Gentle Shepherding for a Pregnant Teen
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...
The Golden Result
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...
Political Strife Is an Opportunity
Our country is currently embroiled in a time of intense political and cultural conflict, which is so painfully revealed in the recent assassination of Charlie...
Reputation vs Character
Jim's reputation was being trashed by people in his own church. He was respected throughout the city for his outstanding Sunday school classes, which had...
Don’t Overlook Every Offense
A lot of leaders are being abruptly removed from their posts these days. Pastors, seminary presidents, ministry and business CEOs. In many cases, they were...
Are You Velcro or Teflon?
Kelly can be one of the best friends in the world. She’s thoughtful, caring, and always eager to encourage and serve others. The people in her Bible study and...
Penetrating Barriers with the Gospel
Megan had switched on a force field that put the Starship Enterprise to shame.
It had been another one of our difficult home-schooling days.
Three Steps to Building Relational Passports
I have dozens of passports, and I need to renew them constantly. No, I’m not James Bond or Jason Bourne. I don’t fly from country to country using alternative...
Daddy, is that you? (A Wedding Day Reconciliation)
Becky looked forward to her wedding with a mixture of excitement and sadness. Mark was the man of her dreams, and she was thrilled about becoming his wife....
7 Ways to Free Your Child From Impulsive Lying
Here is a question I am often asked during RW seminars: “My four-year old daughter has a habit of lying to us about her sinful behavior. For example, if we...
Overcoming Rejection
There are three things you and I were never designed to experience: illness, death and rejection. That is why these experiences feel so foreign and hurt so...
One Simple Habit that Transforms Relationships
One of the best ways to improve your relationships is to develop the habit of drawing attention to EGGs. Not the ones you cook or search for at Easter, but...
How to Resurrect a Dead Relationship
A young Christian couple came to my office just before Easter one year and asked me to mediate the legal issues of their divorce. The wife had been...
Reconciling Two Stubborn Scientists
How would you feel if God enabled you to use simple relational skills you learned at church to solve a million dollar problem for your employer? That’s...
Asking Parents to Give Up Their Keys
One of the hardest things I’ve ever done was to ask my mother and my mother-in-law to give up their car keys. Doing it with each of them on the same day...
A Wave of Confessions Saves a Church
At last he had his chance. Clutching his prepared statement in his hand, Mark sat down in the front pew, ready to get even with the elders (all names have...
Pastor Resolves a Texas Football Scandal
As pastor Kent drove home from our peacemaking training, he had no idea how quickly his new skills would be put to the test. He had barely walked through the...
Relational Resources and Skills for Parenting
Most families struggle far more with relational challenges than they do with academic training. The relational challenges of day-to-day life can easily...
Is Your Church Prepared for Conflict?
What would your church do if it was suddenly asked to resolve conflicts like these among your members? A couple has lost their baby through the negligence of...
Relational Wisdom Summit
RW360 is pleased to announce its inaugural "Relational Wisdom Summit," which is scheduled to be held on June 13-14, 2025, in Billings, Montana. Summit /...
Taking On Drug Lords, Terrorists, Divorces and Church Splits
Would you have ever imagined that God would use a children’s book to turn drug Lords and terrorists into devoted followers of Jesus Christ? Well, that is...
How Can You Forgive Me? I Killed Your Baby.
Click Here to Download PDF Alicia was born prematurely. Worse yet, she was born near the end of an exhausting NICU (newborn intensive care unit) shift. Two...
I Thought 40 Law Students Might Eat Me Alive
Law students love to flex their growing adversarial skills. Which is why I chose a state law school to test our newest training materials on relational wisdom...
Three Qualities that Improve Every Relationship
After mediating hundreds of divorces, lawsuits, forced pastoral exits and church splits, I have learned that these types of conflicts usually involved one or...
10 Ways to Connect Deeply at Thanksgiving
Would you like to move beyond superficial conversation during your Thanksgiving gathering this year? Would you like to connect deeply with your family and...
Walking in Wisdom with Kirk Cameron
RW360 is proud to host Kirk Cameron at our December 3 Walking in Wisdom Webinar. Kirk is known by millions for his starring roles in movies like...
Preserving Relationships in the Midst of Political Turmoil
(This blog was posted just before the 2024 national election, but these relational principles continue to be relevant every time we are discussing political...
Denominational Training
Last week I had the privilege of teaching relational wisdom, peacemaking and Christian conciliation over two days to 200 Assembly of God (AG) denominational...
The Compassionate Boxer
Would you like to grow in relational wisdom? If so, please take a few minutes to watch a brief clip from the movie, Cinderella Man, which is packed with some...
The Three P’s of Satisfaction
It’s not often that an attorney loses a lawsuit, along with her two million dollar contingency fee, and yet walks away satisfied. I’ve seen similar...
How to Lose an Airline Seat … and Win a Friend at the IRS
It’s never smart to offend someone who has discretionary authority over your life. Such as the ticket agent I watched as she juggled an overbooked flight. She...
Curse or Consecrate
Three months before graduating from law school, I decided I did not want to be a lawyer. Two years of interning for a plaintiff’s attorney had shown me that...
Stupidity of Bitterness
Indulging in bitterness is one of the most stupid things we ever do. How stupid is it? Well, think about it this way. Imagine that someone stabbed you in the...
If Your Enemy Needs Electricity
Rich, a dear friend of mine, had a horrible conflict with his neighbor, Cynthia. A property line dispute that began with debates in the back yard had evolved...
Seven Steps for Defusing Explosive Meetings
Have you ever been in a meeting that was about to explode? You could feel the tension building with each person’s comments and knew it was just a matter of...
100% Responsible
When my wife was an elementary school counselor, students were often sent to her office because of conflict. As they told her their stories, many children...
A Stolen Baby, $200M Lawsuit and an Astonishing Reconciliation
A PDF version of this post is available at www.rw360.org/$200M-pdf It's not often that pastoral counseling sets the stage for a kidnapping, a $200 million...
Spanglish – The Secret of Being Influential
Today's post features a 3-minute video clip that illustrates amazing relational wisdom, including empathy, self-control and the brilliant use of a single...
Five Ways to Bless Your Mother This Sunday
This Sunday is Mother’s Day. If you’re tired of doing the same “card and gift” routine, allow me to suggest something that will blow your mother (or your...
Fighting to Save a Marriage
A friend of mine recently learned that his wife is having an affair and is planning to file for divorce. After Mark got over the initial shock, he sought my...
Transformed Lives Leading Others to Christ
Most Christians would love to share the gospel with their friends and coworkers. But many of them don’t know how to begin this kind of conversation. Others...
2024 Southern Regional Sowing Peace Conference
In James 3:18, God makes a marvelous promise: “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” This “sow to reap” metaphor reminds us that the...
10 Ways to Connect Deeply at Christmas
Would you like to move beyond superficial conversation during your Christmas gathering this year? Would you like to connect deeply with your family and...
New Tools for Sharing the Gospel
As much as Corlette and I rejoice to see people reconciled to one another through peace-making, we rejoice far more to see them reconciled to God through the...
I Was an Embarrassment to My Friends
C.S. Lewis and I have something in common: there was a time when each of us became an embarrassment to our friends. Lewis endured this uncomfortable...
The Night My Father Died
My mother passed away fifteen years ago on Christmas Eve. She was totally at peace and eager to see her Savior face-to-face. Not so my father. He was...
Six Ways to Defeat Loneliness at Christmas
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...
Using RW for Witnessing and Evangelism
Would you like to see hundreds of people in your community hear the gospel in a winsome and practical way for the first time in their lives? Would you like to...
Sowing Peace in a Culture of Conflict
The intense spiritual, racial, political and sexuality conflicts that are polarizing America have flooded into every part of daily life, including the church....
7 Ways to Redeem an Offense
A while ago, I received a complaint from a woman who I will call Ruth (not her real name) regarding a video clip I used in one of my blog posts. The video is...
2023 Annual Sowing Peace Conference
The intense spiritual, racial, political and sexuality conflicts that are polarizing America have flooded into every part of daily life, including the church....
Takeaways with Kirk Cameron
A few weeks ago, I once again had the privilege of being interviewed by Kirk Cameron on his Takeaways show. As always, Kirk was highly energized as we...
Raising Emotionally Stunted Boys
I’ve met with hundreds of couples who were struggling to save their marriages. One of the most common statements wives make in those meetings is, “There’s...
17 Ways to Respond to Explosive Politics
This coming week, millions of people will be rejoicing or weeping as the latest political season comes to its climactic end. The emotions that are now...
Report on Capitol Hill Training
Thank you for your prayer support during my training in Washington, D.C. last week. What an exhilarating experience! The training for congressional staff was...
Training on Capitol Hill
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
Please Help Us Help Others
Our ministry is dedicated to doing all we can to help alleviate the following tragedies and to strengthen relational skills in the church, but we need your...
A Needed Reassessment of Christian Conciliation
On November 16, 2021, Live at Peace Ministries released a public confession describing how they had failed to respond effectively to ethical complaints that...
Free Training for First Responders
In recognition of the sacrifices that first responders make for our country every day, RW360 is offering free registration for our 2021 Sowing Peace...
Free Training for U.S. Military Personnel and Their Families
In honor of the men and women who have served in the U.S. military, RW360 is pleased to offer free training in relational wisdom to all active and retired...
Round Four with Cancer … and It’s Still All About Relationship
The last thing you want to hear from your doctor after three battles with cancer is, "I've got some bad news for you." But if those words arrive just two days...
A Cripple Walks, Leaps and Runs!
2021 Harvest Report The COVID crisis crippled our live training this year … but we serve a God who loves to display his grace and expand his kingdom by making...
Please Help Us Help Others
A few days ago, an exhausted nurse named Samantha requested a scholarship to our online training. Here’s what she wrote to me: “I work in our COVID unit and I...
Give the Gift of Relationship
The holiday season often presents three challenging questions: First, “What meaningful gift can I give to the special people in my life this Christmas?”...
32 Ways to Enjoy Highly Relational Holidays
If you're like most people, the coming holiday season will be either the best time of the year or the worst time of the year ... and it will probably depend...
20 Ways to Prevent and Resolve Conflict in the Church
The COVID crisis, combined with heightened racial and political tension, has triggered unprecedented conflict throughout our nation, as well as in the local...
The Last Human Freedom
“The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude.” So wrote Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust,...
Can You Read Faces?
Many years ago a trial attorney read a distressed look in my eyes and responded in a way that changed the course of my life. The ability to read the emotions...
To Mask or Not to Mask … That Is the Divisive Question
Masks are dividing churches all around the country. Some church members are willing to continue following government COVID-19 mandates to wear masks during...
Reflecting Christ in a Chaotic World – Using the Upgraded RW Small Group Study
Have you ever seen a time like this? A time when relational tensions are threatening to divide so many families, churches and communities? The dangers are...
Four Amazing Church Discipline Cases
I’ve been involved in dozens of church discipline cases, both as an elder in my church and as a conciliator assisting other churches. Some of these cases were...
What You Can Do About Racial Tensions
As I watched the George Floyd memorial service this afternoon, I was grieved more than ever by his tragic death, the loss that his family is feeling, and by...
Serving a Barista
She was working the early shift at a small Starbucks counter in Dulles Airport. The young barista had probably been up since 4 or 5 a.m., and she already...
SOG vs COVID-19
We are surely living in unprecedented times! Who would have ever thought that churches, businesses, schools and parks throughout the world would be void of...
EI/RW Training During Covid-19 Crisis
Relational wisdom is an enhanced form of emotional intelligence that helps to deal with the stress created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bringing RW and the Gospel to Soldiers, Teachers and Nurses
Our country is blessed every day by over two million men and women who serve in our military. In addition to protecting our nation from outside threats, many...
15 New Training Options and Opportunities
Including New Group-Study DVD Sets! During a seminar in southern California, a business owner volunteered that he was “successfully failing in his business.”...
Daniel Project: Washington DC Update
Washington DC is an interesting place, to say the least. Politics, power, money … countless temptations, continual controversy … and thousands of people whom...
The Daniel Project: RW in Washington DC
Over the next few days, I will have the privilege of presenting relational wisdom to congressional and military leaders in our nation’s capital. I’m both...
Here’s Looking at You Kid
You’re in for a treat today. Humphrey Bogart is providing an unforgettable example of relational wisdom. His platform is Casablanca, a movie that has...
Papa, Clean Me!
When he was two-and-half-years-old, my grandson, Andrew, came across a fresh pile of dog poo in the yard. Having been told repeatedly to stay away from dog...
Gracious Eyes
A while ago I completed a particularly sad divorce mediation. The husband had tried for years to meet his wife’s expectations, but she was adept at finding...
How Well Do You Love Your Enemies?
Do you have an enemy today? Someone who has has done you great harm or is out to get you right now? Perhaps it's not been quite that bad. Perhaps someone has...
Before It’s Too Late
Years ago, one of my clients was in the hospital with only hours to live. He had no interest in seeing his stock portfolio one more time. Although he had...
Leadership Transitions: The Good, the Bad and the Clumsy
I’ve seen a lot of leadership transitions over the past thirty years. Like the characters in an old Clint Eastwood western, they generally fell into one of...
Are You Relational or Informational?
Many pastors are much better at imparting information than they are at building relationships. They are comfortable in their studies. They love their...