“Hey, buddy, you wanna fight?!” No, not at all. But it’s no trouble these days finding someone who does. Not when the country has turned as angry as it is now. If you’re not angry, you’re probably feeling on the defensive with someone who is — someone who wants to tell you how wrong you are.

The world is polarizing more and more day by day, and nothing shows it like the anger flaring up everywhere since the latest Supreme Court decisions.

As a believer in Christ, I’d say we won some great victories this past week. The ones who lost — or at least some of them — have something different to say. “Let’s go riot in Portland. Let’s go storm the state capitol in Arizona! We’re gonna make those justices fear for their lives!”

That same anger is echoed at colleges, workplaces, even at home. I can almost hear it from here: Professors berating Christian students. Pro-life parents taking heat from their own teenage children. Christian office workers getting scoldings from feminist bosses.

Victory is good, but that doesn’t always make it easy. The message every Christian under fire needs to hear right. now is, “You can stand. By the grace of Christ, you can speak the truth in love.”

Positive Disagreements

And that includes pastors. The divisions we’re talking about run right through Christian congregations, especially along generational lines. Navigating the differences isn’t easy.

The disagreements are real, and they can come up almost anywhere at work, at school, at home, and even at church. We can’t avoid them, so the question has to be, “Can we make them good disagreements?” The answer is yes, at least on our side of the conversation. Paul the Apostle put it so well: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” The entire passage that comes from, Romans 12:9-21, is filled with guidance on how Christians should handle disagreements.

Ephesians 4:15 tells us to speak the truth in love, and I know how seriously most pastors want to guide and lead their people to speak the truth in love. This isn’t easy either, though. There’s so much else that needs teaching, too, and besides that, for being a huge nationwide issue, this one hits awfully close to home.

The pastor’s job was big enough already, and now it’s almost as if the Supreme Court came and dumped a new one on them. It was a good decision — a very good one — but it didn’t lessen the workload any. So we’re hoping to help.

Interactive Webinar for Pastors Coming Soon!

Note: Postponed. See the sidebar.

That’s why I’m hosting a special interactive, online webinar for pastors and teachers on “How to Have a Positive Disagreement in a World That’s Turning Disagreeable.” It’s happening at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, July 7. We’re doing this on quick notice because this issue needs a quick response.

Laymen are most welcome. But this will be focused especially on pastors’ teaching, counseling, and leadership roles. It’ not just on how to have a positive disagreement. It’s on how to guide others toward better witness, more loving response, and more truth-centered engagement in today’s big disputes.

It’ll be very interactive.

It’s going to be a great learning conversation. I know you’ll want to join in! Click here to sign up!