Peacemaking & Conciliation
Turning Assault into Reconciliation

Turning Assault into Reconciliation

One of the most dramatic reconciliations I ever witnessed involved five brothers and a sister who were fighting over their parents’ estate. Their relationship had deteriorated so badly that one brother nearly assaulted his siblings with a baseball bat. But then God...

Peacemaking and The Good Wife

Peacemaking and The Good Wife

Nine million people will soon be introduced to biblical peacemaking through an hour-long television show called The Good Wife. The Good Wife is a prime time CBS legal and political drama. Its central character is a woman named Alicia Florrick (played by Julianna...

Accountability: The Mark of a Wise and Protected Leader

Josh was slowly crumbling under a steady barrage of criticism. For a few weeks after he began as pastor, the people at his new church seemed friendly and supportive. But Josh soon discovered that many of them were perpetually dissatisfied. They constantly questioned...

Don’t Overlook

Don’t Overlook

A lot of Christian leaders are being abruptly removed from their posts these days. Pastors, seminary presidents, ministry CEOs. In many cases, they were fired without warning. One day things seemed to be going along just fine, and then suddenly they were told that...

A Time for Peace or War?

A Time for Peace or War?

The following article is adapted from an article I wrote in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. I have revised it in light of the debate regarding Syria. While the geographical focus has changed from the U.S. to the Middle East, many of the issues and peacemaking...

Preventing a Breach

Preventing a Breach

I learned the hard way how easy it is to breach a dam. When I was fourteen, my dad hired a contractor to enlarge a stock pond on our ranch by building a dam. It was ten feet high and thirty feet thick at its base. As the pond filled, we discovered that the dirt around...

Focus on the Family Broadcast

Focus on the Family Broadcast

If you tune into Focus on the Family today and tomorrow (or visit their web site), you can listen to two conversations I recently had with Jim Daly about strengthening and preserving relationships in the home. The interview focuses in part on a book I published...

100% Responsible

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 of these children would go to great lengths to paint themselves as victims and others as being more to blame for the...