Author Archives: abfifer

Pursuing Peace

October 1, 2014 – 6:28 pm

During this year’s Peacemaker Ministries Annual Conference last week, I gave a devotional one morning on “pursuing peace.” The Bible exhorts us not just to “seek” peace but to “pursue” it (Psalm 34:14). The word translated “pursue” can also be translated “persecute” (cf. Romans 14:19; Galatians 1:13), offering an unusual perspective on how zealously we should […]

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Detroit Bankruptcy Mediation, Part II

September 19, 2014 – 5:40 pm

I wrote in April about the mediation team being used to facilitate the Detroit bankruptcy. I was intrigued about how it would work, and impressed at the novelty of using mediators. I’m now realizing that these folks are not “mediators” in the normal sense of the word. As we read more about the active efforts […]

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Mediation Results in Public Apology

September 18, 2014 – 10:53 am

While former Macomb County commissioner Phil DiMaria was running for a state house seat in 2012, an outfit called Main Street Strategies made robocalls to households in Eastpointe and St. Clair Shores, defaming DiMaria. After he lost the election, DiMaria sued Main Street Strategies and its head, Joseph DiSano. The case went to mediation earlier […]

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Advice to Churches to Prevent Member Lawsuits

September 16, 2014 – 4:36 pm

Following up on my previous post, based on Doe v Vineyard Church, regarding church members who were able to sue their church despite signing a document promising that they would not, here are some suggestions for churches to prevent members from suing their church: Have a Dispute Resolution Policy that specifically states that members will […]

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Enforcing Agreements Not to Sue Your Church

September 11, 2014 – 4:54 pm

For a host of reasons, it seems both unbiblical and un-Christian for a church member to sue one’s own church. (Indeed, I think this is an issue only in the U.S.—it simply would not occur to the vast majority of Christians in the world to express their unhappiness with their church by suing it.) But, […]

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