Lord willing, this morning I will have the privilege of teaching a three-hour relational wisdom seminar to congressional staff on Capitol Hill. This training was arranged by a U.S. Congresswoman who has become an advocate for RW and peacemaking in our nation’s...
Download Conference Recordings
By God's grace, our recent Sowing Peace Conference was a great success. In addition to enjoying outstanding worship and warm fellowship, we were blessed with 40+ keynote sessions and workshops that deepened our ability to model, practice and teach relational wisdom,...
Takeaways with Kirk Cameron
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of being interviewed by Kirk Cameron on his Takeaways show. It was one of the most stimulating interviews I've ever done, largely because Kirk himself became so energized as we explored the power of biblical peacemaking. If you'd...
Another Abuse Scandal … and a Proactive Response
The Christian church has been rocked once again by a major sexual abuse scandal, which involves the largest protestant denomination in the United States. As one of last Sunday’s headlines read, “Southern Baptists Refused to Act on Abuse.” The subtitle to this article...
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...
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...
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)....
Strike the Shepherd
Download PDF here. 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Reconciled by a Baby Moose
After two painfully intense mediation sessions, Dave and Don were still miles apart and more bitter than ever. Best friends since high school, Don had hired Dave to manage his construction crews. Working long hours together, they built a highly successful company. But...
Calling Our Nation to Prayer and Repentance
One of the greatest privileges I’ve enjoyed in recent years has been to work with Christian leaders who are seeking to live out their faith as they serve God and our nation in the U.S. Congress, at the Pentagon and in state legislatures across our land. One of the...
Millennials in Relational and Mental Health Crisis
Two days ago, I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion with Dr. George Barna and several other distinguished experts as we focused on the foreboding relational and mental health challenges faced by 78 million American millennials. This discussion was...