behind MLK... there were people in front of him and beside him. Before and after. Remember Fannie Lou Hamer testifying before Congress, Ralph Abernathy mentoring King and taking over the SCLC. Jesse Jackson cradling King's head. Thousands and thousands and thousands of unnamed marchers.
It's the difference between movements and individuals.
But it is worthwhile to read a story about an individual within the peace movement.
A book like this asks us to consider the nature of justice, vengeance, peace, love and compassion. What is it we want and need?
There are a few questions at the end of the book asking whether MJ is a martyr or hero. I think the only answer to give is the one that MJ's father, John, gave: "That's not for me to say." But I will say this: MJ's story pushed me along the path to becoming Mennonite myself. That it's one thing to pay lip-service to peace and forgiveness, and it's another to attempt to truly live it.
April 21, 2022
A couple of years ago, I left the church I had been working at with the intention of traveling the country and finding what God had next for our family. I had worked at a non-denominational church and had previously attended a Baptist seminary. When my wife and I began considering what type of church we wanted to move into, we knew it needed to look different than our backgrounds, which had to a large extent embraced a politicized and nationalist version of faith. Unsurprisingly, we found ourselves increasingly drawn to what some have called “the left wing of the Reformation”—all the evangelical beliefs theologically with a commitment to social justice, racial reconciliation, ecological matters, and more. And thus began a journey to learning more about Mennonites—their theology, their people, and their outlook. Herald Press has been the best way to do that, publishing books on theological and social issues.
Disarmed is bit different from their usual fare, a journalistic biography of Mennonite missionary Michael “MJ” Sharp, who has killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2017. I knew nothing about Sharp before reading this book, had never heard of his kidnapping and murder, had no background whatsoever. What drew me to the story was the faithful commitment of a believer to Christian peacemaking amid a world of violence.
Marshall V. King, a Mennonite himself and an award-winning journalist tells Sharp’s story with a detail and precision that evokes a genuine care to tell the story and get it right. MJ’s story deserves to be told, to be remembered, to be seen as an example of someone following in the nonviolent footsteps of Jesus.
Disarmed is more than just MJ’s story. King weaves into it the theological and historical Mennonite background that MJ came from, helping ground MJ as more than just a singular radical, but someone who is part of a tradition and who had been backed and sent by both religious and secular authorities. King also relies on a number of interviews from figures associated with Sharp’s life to tell his story. This element not only provides the needed detail for the book, but shows the effect Sharp’s life had on so many people in so many different areas of life. King also does a good job establishing Sharp as a “regular guy,” someone who made mistakes, goofed off in college, and got into trouble. Living the life of a peacemaking activist isn’t just for the super-spiritual or ultra-holy, but is for the Everyman, as it was for MJ Sharp.
As such, Disarmed not only tells the story of MJ’s life but leads the reader themselves down the path of advocacy and nonviolence, knowing full well that the journey might lead (but not end) in death. It’s an informative, well-written, and compelling look at a modern-day martyr who truly followed in the footsteps of Jesus.
Disarmed is bit different from their usual fare, a journalistic biography of Mennonite missionary Michael “MJ” Sharp, who has killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2017. I knew nothing about Sharp before reading this book, had never heard of his kidnapping and murder, had no background whatsoever. What drew me to the story was the faithful commitment of a believer to Christian peacemaking amid a world of violence.
Marshall V. King, a Mennonite himself and an award-winning journalist tells Sharp’s story with a detail and precision that evokes a genuine care to tell the story and get it right. MJ’s story deserves to be told, to be remembered, to be seen as an example of someone following in the nonviolent footsteps of Jesus.
Disarmed is more than just MJ’s story. King weaves into it the theological and historical Mennonite background that MJ came from, helping ground MJ as more than just a singular radical, but someone who is part of a tradition and who had been backed and sent by both religious and secular authorities. King also relies on a number of interviews from figures associated with Sharp’s life to tell his story. This element not only provides the needed detail for the book, but shows the effect Sharp’s life had on so many people in so many different areas of life. King also does a good job establishing Sharp as a “regular guy,” someone who made mistakes, goofed off in college, and got into trouble. Living the life of a peacemaking activist isn’t just for the super-spiritual or ultra-holy, but is for the Everyman, as it was for MJ Sharp.
As such, Disarmed not only tells the story of MJ’s life but leads the reader themselves down the path of advocacy and nonviolence, knowing full well that the journey might lead (but not end) in death. It’s an informative, well-written, and compelling look at a modern-day martyr who truly followed in the footsteps of Jesus.
January 5, 2022
“You can always listen”
Many of us hope that our presence in another’s life lightens their load, encourages them or in some way brightens their day. Sometimes our actions focus on individuals and sometimes have much wider effects, but we strive to make a difference.
In “Disarmed”, Marshall King writes about MJ Sharp, a very engaging (& at times prank-loving) activist for peace who worked for solutions to help both individuals in their discovery of themselves and large groups seeking justice, basic human rights and peaceable living.
King chronicles much of MJ’s life; but he also explores religious and social history that may have impacted MJ’s life work. King describes a caring, complicated man puzzling out solutions in a complicated world and I found myself drawn back to the story and mulling it over often. I hope you get a chance to read it too.
Many of us hope that our presence in another’s life lightens their load, encourages them or in some way brightens their day. Sometimes our actions focus on individuals and sometimes have much wider effects, but we strive to make a difference.
In “Disarmed”, Marshall King writes about MJ Sharp, a very engaging (& at times prank-loving) activist for peace who worked for solutions to help both individuals in their discovery of themselves and large groups seeking justice, basic human rights and peaceable living.
King chronicles much of MJ’s life; but he also explores religious and social history that may have impacted MJ’s life work. King describes a caring, complicated man puzzling out solutions in a complicated world and I found myself drawn back to the story and mulling it over often. I hope you get a chance to read it too.
February 21, 2022
This book is essential reading, for the world would be a far better place if we could internalize the desire for peace that Michael "MJ" Sharp embodied in his all-too-short life. Marshall King, the author and a trusted friend, takes you far deeper than the headlines -- examining in heartbreaking, insightful and hilarious detail -- the life of MJ Sharp and how he and a fellow UN worker, Zaida Catalan, were assassinated in a remote region of Africa. Beyond that is an exploration of what these tragic deaths and how they can inform our lives. I've had the pleasure of reading much of Marshall's writing over the years, and this is his most important work yet.
January 20, 2022
Disarmed
The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael "MJ" Sharp
by Marshall V. King
Pub Date 11 Jan 2022
Herald Press
Biographies & Memoirs | Christian | Politics
I am reviewing a copy of Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael “MJ” Sharp through Herald Press and Netgalley:
Michael “MJ” Sharp 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 at only 34 years old. He was most 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.
MJ was a modern Mennonite, who armed himself with wit and intellect, rather than a gun. He was the son of a Mennonite Pastor and from a young age, he showed a gift for listening as well as for persuading. 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.
I give Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael "MJ" Sharp five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael "MJ" Sharp
by Marshall V. King
Pub Date 11 Jan 2022
Herald Press
Biographies & Memoirs | Christian | Politics
I am reviewing a copy of Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael “MJ” Sharp through Herald Press and Netgalley:
Michael “MJ” Sharp 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 at only 34 years old. He was most 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.
MJ was a modern Mennonite, who armed himself with wit and intellect, rather than a gun. He was the son of a Mennonite Pastor and from a young age, he showed a gift for listening as well as for persuading. 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.
I give Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael "MJ" Sharp five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
January 11, 2023
I read this book over the winter holidays with great interest, having recently visited eastern Congo and seen some of MJ's legacy in people and organizations who remember him with love and respect. On our visit, we saw MJ memorialized in the name of local peace-building NGO and in photos on the walls of EEC offices where folks remember him fondly. The book answers as well as possible the question I imagine most readers bring to the book, "Who was this person, MJ Sharp, who worked with bandits, rebels, church leaders and UN officials, and died doing it?" King's narrative shows us MJ starting in childhood, developing as a student and practitioner of peace-building, taking risks, pushing edges, making friends, and planning his future. It's a story worth telling, inspirational but not formulaic, as individual and unique as MJ was. I'm grateful to King and his various sources for telling it.
January 29, 2022
It's hard to give a book about a friend's life and death a rating that is equated with "amazing" when that death was so terrible. That said, King shows how a life enthusiastically lived is amazing. King assembled many interviews and recollections of MJ to portray his full life within and beyond Eastern DRC. I am grateful that this book exists.
December 8, 2022
I don’t like books with murder, not even in a novel. In many novels a murder appears within the first several pages of the book.
So it goes with the biography of a young man, Michael “MJ” Sharp. Published by Herald Press in 2021, written by a seasoned journalist, Marshall V. King.
It was hard to read. The cover reveals the killing up front. The book goes on to show how this brave young Christian man gave his life because of his strong desire to facilitate peace and save the lives of others in countries where young children (seven to twelve age range), are often given guns and even sticks to join local militias.
MJ was far from perfect, and discouragement sometimes bogged him down as he worked for various international agencies. He had bouts with depression. But MJ followed a purposeful, important calling and puts many of us to shame for the timidity we sometimes show in not standing up for our deep beliefs.
So it goes with the biography of a young man, Michael “MJ” Sharp. Published by Herald Press in 2021, written by a seasoned journalist, Marshall V. King.
It was hard to read. The cover reveals the killing up front. The book goes on to show how this brave young Christian man gave his life because of his strong desire to facilitate peace and save the lives of others in countries where young children (seven to twelve age range), are often given guns and even sticks to join local militias.
MJ was far from perfect, and discouragement sometimes bogged him down as he worked for various international agencies. He had bouts with depression. But MJ followed a purposeful, important calling and puts many of us to shame for the timidity we sometimes show in not standing up for our deep beliefs.
May 30, 2022
This well-researched biography is an unvarnished account of a gifted young Mennonite man, still unsettled in his personal life, who died while working for the United Nations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It helpfully includes recent research into the perpetrators of his assassination and that of his co-worker, Zaida Catalán.
The author's attempt to link Sharp's motivation to the early 16th-century Anabaptists seems a stretch that slowed the beginning of the book.
An engaging read.
It helpfully includes recent research into the perpetrators of his assassination and that of his co-worker, Zaida Catalán.
The author's attempt to link Sharp's motivation to the early 16th-century Anabaptists seems a stretch that slowed the beginning of the book.
An engaging read.
December 19, 2025
I happened to be a student in John Sharp’s (father of MJ Sharp) ‘Peacemaking & Justice’ class when his son was kidnapped and killed in the Congo. I felt first hand the fear and sorrow of a brokenhearted father, but also the pride of a dad who knew his son had stayed true to himself even in horrific circumstances. The legacy of MJ’s unwavering dedication to peace and connection building, even in the most dangerous of times, has stuck with me to this day. MJ’s story will make you laugh and cry, but most of all it will make you question what you think.
Read
July 30, 2023A very tender read about the real story of MJ Sharp, nephew of a friend of mine, who was assassinated in the DRC in 2017 while working with the UN to promote peace. It is a really thoughtful look at the wrestle of being a pacifist, nonviolent Anabaptist today. I also appreciated learning more about the Congo and the heartbreaking happenings. This book is hard to read; not graphic, but deals with difficult themes. I highly recommend.
February 3, 2024
An excellent telling of the story of MJ Sharp, his life and work. King makes the effort to present MJ as fully human, not a saint who did no wrong. MJ's story is one well worth telling and I hope many people, especially younger men read it. King also provides enough background on the Congo (DRC) to make the story understandable without getting bogged down in details.
August 30, 2024
Marshall does a great job of outlining MJ's life and filling in the details of how things went down at the end. I love how MJ is depicted as a complicated person who did amazing things in the work of peace but was also very human. MJ had a truly inspiring life. Thanks for telling the story Marshall!
March 23, 2022
Having grown up Anabaptist in the same Northern Indiana community as MJ, I really liked how King told the story of not just MJ, but the history of the Mennonites and of the work that MCC does. A good read for anyone curious about the Mennonite practice of peacemaking throughout the world.
May 29, 2022
This book is both inspirational and forcefully introspective. It makes one want to both shout out angrily and cry at the same time. Marshal King brought a tragedy to encourage and embolden us all to aspire to be more like M.J. even though we all know we would fall short.
October 27, 2024
MJ was friend of a friend, but I did not hear about him or his work until after his death. The way the book was written, though, made me feel like I lost a friend. This book is an honest and heartwarming way of presenting his life, his life, and the values that drove him to do what he did.
February 9, 2022
An extraordinary young man working to promote peace in the Congo. It's refreshing to see committed young men & women acting on their faith!
March 28, 2022
A must read! Inspirational and humbling
June 1, 2022
Incredibly well written book about a life well lived.
December 21, 2025
Really good portrait of someone actively working for peace. MJ, at his best, is a North Star of sorts for non-passive peacemaking. He showed how listening and working to understand are key parts of mediation and peacemaking. I want to find some way to work towards peace as well; how, I am not sure, but MJ provides a profound example.
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