diff --git a/server.go b/server.go
index 4a4ed8998..c6b74e109 100644
--- a/server.go
+++ b/server.go
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ type server struct {
 	// long-term identity private key.
 	lightningID [32]byte
 
-	mu         sync.Mutex
+	mu         sync.RWMutex
 	peersByID  map[int32]*peer
 	peersByPub map[string]*peer
 
@@ -678,9 +678,9 @@ func (s *server) peerBootstrapper(numTargetPeers uint32,
 		case <-sampleTicker.C:
 			// Obtain the current number of peers, so we can gauge
 			// if we need to sample more peers or not.
-			s.mu.Lock()
+			s.mu.RLock()
 			numActivePeers := uint32(len(s.peersByPub))
-			s.mu.Unlock()
+			s.mu.RUnlock()
 
 			// If we have enough peers, then we can loop back
 			// around to the next round as we're done here.
@@ -896,6 +896,11 @@ func (s *server) establishPersistentConnections() error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Acquire and hold server lock until all persistent connection requests
+	// have been recorded and sent to the connection manager.
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+
 	// Iterate through the combined list of addresses from prior links and
 	// node announcements and attempt to reconnect to each node.
 	for pubStr, nodeAddr := range nodeAddrsMap {
@@ -939,8 +944,8 @@ func (s *server) establishPersistentConnections() error {
 func (s *server) BroadcastMessage(skip map[routing.Vertex]struct{},
 	msgs ...lnwire.Message) error {
 
-	s.mu.Lock()
-	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	s.mu.RLock()
+	defer s.mu.RUnlock()
 
 	return s.broadcastMessages(skip, msgs)
 }
@@ -990,10 +995,30 @@ func (s *server) broadcastMessages(
 func (s *server) SendToPeer(target *btcec.PublicKey,
 	msgs ...lnwire.Message) error {
 
-	s.mu.Lock()
-	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	// Queue the incoming messages in the peer's outgoing message buffer.
+	// We acquire the shared lock here to ensure the peer map doesn't change
+	// from underneath us.
+	s.mu.RLock()
+	targetPeer, errChans, err := s.sendToPeer(target, msgs)
+	s.mu.RUnlock()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 
-	return s.sendToPeer(target, msgs)
+	// With the server's shared lock released, we now handle all of the
+	// errors being returned from the target peer's write handler.
+	for _, errChan := range errChans {
+		select {
+		case err := <-errChan:
+			return err
+		case <-targetPeer.quit:
+			return fmt.Errorf("peer shutting down")
+		case <-s.quit:
+			return ErrServerShuttingDown
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
 }
 
 // NotifyWhenOnline can be called by other subsystems to get notified when a
@@ -1023,10 +1048,12 @@ func (s *server) NotifyWhenOnline(peer *btcec.PublicKey,
 		s.peerConnectedListeners[pubStr], connectedChan)
 }
 
-// sendToPeer is an internal method that delivers messages to the specified
-// `target` peer.
+// sendToPeer is an internal method that queues the given messages in the
+// outgoing buffer of the specified `target` peer. Upon success, this method
+// returns the peer instance and a slice of error chans that will contain
+// responses from the write handler.
 func (s *server) sendToPeer(target *btcec.PublicKey,
-	msgs []lnwire.Message) error {
+	msgs []lnwire.Message) (*peer, []chan error, error) {
 
 	// Compute the target peer's identifier.
 	targetPubBytes := target.SerializeCompressed()
@@ -1042,23 +1069,14 @@ func (s *server) sendToPeer(target *btcec.PublicKey,
 	if err == ErrPeerNotFound {
 		srvrLog.Errorf("unable to send message to %x, "+
 			"peer not found", targetPubBytes)
-		return err
+		return nil, nil, err
 	}
 
-	// Send messages to the peer and return any error from
-	// sending a message.
+	// Send messages to the peer and return the error channels that will be
+	// signaled by the peer's write handler.
 	errChans := s.sendPeerMessages(targetPeer, msgs, nil)
-	for _, errChan := range errChans {
-		select {
-		case err := <-errChan:
-			return err
-		case <-targetPeer.quit:
-			return fmt.Errorf("peer shutting down")
-		case <-s.quit:
-			return ErrServerShuttingDown
-		}
-	}
-	return nil
+
+	return targetPeer, errChans, nil
 }
 
 // sendPeerMessages enqueues a list of messages into the outgoingQueue of the
@@ -1109,8 +1127,8 @@ func (s *server) sendPeerMessages(
 //
 // NOTE: This function is safe for concurrent access.
 func (s *server) FindPeer(peerKey *btcec.PublicKey) (*peer, error) {
-	s.mu.Lock()
-	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	s.mu.RLock()
+	defer s.mu.RUnlock()
 
 	pubStr := string(peerKey.SerializeCompressed())
 
@@ -1123,8 +1141,8 @@ func (s *server) FindPeer(peerKey *btcec.PublicKey) (*peer, error) {
 //
 // NOTE: This function is safe for concurrent access.
 func (s *server) FindPeerByPubStr(pubStr string) (*peer, error) {
-	s.mu.Lock()
-	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	s.mu.RLock()
+	defer s.mu.RUnlock()
 
 	return s.findPeerByPubStr(pubStr)
 }
@@ -1713,13 +1731,13 @@ func (s *server) OpenChannel(peerID int32, nodeKey *btcec.PublicKey,
 
 	// First attempt to locate the target peer to open a channel with, if
 	// we're unable to locate the peer then this request will fail.
-	s.mu.Lock()
+	s.mu.RLock()
 	if peer, ok := s.peersByID[peerID]; ok {
 		targetPeer = peer
 	} else if peer, ok := s.peersByPub[string(pubKeyBytes)]; ok {
 		targetPeer = peer
 	}
-	s.mu.Unlock()
+	s.mu.RUnlock()
 
 	if targetPeer == nil {
 		errChan <- fmt.Errorf("unable to find peer nodeID(%x), "+
@@ -1770,8 +1788,8 @@ func (s *server) OpenChannel(peerID int32, nodeKey *btcec.PublicKey,
 //
 // NOTE: This function is safe for concurrent access.
 func (s *server) Peers() []*peer {
-	s.mu.Lock()
-	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	s.mu.RLock()
+	defer s.mu.RUnlock()
 
 	peers := make([]*peer, 0, len(s.peersByID))
 	for _, peer := range s.peersByID {