I’ve mediated over 600 divorces. By God’s grace, over half of these couples reconciled during the mediation process. But nearly half of these couples did not reconcile. As a result, they and their children experienced the heartbreak, trauma and financial pressure attendant to most divorces. Some of these couples experienced such serious, unrepentant sin that
As the Delta Force special ops team flew into Caraccas to capture Nicolas Maduro last week, heavy gunfire erupted from the ground, wounding the pilot in the lead Chinook helicopter three times. Instead of flinching in pain and diverting to safety, he stayed at the controls and delivered the Delta team to the compound where
Last week I received a testimony from a woman who had been involved in a conflict with a fellow teacher at her Christian school. It was so serious that the school hired a conciliator to guide the women through a mediation process. In preparation for their first meeting, the conciliator asked the women to read
Three weeks before Christmas, Wolfgang Dircks died while watching television. His body wasn’t discovered until five years later. None of the neighbors in his apartment complex noticed the absence of the 43-year-old. His rent continued to be paid automatically out of his bank account. When the money finally ran out five years later, the landlord
I hardly noticed the old rancher sitting in the front row of the small Montana church where I was preaching a message on peacemaking, but he was about to make my day. My text that morning was taken from Matthew 5:23-24, which reads: So, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there
Would you like to move beyond superficial conversation during your Thanksgiving gathering this year? Would you like to connect deeply with your family and friends and hear them share stories about the most meaningful people and events of their lives? If so, give each of your guests a copy of these ten questions and watch
I share a lust with St. Augustine. Although he was a pillar of the church, he regularly prayed, “O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.” We all inherited this lust from our original parents, who invented the art of excusing sin and justifying ourselves by blaming others (Gen. 3:9-13). I have
My daughter, Megan, was eighteen months old when she decided to test her smile on an angry looking biker. Just before a vacation in Jackson, Wyoming, she had learned what a fun response she could get from adults when she beamed a big smile and gave them an enthusiastic, “Hi!” Whether we were sitting in
Tom called me for advice on how to deal with an 18-year-old church member, Tina, who was pregnant out of wedlock (names changed). Half of his elder board thought Tina should appear before them to confess her sin and demonstrate repentance. The other half did not want to see her shamed and suggested that she
We all know the Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” But do you know the Golden Result? It’s a direct corollary to the Golden Rule: “Other people will usually treat you the way you treat them.” Not always, but usually. Because that’s how God made us. I’ve seen this