Published June 29th, 2015 by

Peacefakers

If you haven’t already read it, this is a fine book about cultivating healthy, Gospel relationships within the Church. I read Ken Sande’s first edition of The Peacemaker years ago and have to say this revised and updated Third Edition is greatly improved. I skimmed over my highlighted copy about a month ago and was pleasantly surprised to rediscover this gem, buried among so much treasure:

People who use escape responses [to conflict] are usually intent on “peace-faking,” or making things look good even when they are not. (This is especially common in the church, where people are often more concerned about the appearance of peace than the reality of peace). 

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Books • Literature Christianity • Religion Gospel-Centered Leadership Missional Communities Planting

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Published February 4th, 2015 by

Well-Intentioned Dragons #3 New and Improved

Ministering to Problem PeopleMy new and improved edition of Ministering to Problem People in Your Church: What to Do With Well-Intentioned Dragons arrived in the mail last week and a quick perusal shows some needed updates and timely material in the original chapters. It also sports one of the most simple and attractive covers I’ve seen in a while (I’m a minimalist, in the tradition of the Swiss school).

Marshall Shelley has added two new chapters, which reflect our times. First, he grapples with the emergence of the internet and the challenges of social media that didn’t exist when the book was first published back in 1994.… Read the rest

Church • Ecclesiology Leadership Planting

church leadership Well-Intentioned Dragons

Published January 26th, 2015 by

Well-Intentioned Dragons #2 Failure to Lead

well-intentioned dragons coverWith my first post about Ministering to Problem People in Your Church: What to Do With Well-Intentioned Dragons, I wanted to kick off the series on a positive or constructive tack, rather than just whining or blaming. Every church, going all the way back to Corinth and beyond, has had its share of folks who pass over the threshold of acceptable or normal misbehaving and into those super-descriptive, unflattering Scriptural categories reserved for the worst cases: they are gossips, slanderers, divisive persons, judgmental and evil, wild waves, and blemishes on your love feasts.1 The Lord is not pleased with those who trouble the church. From… Read the rest

Christianity • Religion Leadership Planting Richard Baxter

Richard Baxter Well-Intentioned Dragons

Published January 16th, 2015 by

Mandatory Reading for the Church Leader

well-intentioned dragons coverYeah, I’m really put off, too, when someone says, “you just have to read this.” But, if you’re leading the church in any capacity and especially if you are an idealistic young (or, not so young) church planter or minister, this book is a gem.

I wish someone would have pointed me to it back in 1994, when it was first published. Of course, at that time I probably wouldn’t have thought it that helpful. After all, I had my Bible and the Holy Spirit living inside of me. I was part of a young, growing movement of Christians, multiplying and establishing on-fire churches and ministries.… Read the rest

Christianity • Religion Gospel-Centered Leadership Missional Communities Planting

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