

Lightning
As thunderstorms sweep through on summer evenings, thunder rolls and lightning sears the sky. When storms of dissension rile churches, lightning often strikes in the areas of youth and music. In both of these areas, we stumble over generational preferences. Each generation may come to Jesus with the same heart, but the words we use, the tunes (and rhythms) we enjoy, the activities we engage in are different. In our zeal for Jesus, we can confuse preferences for Gospel essenti


Troublesome Issues
Left unattended, troublesome issues tend to pile up. Before long, a group can divide into adversarial “sides” facing a daunting tangle of disagreement. In Getting to Yes, a classic book on negotiation, Roger Fisher and William Ury offer helpful steps to resolve difficult issues. By purposeful back-and-forth communication, they maintain, contending parties can find a way to meet the legitimate interests of both sides and resolve issues effectively and fairly. It is best, they