Leading Your Church through Conflict and Reconciliation
Overview
“The only pastors who don’t experience regular, character-building periods of conflict,” a pastor once said, “are either bullies who walk all over everyone or cowards afraid to stand up for what God wants to accomplish.” Church leaders are lightning rods, attracting the highly charged complaints and grievances of church members.
This first volume in the Library of Leadership Development helps pastors and lay leaders understand, prevent, and redeem conflict. Its authors—who have survived and thrived in church conflict—tell their stories and explain the principles that help them lead through the storms of congregational life. Now, in a never-before-collected lineup, are thirty chapters of expert advice.
Top Highlights
“People on the journey toward health generally can answer yes to two important questions: (1) Will you admit that you have baggage from your past? and (2) Will you do honest work on it so it doesn’t distort your relationships and work around here?” (Page 31)
“The more interactive we are, the more we preempt serious conflict, because we get people talking before conflict goes underground.” (Page 32)
“It’s very simple,’ he explained. ‘If you never say anything bad about someone, you’re never afraid to face that person. If you’ve spoken against someone, something inside tells you that person shouldn’t like you, which raises a spiritual wall. Plus, if people never hear you say anything bad about anyone else, they’ll believe you never say anything bad about them. And they’ll love you for it.’” (Page 59)
“The roots of conflict are also planted in our cultural soil. A significant part of that soil is our demand for instant gratification and the immediate solution of problems.” (Page 40)
“The toughest skill for me to learn in handling conflict is hearing. Not just listening, but really hearing.” (Page 34)
Product Details
- Title: Leading Your Church Through Conflict and Reconciliation
- Editor: Marshall Shelley
- Publisher: Multnomah Books
- Publication Date: 1997
- Pages: 320
Marshall Shelley is editor-in-chief of Leadership Journal and editorial vice president of Christianity Today International (CTI). Shelley studied journalism at Bethel University and earned a Master of Divinity in theology from Denver Seminary where he subsequently served as a board member for nearly a decade. He has also studied at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Wheaton College Graduate School, served as a board member for the American Tract Society, and held pastoral staff positions in his hometown of Denver, Colorado.
Marshall joined CTI after developing his journalistic skills at David C. Cook Publishing Company and The Denver Post. He is the author of several books including Well-Intentioned Dragons, several volumes in the Fresh Ideas series, the Library of Leadership Development, and the Library of Christian Leadership. He also served as general editor of The Quest Study Bible.
Shelley and his wife, Susan, live in Wheaton, Illinois, and have five children, two sons-in-law, and two grandchildren.