Category Archives: Strengthening the Church

Q. OK. We’re “reconciled.” I guess. But how could we ever trust one another again?

Posted on January 1, 2019 by Tara Barthel

Q. OK. We’re “reconciled.” I guess. But how could we ever trust one another again? A. Trust God. Love People. So how do Christians rebuild trust with one another in the aftermath of church conflict, even if problems have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Authentic Relationships in the Church, Biblical peacemaking in the church, Strengthening the Church, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Q. OK. We’re “reconciled.” I guess. But how could we ever trust one another again?

Twenty Years Without an Apology

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Tara Barthel

I heard from a friend this week (after she had made an apology to a pastor and asked his forgiveness) that the pastor was gracious, forgiving, and VERY surprised/grateful. Why surprised? Why grateful? Because, you see, as he explained: He had served in … Continue reading →

Posted in Authentic Relationships in the Church, Biblical peacemaking in the church, Conflicts involving church leaders, Conflicts with our youth pastor, Strengthening the Church | Comments Off on Twenty Years Without an Apology

Embracing Church Conflict: The Implications of Doctrine

Posted on September 4, 2014 by David V. Edling

Tara and I recently had the joy of serving at the 2014 Peacemaker Conference on the topic of “Embracing Church Conflict: The Implications of Doctrine.” I prepared a handout with several attachments for our two-hour long workshop. In many ways, this document is “the … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical peacemaking in the church, Change in the Church, Excerpts from "Redeeming Church Conflicts", Strengthening the Church, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Resilient Ministry: What it takes to survive and thrive

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Tara Barthel

I greatly enjoyed this article by Megan Fowler and thought you might too: Resilient Ministry: What it takes to survive and thrive “What makes pastoral ministry so difficult that, although men feel called to pastoral ministry for a lifetime and spend … Continue reading →

Posted in Strengthening the Church | 2 Comments