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We generally assume that those sitting around us in church share our beliefs. But when our personal convictions are contested by fellow Christians, everything changes. We feel attacked from behind. When other Christians doubt or deny our convictions, we don't experience it as a mere difference of opinion, but as a violation of an unspoken agreement.

Tim Muehlhoff and Rick Langer offer a guide to help Christians navigate disagreements with one another. In today's polarized context, Christians often have committed, biblical rationales for very different positions. How do we discern between core biblical convictions and secondary issues? How do we cultivate better understanding and compassion for those we disagree with? Muehlhoff and Langer provide lessons from conflict theory and church history on how to avoid the dangers of groupthink and how to negotiate differing biblical convictions to avoid church splits and repair interpersonal ruptures.

Christian unity is possible. Discover how we can navigate differences by speaking in both truth and love.

“Our culture seems to be increasingly defined by sharper elbows or sharper edges or sharper tongues. This seems antithetical to the gospel, which calls for truth with grace and grace with truth. The polarization evident in politics, media and universities is even showing up in the church. Polarizing attitudes are not unifying attitudes, and this must grieve the heart of God. Through this book, Biola professors Rick Langer and Tim Muehlhoff offer a timely, helpful and hopeful resource for Christians who yearn to cultivate biblical kindness and unity as we together seek truth. This thoughtful and practical book will certainly go a long way to help Christians model healthy discourse around crucial issues and to reclaim a winsome gospel witness to a broken world. I would put this on a must-read list for any Christian today who is a leader or aspiring to lead.”

— Barry H. Corey, President of Biola University and author of Love Kindness: Discover the Power of a Forgotten Christian Virtue

How are Christians viewed in the broader culture? We blush at the possibilities. Brainwashed fanatics? Out-of-touch dogmatists? Buffoons? The task of bearing faithful witness to Jesus is complicated by persistent ― and not altogether baseless ― cultural stereotypes. In our post-Christian society, thoughtful Christians are considering again how to engage the dominant culture as a minority, a counterpublic, amid varying perceptions and misperceptions.

In this timely book, Tim Muehlhoff and Rick Langer ask what our interactions with the dominant cultural ethos should look like. How might we be persuasive and civil at the same time? How should we respond to those who ridicule and caricature us? How can we challenge the beliefs of other communities with love and respect? Muehlhoff and Langer present a model for cultural engagement that integrates communication theory, theology, and Scripture. Penetrating, wise, and relentlessly practical, it includes test cases and examples from history, such as William Wilberforce and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Now more than ever, Christians need what Winsome Persuasion offers: a compelling vision of public engagement that is both shrewd and gracious.

“The American public square is now more cantankerous and less civil than perhaps any time in the modern era. How should a Christian live and speak hope without merely adding more noise? Muehlhoff and Langer’s book Winsome Persuasion casts a positive vision for a way forward and indeed models it.”

— Jonathan Merritt, Contributing writer for The Atlantic.

Differences of opinion have always been part of life. For decades, spouses, family members, co-workers, and neighbors have had spirited conversations about politics, social issues, religion, current events, and even sports. But what was different in the past is that these disagreements wouldn’t sever ties between family and friends.

Today, we live in an argument culture that has led to nearly a third of people reporting they have stopped talking to a friend or family member due to a disagreement and nearly two-thirds of people saying they stay quiet about their beliefs due to the fear of offending others. From cyberbullying to hate speech, workplace harassment, demonizing political language, verbal abuse, and intolerance, the vast majority of us―eighty-seven percent―no longer feel safe in public places to share our opinions.

Sean McDowell and Tim Muehlhoff seek to end this stalemate. They believe Christians are called to be God’s ambassadors, which necessarily entails the need to listen to those around us―especially people with diverse and different perspectives. In End the Stalemate, you will be able to revive the art of meaningful conversations by walking through:

• How to create connection and emotional awareness that opens the door for a fair exchange of ideas and effective communication;
• How to engage in perspective-taking, as illustrated in Scripture in a number of stories;
• How to speak the truth in love, from a biblical understanding;
• How to structure a conversation with those who hold diverse, and/or seemingly threatening, views; and
• How to honor the words and perspective of those with whom we disagree.

Yes, we live in cancel culture. But that doesn’t mean that we as Christians need to conform to our world. Instead, we can be a beacon of sanity that promotes meaningful conversations around what matters most in this life―and the next.

How do we communicate with people who disagree with us? In today's polarized world, friends and strangers clash with each other over issues large and small. Coworkers have conflicts in the office. Married couples fight over finances. And online commenters demonize one another's political and religious perspectives. Is there any hope for restoring civil discourse? Communications expert Tim Muehlhoff provides a strategy for having difficult conversations, helping us move from contentious debate to constructive dialogue.

By acknowledging and entering into the other person's story, we are more likely to understand where they're coming from and to cultivate common ground. Insights from Scripture and communication theory provide practical ways to manage disagreements and resolve conflicts.We can disagree without being disagreeable. And we can even help another see different points of view and learn from one another. Find out how.

Whether setting about to love our neighbor, to settle a dispute, to share in the suffering of others or to speak up on behalf of the marginalized, we inevitably must engage in communication. And what could be more natural, more human, than communication?

But we all learn quickly enough that good communication is not always natural. There is much to learn from Scripture and from the academic study of human communication. Tim Muehlhoff and Todd Lewis are able guides, aiding us in understanding the broad field of human communication in Christian perspective.

Here they offer readers a vital assessment of the power of words, perspective-taking, persuasion and conflict management—all in an effort to improve our abilities to communicate forgiveness and shape the world we live in for the good. Special attention is focused on the place of Christians as counterpublics—those who offer alternative perspectives to the dominant voices in society.