Join Ruth Haley Barton and the Transforming Center Team in the Online Oasis.
Avoiding hard conversations can feel like self-protection.
Over time, it can quietly shape us.
Many of us have learned to step around difficult topics—especially with those whose experiences or convictions differ from our own. Yet the very places we avoid may be invitations into deeper formation.
Jesus promises that when we gather in his name, he is present among us. What might it mean to trust that promise even when the conversation feels tender, uncertain, or complex?
In this Online Oasis, we will reflect together on how to engage hard things with forbearance, humility, and love. Not to win. Not to persuade. But to remain present—to God and to one another.
For this Online Oasis, Ruth will be joined by Transforming Community worship leader Delwin Eiland (TC19). Delwin is an artist, pastor, and leader who brings a unique voice to the work of building bridges and fostering deep, lasting connection across divides.
In this Online Oasis we will:
- Reflect on Jesus’ promise to be with us in hard conversations and why it is so important to have them
- Explore personal practices that will help us to be present as our best, most transforming selves in hard conversations
- Identify interpersonal practices that open us to conversations characterized by truth and love, respect and mutual influence
If you sense a longing to grow in this way, we invite you to register today.
* Purchasing will give you instant access to a recording of the live event which occurred on April 29, 2026.
