You Don’t Have to Dread Conflict Every church will experience conflict at some point. But it doesn’t have to destroy you. In fact, conflict can be an incredible opportunity, if you know how to seize it. Unfortunately, very few churches use the opportunity well, but your church can. Michael Hare, PhD, has been helping churches recover (and even grow) from conflict for over 20 years, and now he can help you too. Learn: how to recognize healthy and unhealthy conflicts what the five levels of conflict are and why they matter how to design an action plan that will succeed how to prevent unhealthy conflict before it begins With copious case studies and practical tools, you’ll find it’s surprisingly manageable to develop these new skills. Learn to lead confidently in the face of conflict and invest in your church’s future today. PLUS! Additional Resources in the back include: Conflict management Style Survey Conflict Assessment Tools Interview Questions for Assessing Conflict and more! "I enthusiastically endorse this book and welcome it as a valuable addition to the growing stable of peacemaking resources!" KEN SANDE Author of the Peacemaker and Founder of Peacemaker Ministries and Relational Wisdom 360 "Few things break God’s heart more, and cause the hosts of hell to rejoice more, than conflict among His followers. My friend Mike Hare is well-qualified to prepare church leaders with practical intervention strategies (brought to life by case stories) that enable us to anticipate, analyze, and resolve conflict, moving step-by-step through processes that result in unity and blessing." DR. WESS STAFFORD President Emeritus, Compassion International Author of Too Small to Ignore and Just a Minute

Using real-world case studies and examples, Hunsinger and Latini helpfully guide pastors and lay leaders through effective and compassionate ways to deal with discord.

In this instructive book, Hugh Halverstadt advocates a Christian vision of shalom for an ethical process of conflict management. He shows how respectfulness, assertiveness, accountability, and a focus on the larger common good should all serve as Christian behavioral standards. The book is ideal for addressing ministries, church systems, and other nonprofit organizations in conflict.

The hurts of people often spill over into the life of the congregation causing conflict. Your chair of finance is going through a nasty divorce and is mad at God. The mother of one of your Sunday School teachers is chronically ill. A major factory in your community has relocated, taking with it many of your church members’ jobs. Some losses in your own life remain painful and unresolved. And you wonder why the church council meetings are so rancorous and your church is mired in unproductive conflict. What do you do? How should you lead? According to Lyon and Moseley, conflict is often about ungrieved loss. When conflict occurs, pastors and other church leaders must know how to be present in the dynamics of grieving loss, encouraging space for a new thing to emerge. With rich and helpful illustrations, this book reveals how leaders can understand group-wide dynamics of conflict, ground their leadership in the liturgical meanings and rhythms of church life, and accompany congregations through potentially destructive realities toward the creative possibilities that conflict can bring.

It's no secret that congregations have conflict. Anyone who has served as a church leader knows about the friction that can take place within a congregation. And too much friction can lead to heated levels of infighting and strife. But used properly, can conflict really be a positive thing for your church? The direct result of George Bullard's twenty-five years of work in the area of training congregational and denominational leaders in various strategies to address conflict, this book empowers congregations to use conflict to deal with issues in a healthy and productive manner. In Every Congregation Needs a Little Conflict, Bullard guides church leaders in how to use conflict as a positive force for transition and change, and how to handle unhealthy conflict that might arise. A TCP Leadership Series title.

Discover practical advice on resolving conflicts and dealing with crises within the church---and learn how to turn each situation into an opportunity for grace. In this hope-filled book, experts Barthel and Edling take you through the Acts 15 model of approaching dissension in order to provide a clear, godly way forward to redemptive reconciliation. 204 pages, softcover from Hendrickson.

Christianity Today Book Award winner Leadership Journal Top Book of the Year Copastors Kent Carlson and Mike Lueken tell the story of how God took their thriving, consumer-oriented church and transformed it into a modest congregation of unformed believers committed to the growth of the spirit--even when it meant a decline in numbers. As Kent and Mike found out, a decade of major change is not easy on a church. Oak Hills Church, from the pastoral staff to the congregation, had to confront addiction to personal ambition, resist consumerism and reorient their lives around the teachings of Jesus. Their renewed focus on spiritual formation over numerical growth triggered major changes in the content of their sermons, the tenor of their worship services, and the reason for their outreach. They lost members. But the health and spiritual depth of their church today is a testimony of God's transforming work and enduring faithfulness to the people he loves. Honest and humble, this is Kent and Mike's story of a church they love, written to inspire and challenge other churches to let God rewrite their stories as well. Read it for the church you love.