It is a false concept to believe that God accepts us just the way we are and that we can then stay just the way we are. This belief doesn’t deal with the reality that we are by nature the children of wrath and the enemies of our Creator. To deal with the dysfunctional conflict […]
There was a time in my life when I thought that dealing with conflict was simply a matter of applying some conflict management techniques and magically problems between human beings are solved. The real issues are much more complex. One of the principles I’ve learned (but sometimes fail to do) seems counter-intuitive, but before we […]
Ben was a Connecticut merchant in the American colonial period. As his business fortunes rose, so did his resentment of British taxation. At the outset of the American Revolution, Ben was elected captain of the local militia. He organized them into an effective fighting force and presented a bold plan for seizing the British forts […]
The natural human reaction to conflict is fight-or-flight. These are normal reactions when we face physical threats, but we also respond with fight-or-flight behavior when confronted with non-physical conflict. We either fight to protect our perceived rights, our self-image, or our emotional security; or we run away so that we can avoid the uncomfortable work […]
This is the second blog in a series reviewing the five major core causes of dysfunctional conflict discussed in The Mercy Effect. In the last blog, we looked at one of the major causes of conflict which is our need to be emotionally healed. A second cause is based in our expectations to have others […]
The writing of The Mercy Effect was an arduous journey of introspection. It was a time in my life when I was struggling with why there is so much dysfunctional conflict among Christians. It would seem that of all people we should be the ones who exhibit the mercy and love of God in our […]
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