Category Archives: Uncategorized

Let’s Limit Term Limits

Voters in Grand Rapids approved a proposal Tuesday that limits the terms of our elected city representatives. My fellow citizens have in effect restricted my voting rights. Neither of my two city commissioners, Ruth Kelly and Rosalynn Bliss, can run again; my right to vote for them has now been taken away from me. They […]

Christian Peacemaking on National TV

The CBS TV series “The Good Wife” depicted a Christian dispute resolution process in its October 5th episode. Entitled “’Dear God,” it portrayed a dispute between a farmer and the local supplier of genetically-modified seed, not unlike the dispute in the recent U.S. Supreme Court case, Bowman v Monsanto (2013) . The seed supplier—represented by […]

Pursuing Peace

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 […]

Forgiveness Tested

Forgiveness is hard work. Stories of forgiveness inspire me to keep working on “forgive one another.” Here’s one from a good friend, whose name I’ve changed to protect the other party. Jane attended a small private college about 40 years ago. In her senior year, she became engaged to a young man who had graduated […]

A Church Conflict Close to Home

Another church in Lansing, Michigan, has a conflict big enough to make newspaper headlines. The church – ironically named Friendship Baptist – is in the news again this week after one faction of the church allegedly locked the other faction out of the building they both still share. According to the Lansing State Journal, “The […]