How to Handle Church Conflict
For those who regularly attend church, the Sunday morning congregants can become like family through bible studies, special events and even trips to other nations, and, just like family, sometimes there are points of conflict. Knowing how to properly handle church conflict before it grows out of control is the sign of a mature church body, able to handle what comes along in an upright and spiritual manner. From pastors to occasional attenders, conflict resolution is important in order to maintain relationships.
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Instructions
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Identify where the root of the conflict is. Sometimes this is with a particular person, other times it is a group or ministry matter. Get to the root of the matter as quickly as possible.
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Schedule a face-to-face meeting to avoid miscommunication. Arrange a face-to-face meeting with all involved parties. Resolve conflict in person, not over the phone or through email.
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Invite a mediator to join your meeting, and then allow each angered individual time to express their hurts and opinions.
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Pray to gain healthy perspective and to calm emotions. Open your meeting in prayer. This will give everyone a positive focus and remind them of the standards they are called to as members of a church family.
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Agree to keep the meeting confidential. Gossip and slander will not help bring resolution either during the meeting or after the fact.
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Tips & Warnings
Take as long as necessary to resolve conflict. It may be as simple as "talking it out" or as challenging as writing out a formal contract to bring unity back to the church body.
Use your bible or other spiritual book to bring wisdom and guidance to the conflict resolution.
Ensure you meet in a space where you are not going to be overheard by others.
In order for conflict resolution to work, every participant must be willing to forgive and work toward solutions.
Handling church conflict can be very difficult, and is often best handled by a church elder or pastor.
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Resources
- Photo Credit conflict image by Dmitri MIkitenko from Fotolia.com meeting image by Thorsten Frisch from Fotolia.com hands in meeting image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com
