Paul is the pastor of a church and a professor at a seminary in Central Europe … yet he is struggling to forgive a former elder who turned on him three years ago (all names are changed). Anna works with refugee teenagers who pass through her country on the way to Western Europe; she wants
I’m sending this post from Wisla, Poland, where Chip Zimmer and I are teaching at the European Leadership Forum. ELF has gathered 700 evangelical leaders from around Europe to provide them with a week of fellowship, encouragement, and training to inspire and equip them “to renew the biblical church and re-evangelize Europe.” This is no
A friend may be writing a letter to me that I might not like. Although we’ve talked repeatedly, there are tensions between us that are still not resolved. Yesterday another acquaintance said my friend is composing a letter to me. He gave no details, just “He’s writing something for you.” Oh boy, what does that
When a pastor steps into a pulpit, he usually has two general goals in mind: to change the way people think and to change the way they behave. The pivotal human organ for both goals is the brain. And yet most pastors—as well as most of the people in the pews—haven’t spent five minutes in
Relational turmoil is undermining the witness of Christians all around the world. Family strife and divorce, church splits, workplace conflict, lawsuits between Christians, and clashes with neighbors of other faiths weaken our credibility and slow the advance of Christ’s kingdom. You can help us reduce this turmoil and strengthen the church by supporting our three
Highly relational people love to breathe grace. They draw continually on the goodness and power of Jesus Christ, and then they breathe his love, kindness and wisdom into all of their relationships. This is what the Apostle Paul had in mind in Ephesians 4:29, where he calls each of us to “give grace” to others.
I’m pleased to announce the formation of a new ministry partnership with Crossroads Resolution Group LLC. This relationship expands our ability to provide churches, ministries, and businesses with professional, biblically-grounded conflict resolution services. CRG is led by two gifted conciliators with whom I had the privilege to work while leading Peacemaker Ministries, who are now
When was the last time you did something that was so amazingly kind that others will remember your actions the rest of their lives? If it’s been awhile, I encourage you to take two minutes to watch a video clip of some young men who refused to play basketball against another team … as an
One of the most effective ways to undermine a relationship is to use double-messages to manipulate other people. This all-too-common process was perfectly illustrated in a recent edition of Baby Blues, one of my favorite cartoon strips. Darryl’s friend drops by to ask him if he can go golfing. When Darryl asks his wife if that’s
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