Relationships & Peacemaking
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With Many Thanks to Ken Sande …
Fred did a great job on this video and I had a grand time helping him by digging through boxes of 30-year old photographs and finding old VHS tapes and audiocasettes of the first editions of various peacemaking resources. Can you find the 29-year olds Fred and Tara in this montage? We’re only on screen for a blip, but my hair is very big. Apparently I kept my 80’s hair into the 90’s … Enjoy! And thanks again, Ken and Corlette Sande. We appreciate you so very much. Peacemaker Ministries – 30 Years of Ministry
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Nothing to be gained by dying on the hill of a best memory contest …
As usual, Dave has all of the best lines in our most recent post, including this one: When it comes to redeeming conflict, “There is nothing to be gained by dying on the hill of a best memory contest.” Amen to that, brother! Hope you enjoy the entire post: Redeeming Church Conflict is Not an Event—But an Unfolding Process of God’s Grace
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Never Succumb to the Temptation of Bitterness
Sophia and I had an interesting conversation tonight that meandered from famous people I have met (Maestro Barenboim, Hal Holbrook, and Vice-President Dan Quayle being on my list) to the United Stated Presidential Line of Succession (after her “what is a Vice-President?” question) … to the assassination of John F. Kennedy (and Lyndon Johnson being sworn in as President aboard Air Force One) … to other “where were you when …” defining moments in U.S. History (Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, President Reagan being shot, the Challenger exploding, 9/11). The final arc brought me to this quote by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and I thought I’d share it with you:…
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The Reason Why Human Community Has Unraveled Everywhere
From Tim Keller’s The Community of Jesus: In effect, God is saying, “The reason why human community has unraveled everywhere; the reason individuals are at war with individuals and families are at war with families and nations are at war with nations; the reason all of that is happening is because when your relationship with me unraveled, all other relationships unraveled. And when a relationship with me is restored, that restores all other human relationships.”
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The Life of God in the Soul of the Church: The Root and Fruit of Spiritual Fellowship
I just finished reading Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile’s new book cover to cover (couldn’t put it down!) and I strongly commend it to you: The Life of God in the Soul of the Church: The Root and Fruit of Spiritual Fellowship This is the review I put up on Amazon: “Pastor Anyabwile has been one of my favorite contemporary churchmen ever since I first read his books and blog, listened to his sermons, and heard him speak at a Peacemaker Ministries conference. I am truly grateful to his family, his beloved church family at First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman, and IX Marks, for making his wisdom and insights available…
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We must never let those who hurt us take away our joy …
From one of my all-time heroes of the faith, Ajith Fernando: Suffering with Christ is a normal part of Christianity and we must never make a big deal about this or be angry when we face it. In the ministry we constantly face inconvenience, tiredness, shame, slander, persecution, sorrow, disappointment and hurt. When we suffer we must be joyful because of the honour of suffering for his name (Acts 5:41); because of the reward to be received in heaven (Matt. 5:11); because it will be turned into something good for us (Rom. 8:28 ), because it draws us closer to Christ (Col. 1:24) and because it helps the church (Col.…
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The Life of God in the Soul of the Church
Lately I have been listening to Thabiti Anyabwile sermons on my morning walks (LOVE them! What a preacher! What a churchman!), so I was particularly excited to hear that his next book will be published in September. Just ordered my copy from Amazon: The Life of God in the Soul of the Church: The Root and Fruit of Spiritual Fellowship
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A Heart Broken by the Power of Forgiveness
A great read here from Z: A Man’s Life Can Be Changed By Forgiveness
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Pursuing Peace: A Christian Guide to Handling Our Conflicts
I just added Robert D. Jones’ new book to my LibraryThing and I can’t wait to read it: Pursuing Peace: A Christian Guide to Handling Our Conflicts I’m a big fan of his other book (Uprooting Anger: Biblical Help for a Common Problem) and I have greatly appreciated his wisdom over the years I have known him because of our mutual work with Peacemaker Ministries. Thanks, Pastor Jones, for blessing us all with this book. And many thanks to Crossway for publishing it too! I just know it’s going to be great …
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Please Use (Even Just a Few) Words …
Knowing that it can be unloving (and even selfish) to ask for too many words from a friend (or husband!) who isn’t, shall we say, as much of a verbophile as me … I was a little reticent to ask for more details in a comment Fred recently made. (I don’t want to be a burden! I don’t want to be a Proverbs 27:15 constant dripping of a wife.) But I’m so glad I did and I know that Fred is too. The conversation was about something deeply important to me that it felt like wasn’t that important to Fred. I was trying so hard to be careful and non-accusatory and…