Uh oh. November 2nd is looming. That means POLITICS and political discussions (arguments / FIGHTS) for many people. Time to re-read Roger Nicole’s “Polemic Theology” (What do I owe the person who differs from me?) and also re-listen to Tim Keller’s Arguing About Politics. Let me tempt you with just a snippet from Dr. Nicole’s article (emphases added): “Perhaps the most important consideration for the Christian is to remain aware at all times of the goal to be achieved. It is the consistent perception of this goal that will give a basic orientation to the whole discussion: Are we attempting to win an argument in order to manifest our own…

Hooray for the new international Peacemaker Ministries website: Global Access to Peacemaker Ministries And don’t forget they have a Spanish version of their main site too:   El Ministerio de Pacificadores (Supported by the world’s cutest webmaster, Fred Barthel. 🙂 )  

I’m praying for all of the Peacemaker Ministries staff members and attendees at this year’s Peacemaker Conference. I’m sure they’re all having a great time and learning a lot as they encourage and enjoy each other. I hope to see some FaceBook posts soon telling me all about it (hint hint 🙂 ). While I wait patiently for the insider’s scoop, I thought I’d give all conference attendees a little gift from Don Whitney via Pastor Anyabwile: Ten Questions for Benefitting from a Conference 1. What’s the single most important truth I have learned at this conference? 2. What’s the most important thing in my life that will be different…

Uh-oh. In light of something Dave said in our call yesterday, I think I need to change something I’ve said a zillion times—and something that is permanently “out there” in Peacemaking Women and Living the Gospel in Relationships … Even though I usually talk about “bad confessions” when I teach the Peacemaker Ministries Seven A’s of Confession, I think I need to stop using that term. This is the quote from Dave that is convicting me BIG TIME: ‘There is really no such thing as a bad confession. A bad confession is just no confession at all. You have great confessions and you have no confession. You can try to…

We have another “friend/prayer group” starting up next week and I’m just thrilled. For those of you who haven’t heard my teaching on this topic, the quick bottomline is that a “friend/prayer group” is just a set time that 4 or 5 women meet every week for friendship and for prayer. We don’t read a book or study the Bible. We accomplish no “goals” other than sharing our lives and being friends. It’s wonderful and particularly helpful for people like me—introverts, lots o’ weaknesses, not naturally good at relationships—because it is intentional; and it’s particularly helpful for busy people because it forces you to set aside time and keep a…

Pastor Brian Croft has an interesting and helpful post over at PracticalShepherding: How Do You Shepherd a Christian Brother Who is Being Sued by a Non-Christian? Some good thoughts there. Definitely worth your read. Of course it reminded me of Appendix D in Ken Sande’s, The Peacemaker, “When Is It Right to Go to Court”? Oh! If you are ever faced with the difficult (and often frightening, exhausting, and expensive) situation of being sued, I urge you to get Ken’s book. This Appendix alone is worth the price of the book. Out of curiosity, after I read Pastor Croft’s article, I did a little google searching on the topic just…

Challies.com quoting John Stott: “Thank God there are those in the contemporary church who are determined at all costs to defend and uphold God’s revealed truth. But sometimes they are conspicuously lacking in love. When they think they smell heresy, their nose begins to twitch, their muscles ripple, and the light of battle enters their eye. They seem to enjoy nothing more than a fight. Others make the opposite mistake.  They are determined at all costs to maintain and exhibit brotherly love, but in order to do so are prepared even to sacrifice the central truths of revelation. Both these tendencies are unbalanced and unbiblical. Truth becomes hard if it…

The Gospel Coalition has a link you might want to glance  at: Stuff Christians Like: Being Jerks Online Sad, but true.  

Pastor Anyabwile has a worthwhile read over at PureChurch: A Brief Compendium of Paul’s Warnings Against Quarreling In it, he asks us if we know how many times Paul warns against quarreling in just three pastoral epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus). Can you guess before you click over? I gave a guess and was WAY off. It’s really striking to see them all there, one after the other. As Pastor Anyabwile says, they really drive home what Paul said in Galatians 5:15: “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”   So sad. But so true. May…

Would you like to understand better how the gospel of Jesus Christ can help you to lavishly forgive others (just as you are lavishly forgiven by God in Christ)? Ken Sande, President  of Peacemaker Ministries and the author of The Peacemaker, will be hosting a free webinar on Wednesday, June 23 at 3:00PM (Mtn.): Radical Forgiveness: Biblical Examples and Principles