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 like to see a one-minute segment of our exchange, […]
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). Neither physical death nor the […]
Strike the Shepherd
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 forced to resign from past positions. The average pastoral tenure in a local church […]
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 him with these insightful words: “What you are doing is not […]
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 few of his elders urging him to leave. Both men faced […]
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 then a series of management disagreements escalated into a heated argument that […]
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 had been filed against the ministry’s founder and president, Judy Dabler. Later that day Christianity Today published an article describing a professional grievance investigation that I led earlier this year, which had revealed […]
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 church. Churches are literally dividing over masks, racial policies and political positions. As a result, pastors are spending untold hours every week talking with frustrated parishioners, deflecting personal attacks and trying desperately […]
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 worship services. But other members view masks as an intolerable interference in their worship of God and a dangerous precedent for increasing government overreach. These tensions are especially acute in states or […]
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 handled so badly that they resulted in multi-million dollar lawsuits. But some of them were handled so well that they resulted in amazing repentance, reconciliation and rejoicing […]