Another classic from Peacemaker Ministries: Can the Church be a Peacemaking Forum? To tempt you with just a smidgen from it: “Some will say that the typical church today doesn’t have the resources to provide this level of care for its members. We don’t believe that this is a legitimate excuse. At the foundation of our conviction is Christ’s promise that his church would be built and the gates of Hell could not and would not prevail against it. Do you believe this is true of the church? Is the body of Christ that strong? If it is, then this excuse is not credible. One of the most common and…

If you haven’t yet read this classic from Peacemaker Ministries, please take a moment and click on over: “Daddy? Is that you?” I remember way back in law school (EONS ago!) when I first read The Peacemaker and started their conciliator training program. Oh man! The stories and testimonies Ken could share. He can be quite the crier too. Anyway–hope you enjoy and are edified as you head into your weekend!   May we make every effort to pursue peace this day and always. Yours, Tara B.  

From my iGoogle “C.S. Lewis Quote of the Day”: “Everyone feels benevolent if nothing happens to be annoying him at the moment.” Too true.  Way way too true.  

I am continuing to slowly work through Bonhoeffer’s “Life Together” and this morning’s reading brought another level of “hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm” to my heart and mind. (Oh–and by the way–I just can’t even IMAGINE being able to think so clearly and articulate so persuasively with such intelligent, forceful, and perfectly appropriate words. Truly, this man–who didn’t live to see 40 before the Nazis executed him!–was uniquely gifted by God.) Here is just an excerpt (I was SO tempted to keep typing and give you paragraph after paragraph … but really, I just encourage you to buy the book):   “On innumerable occasions a whole Christian community has been shattered because it has…

Do you ever respect and care for certain people … but, for whatever reason, find that you don’t really “click” with them? I can think of a few of these people in my life. We’ve never had a conflict. I don’t have any distinctly negative thoughts or feelings about them. But every time we interact, it’s very much like oil and water. We just don’t mix. We don’t get each other. This used to really bother me. I wanted to get along with everyone! Somehow I thought that “Christian fellowship” and “love” meant that every personality, every communication style, every quirk & maturity & immaturity would fit together well. But…

I just saw that Tim Challies has stopped by Pastor JollyBlogger’s blog today to promote his new book, The Discipline of Discernment. I guess the blogs that have Tim stopping by get to pose him a question and then post his answer on their blogs. Then he checks the comments during the day and interacts accordingly. Here is Pastor JollyBlogger’s question for Tim: In our denomination we ask those seeking to join our church to take five vows, the last of which reads: Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the Church, and promise to study its purity and peace? As discernment is a discipline most often…

I am (finally!) reading slowly through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together. Of course, just about every paragraph contains something to stop and ponder over. But tonight I wanted to share just one brief excerpt with the hope that it will encourage you to read this great book too: “Self-centeredness always insinuates itself in any process of intellectual or spiritual selectivity, destroying the spiritual power of the community and robbing the community of its effectiveness for the church … The exclusion of the weak and insignificant, the seemingly useless people, from everyday Christian life in community may actually mean the exclusion of Christ; for in the poor sister or brother, Christ is…