Has Your Strength Become a Weakness?
To find your greatest weakness, first identify your greatest strength and then look right behind it. That’s one of the tragic results of sin: it twists our strengths into weaknesses, just as (-1) x 100 becomes -100. Are you highly intelligent and well-studied in the Bible? Look out, because your knowledge can puff you up […]
Using Relational Wisdom for Evangelism
How effective is your church in spreading the gospel in your community? Are you simply waiting for people to find their way to your church, or are you moving out into your community with a practical and winsome strategy for sharing the gospel and winning souls to Christ? David Mason, Pastor of Green Valley Church […]
Overcoming Rejection
There are two things you and I were never designed to experience: death and rejection. That is why they both feel so foreign and hurt so much: they are utterly contrary to what we were made for. When God created the world, everything in it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). Neither physical death nor the […]
The Dangers of “Good” Advocacy
One of the cases referred to me by a major arbitration organization involved a large contract dispute. Although the facts and the law were clearly in the defendant’s favor, the plaintiff’s attorney did a masterful job advocating his client’s position. Testimony that could have been presented in a few hours stretched into three long days, […]
Polemic Theology – How to Deal with Those Who Differ from Us
Dr. Roger R. Nicole, Visiting Professor at Reformed Theological Seminary Part 1: What Do I Owe to the Person Who Differs from Me? We are called upon by the Lord to contend earnestly for the faith. (Jude 3) That does not necessarily involve being contentious; but it involves avoiding compromise, standing forth for what we […]
Strike the Shepherd
Forced pastoral exits are costing the American church millions of dollars a year. The kingdom cost for these forced exits is far higher. Consider these sobering statistics[1]: 23 percent of all current pastors in the United States have been fired or forced to resign from past positions. The average pastoral tenure in a local church […]
Build a Peace Sower Team in Your Church!
Moses made a major mistake that many church leaders are still making today. He tried to single-handedly resolve all of the relational tensions and conflicts among the people God had placed under his care. When his father-in-law saw what Moses was doing, he admonished him with these insightful words: “What you are doing is not […]
Four Ways to Defeat Amygdala Hijacking
The apostle Peter’s denial of Christ is a classic example of a neurological/emotional failure that today is commonly referred to as “amygdala hijacking.” As Peter demonstrated all too painfully the night he betrayed Jesus (Luke 22:54-62), this process typically involves sudden, intense emotions that trigger an impulsive reaction that is soon regretted. Most of us […]
The Most Compelling Kind of Influence
In 1997, Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt won Academy Awards for Best Actor and Actress for their roles in the romantic comedy, As Good As it Gets.* Throughout the movie, Helen Hunt demonstrates one of the most powerful ways to influence others. Before I describe her simple strategy (which you can use in your family, […]
The Best Way to Rewrite History
Jerry’s wife had filed for divorce. She was willing to mediate the legal issues but made it clear she had no interest in reconciliation. Ted had a similar problem with his church. Months of unresolved tensions had overflowed in a contentious elders meeting, with a few of his elders urging him to leave. Both men faced […]