Episode 37: Relational Intelligence God’s Way with Ken Sande

Summary

How can we improve our ability to anticipate and resolve relational conflicts? In episode 37, Robert speaks with Ken Sande, the founder of Peacemaker Ministries and Relational Wisdom 360 (RW360). Over the course of his career as a lawyer and professional mediator, Ken has mediated hundreds of conflicts in familial, business, church, and legal settings. Classical Conversations® Challenge B families should be especially excited to hear this episode because Ken is also the author of the bestselling book The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Conflict, a recommended resource for parents of students enrolled in our Challenge B program. Here, Ken discusses ways to improve our relational wisdom and peacemaking skills so that we can better love one another. After the interview, Robert uses the fifteen classical tools to analyze students’ low math and reading proficiencies and then introduces two proposed bills that could ban the U.S. government from creating its own central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Quote

“All of life is basically about loving God with all our heart, mind, strength, and soul, and loving others—engaging others as we love and engage ourselves. So, those two great commandments Jesus summarized are basically the essence of relational wisdom: loving God and loving others as ourselves.”

Ken Sande

Topics

• Intro to Ken Sande [1:10]
• How Ken went from pursuing a career in mechanical engineering to serving in ministry [2:07]
• Founding Peacemaker Ministries and Relational Wisdom 360 [4:05]
• What are emotional intelligence and relational wisdom? [6:33]
• The three paradigms of relational wisdom: being self-aware, others-aware, and God-aware [8:34]
• The six relational disciplines taught at RW360 [9:26]
• Which discipline is the most important? [11:10]
• Ways (with easy acrostics) to improve your relational wisdom [12:19]
• The four G’s of peacemaking and the seven A’s of confession [19:42]
• How to deal with being reluctant to confess wrongdoing [24:35]
• The most common cause leading to broken relationships [26:50]
• How social media has contributed to relational hurt [29:17]
• What authors and resources have most impacted Ken and his ministry [30:10]
• RW360’s 2023 Annual Conference [32:24]
• What Ken is working on now: bringing relational wisdom training to military chaplains and creating secular versions of the relational wisdom training materials for workplaces and families [33:33]
• Farewell to Ken [35:47]
• “Current Event Discussion”:  Students with no proficiency in math or reading? [36:22]
• Notice: School Vouchers [38:58]
• “Classical Crypto:” Proposed bans against a CBDC [40:18]
• Outro [43:49]

Mentions

• The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Conflict by Ken Sande | Amazon
• Relational Wisdom 360 (RW360)
• Peacemaker Ministries
• Challenge B | Classical Conversations
• What is a 501(c)(3)? | Foundation Group
• Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman | Amazon
• The Four G’s of Peacemaking | RW360
• Seven A’s of a Biblical Confession | RW360
• 2023 Annual Conference | RW360
• Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF)
• Resources | CCEF
• Ed Welch |CCEF
• David Powlison | CCEF
• Alasdair Groves | CCEF
• Feelings and Faith: Cultivating Godly Emotions in the Christian Life by Brian S. Borgman | Amazon
• The Voice of the Heart: A Call to Full Living by Chip Dodd | Amazon
• RW Academy | RW360
• Values-Based Relational Wisdom | RW360
• “Chicago Democrat sounds alarm as 55 schools report no proficiency in math or reading: ‘Very serious’” | Fox News
• “Emmer Leads Effort to Squash Financial Surveillance State Initiatives” | Tom Emmer
• Episode 16: Behind the Scenes of Congress with Dan Bishop | Refining Rhetoric
• “Senator Lee Introduces the No CBDC Act” | Mike Lee