How does Christian conciliation differ from other types of mediation?
Christian conciliation is more values-oriented than most other types of mediation. While all mediators will work to help the parties come to a voluntary settlement, many mediators will be reluctant to go beyond this, especially if doing so would require that they evaluate others’ attitudes and behavior from a moral perspective. In contrast, Christian conciliators make it a point to draw out the underlying reasons for a dispute, sometimes referred to as “matters of the heart.” Believing that God has established timeless moral principles that he has recorded in Scripture and written in our hearts, Christian conciliators will draw the parties’ attention to attitudes, motives, or actions that appear to be inconsistent with those standards. This will be especially true with parties who profess to be Christians; anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ will be encouraged to obey his commands and behave in a manner that will honor him. Most importantly, Christian conciliation focuses not
