by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Nov 19, 2018
Some years back, I had a particularly difficult parishioner. Let’s call him Jack. Jack was gruff, opinionated, and sometimes caustic. I was often afraid around him, and defensive. It didn’t take long to realize that he reminded me of another gruff, opinionated and...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Nov 12, 2018
What words come to mind when you think of conflict? I recently asked a group of a dozen church leaders. Answers ranged from anxiety, avoidance, and scared, to trying to keep the peace. We are facing conflict in many ways in our world right now—national, political,...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Oct 29, 2018
Violent conflict is all around us. Not only are we honoring Domestic Violence Prevention month, we have also lived through much recent public conflict. This includes a contentious Supreme Court nominee proceeding further tainted by sexual abuse allegations, a...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Jul 25, 2016
Trump and Hillary. The Republican National Convention, the Democratic National Convention, polarizing politics. Blue on black violence. Black on blue violence. Vets killing cops. Terrorist attacks. Endless mass shootings. Add to this already explosive mix, the...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Jan 20, 2015
Church conflict is something that strikes fear in the heart of church leaders. Why? The vital statistics of many mainline churches already reflect declining health. The size of worship attendance is shrinking as are the number of active ministries, and the people...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Jan 8, 2014
As promised, here is the first of my top 5 or 6 tips for people of faith who are resolved to evolve this year! Here’s tip #1: Get Authentic. When I pastored churches, I knew most of the people in the congregations I served–quite a few pretty well. We...
