Post on 19-Nov-2014
Adventist International Institute
Of Advanced Studies
Theological Seminary
THE CAUSES OF CONFLICT AND HOW TO MANAGE IT
IN ORGANIZATIONS AND THE CHURCH
A Research Paper
Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements of the Course LEAD 610
Organizational Behavior
By
Bryan Edward Sumendap
June 2010
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Before becoming the US president, Barack Obama
had a conflict with his church pastor, Jeremiah Wright,
regarding the pastor’s remarks aimed directly at him. He
then resigned from his church with some sadness saying,
“I suspect we'll find another church home for our
family.” 1
This statement is a result of a disagreement
between Mr. Obama and Pastor Wright. The disagreement
could have been stopped, but it escalated up to a point
of no return. Therefore, we have to agree with the fact
that conflict is a part of our daily life. Everyone will
have experience conflict at a certain time in their life.
Conflict is defined as “competitive or opposing
action of incompatibles: antagonistic state or action (as
1Associated Press, Obama Quits Controversial
Church After Conflict with Pastor [newspaper online]; available from http://www.gulfnews.com/world/U.S._Election/10217695.html; accessed on 5 May 2010.
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of divergent ideas, interests, or persons.”1 It is usually
a flight toward towards different goals. A recent group
discussion in a class defined conflict as:
“Conflict is an unavoidable incident between at least two incorrelational parties, to occupy something that is limited in its resources. It occurs because of desires, differences through struggle, in order to achieve that particular status. However, conflict can function positively.”2
Therefore, conflict will always happen in any
organizational setting. The argument below will clarify
why conflict will arise.
The way a society is organized can create both
the root causes of conflict and the conditions in which
it is likely to occur. If we look toward any society or
organization that practices unequal treatment where in
some people is treated unequally and unjustly, it is
likely to erupt into conflict. This is enhanced
especially if its leaders do not represent all the
members of that society or organization. If an unequal
1Mirriam Webster Dictionary, “Conflict.”
2Bryan Sumendap, Class Notes for LEAD 655 Management of Conflict and Problem Solving. Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, Silang, Cavite, Philippines, September 2009.
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and unjust society is reformed, then conflicts will be
rare.
In corporations the results of conflicts are very
damaging. Churches also have a fair share of the damages
experienced by corporations. However, the resulting
damages in a church are more serious considering the fact
that most people severe their relationships with the
church and oftentimes with God.
A question then arises, “Why then are church
conflicts difficult to resolve?” Firstly, we have to
understand that churches operate with the dynamics very
similar to large families. Secondly, while operating on
that manner, they are also being a large volunteer
organization. This organization operates on several
different levels simultaneously. The volunteers that work
in the church come from different backgrounds and have
different expectations of the pastor and of each other.
However, all these expectations are largely
unexpressed, but are assumed to be known. Functioning
within the churches are many smaller groupings of
individuals based on interests, who also have unexpressed
expectations. When these unexpressed interests and
expectations clash, conflict will arise.
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How then should we manage conflict situations?
This brings us to the science that is involved in
analyzing the above factors: organizational behavior.
Overview of Organizational Behavior
The development of organizational behavior field
is a progressive one. This is done where one theorist
takes on another’s research and goes further to a new
point at another time frame. During this process, many
theorists became famously known for their contributions
such as Elton Mayo for the Hawthorne Studies, Douglas
McGregor for Theory X and Theory Y, Abraham Maslow for
the hierarchy of needs, Frederick Herzberg for the
Motivation-Hygiene Theory, so on and so forth.1
According to W. G. Scott, “Human relations affect
management practices and give guidelines for managerial
action.”2 This approach combines various branches of
1To read more about the various theories, see
Hershey, Paul and Kenneth H. Blanchard. Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993; Roethlisberger and W. J. Dickson. Management and the Worker, 2 vols. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1938; McGregor, Douglas. The Human Side of Enterprise. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960; Herzberg, Frederick, Bernard Mausner and Barbara Snyderman. The Motivation to Work. New York: Wiley, 1959.
2William G. Scott, “Organization Theory: An Overview and an Appraisal” The Journal of the Academy of
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social science and integrates their theories and methods
to solve work-related problems. Human relations is the
result of the unique blend of the related disciplines -
psychology, social psychology, sociology and
anthropology, that give rise to a better understanding of
individuals.
Furthermore, OB can be defined as the systematic
study and application of human aspects in management of
an organization, which involves “the study of human
behavior, attitudes, and performance in organizations.”1
As an area of study, OB also studies “concepts, theories,
methods, and empirical generalizations” in order to
analyze “behavior in organizations.”2
Before the industrial revolution, people worked
in small groups and had non-complicated work
relationships among each other. They were, however,
_____________________ Management, 4 [1] (1961), 7-26.
1Don Hellriegel, John W. Slocum, Jr., and Richad W. Woodman, Organizational Behavior 8th ed. (Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing, 1998), 4.
2Dennis W. Organ and Thomas S. Bateman, Organizational Behavior 4th ed. (Boston, MA: Richard D. Irwin Inc., 1991), 5.
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exposed to unhealthy working conditions and shortage of
resources, so they hardly had any job satisfaction.
During the early stages of the industrial
revolution, the conditions of workers showed no signs of
improvement. But as increased industrial activity led to
greater supply of goods, wages, working conditions, and
level of job satisfaction steadily improved.
Today, leaders and administrators have access to
management tools which are readily available through the
internet, books and other mediums in order to assess job
satisfaction of employees. These tools are meant to be
used in the function of managing organizations. Church
leaders will greatly benefit if they take time to learn
more about organizational behavior and apply those skills
in the church setting.
Statement of the Problem
Since it is already clear that conflict is
something that cannot be avoided in our daily life,
therefore, there is a need for pastors to be able to
manage conflicts. However, before develop a proper method
of conflict management, we have to understand the
underlying factors that trigger conflicts. What are the
causes of conflict? How to identify the symptoms in order
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to pinpoint the problem sooner? What are the common
styles, methods and strategies of conflict of management
from the social science and from the Bible?
Purpose and Methodology of the Study
The purpose of the study is present the causes of
conflict in an organization, the church in particular,
and look at conflict management methods using principles
from the social sciences. It is hoped that Pastors and
administrators, even church members will benefit from
this study.
The primary method of the study will be library
research, supported by internet research. Because most of
the literature explained is from a Westerner’s point of
view, the study will see conflict from a Western
perspective.
The study will begin by looking at the various
causes of conflict in an organization. The causes of
conflict will range to a variety of factors. From this
point, the study will discuss the different styles and
strategies conflict management. It will then conclude
with a proposed method for a pastor to resolve conflict.
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CHAPTER 2
THEORETICAL BASE
God’s people have experienced conflict throughout
history. The first recorded conflict in the Bible is in
Genesis 3, when man disobeyed God and fell into sin. The
cause was disobedience.
Men like Abraham, Moses, Job, David, and Jonah in
the Old Testament and Peter, Paul, Barnabas and James in
the New Testament, have experienced conflict. It is true
that God was calling them in their life, but it does not
dismiss the fact that they are sinners. Because of that
fact, they experience conflict over issues with others
and sometimes with God. The cause was sin, resulting in
imperfection.
Jesus also experienced conflict and in some
instances initiated it. When He cleansed the temple (Matt
21:12-16), confronted the Pharisees (Matt 23), and
corrected the disciples (Matt 8:26; Luke 24:25-26), He
was engaging in conflict. Throughout the gospels, we find
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a lot of evidence that Jesus was a very confrontational
person, especially when the occasion demanded it.
Many times Satan seeks to take advantage of
Christians in conflict. When church members are involved
in conflict, Satan encourages them to continue their
dispute culminating in one of the parties involved to
leave the church. We need to be aware of the strategies
of Satan (Eph 6:11, 12).
However, regardless of the facts stated above, we
need to understand that God sometimes permits conflict to
happen within His will. He does this to test us and this
causes us to grow (1 Cor 11:18-19), it also force us to
discover better and newer ways to do things (Acts 6:1-7).
Conflict is inevitable in our life, although God
created us to become perfect in His image (Gen 1:26). As
discussed above, all God’s people even Jesus Himself has
experienced conflict. The underlying cause of conflict
from the Biblical point of view is sin, which makes us
imperfect and causes death (Rom 6:33). Based on this
theoretical basis, the discussion will proceed.
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CHAPTER 3
CURRENT ISSUES
Today the business of conflict management is
booming. Corporations and churches seem to be in dire
need of third party intervention to help them resolve
their conflicts. Guidance Channel Online1 lists the Top
Ten conflict management websites where companies can run
for help when conflicts are plaguing them. Aside from
this list, there are hundreds or even thousands of firms
and consultants that offer conflict management services
to clients.
An abstract from a study entitled, “Conflict
Management: Trends and Issues Alerts”2 clearly shows the
1GC Staff, Top Ten Conflict Management Sites
[online]; available from http://www.guidancechannel.com/default.aspx?M=a&index=2221&cat=50; accessed on 10 June 2010.
2Bettina Lankard Brown, Conflict Management: Trends and Issues Alerts [online abstract]; available from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED417291&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED417291; accessed on 10 June 2010.
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situation that many organizations have been facing since
the late 90’s up to the present:
Because most workplace conflicts will likely be repeated under new circumstances and in new situations, the goal of conflict management is to empower workers to resolve their own differences of opinion before those differences escalate into conflict. Because of the negative impact of conflict on worker creativity, efficiency, and productivity, many organizations are hiring conflict management specialists to train their employees in positives ways of resolving differences. Adult educators, educational administrators, health care and business professionals, and human resource managers are among those who are assuming new roles as leaders in conflict management.
Conflict management specialists are coming to the rescue
to help conflict ridden companies.
Lack of Ability Issue
One issue that arose from this trend is that
there seems to be a lack of ability on the part of
employees in dealing with conflict. Because of this
disability, intervention from outside is a must in order
to create a working atmosphere that will maintain its
productiveness. This is also true among church
congregations.
This disability can be caused by a lack of
training issue among from the pastors. During their
professional ministry, they have traditionally relied on
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some pastoral roles, as outlined by Herbert W. Byrne,
which they never formally trained for.1
When most pastors said yes to the call of God to
ministry, they were probably not thinking about managing
the church office. They saw themselves as preachers who
will continually be behind the pulpit preaching the
gospel, giving personal Bible studies, baptizing people,
and eventually making disciples in harmony with the Great
Commission.
However, pastors or ministers are expected to be
much more than the above description, they are expected
to do more than that. Delbert W. Baker, President of
Oakwood College, describes this high expectation when he
said: Pastors, ministers, and church administrators in the twenty-first century are expected to possess such skills as proficiency in biblical knowledge, leadership ability, expertise in communication, proficiency in spiritual formation, ability to motivate, organizational mastery, conflict management, and competency in problem solving, to name a few.2
1Herbert W. Byrne, The Pastor as Church Leader
and Educator (Longwood, FL: Xulon Press, 2006), 21-55.
2Delbert W. Baker, “The Story of Pastor Alpha,” Ministry July-August 2005, 11.
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The pastor is also required to skilled in
strategic planning, project management, human resource
management, financial management, social marketing, and
time management, even though he was never formally
trained for management.
Lack of Training Issue
Another issue that arose is seen from the church
point of view. In the local church setting, a pastor is
always viewed as the leader. He is the one who people
come to whenever they have problems. He is the leader of
the church whose condition, as one Lutheran minister
describes, “may be full of hatred and venom than any
other institution.”1 Because of that nature, it is
expected that many conflicts will arise inside the
church. The pastor will be in the front line to tackle
these difficulties. But without proper training, the
pastor will not be capable to manage those difficulties
properly.
According to the Duke University National Clergy
survey, “two-thirds of clergy report that their
1Richard Stoll Armstrong and Kirk Walker
Morledge, Help! I'm a Pastor!: A Guide to Parish Ministry (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005), 2.
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congregation has experienced some form of conflict over
the past two years.”1 Some twenty percent mention that the
conflict was significant or major. This could be one of
the causes why there are so many pastor burnout
occurring.2 It could also be a reason why many pastors are
leaving the ministry.
The following discussion looks at some figures
and statistics in regards to the trends that are
happening in churches across America. The lack of data
from Asian churches makes it not possible to include
Asian churches’ trend. It does not, however, dismiss the
possibility that the Asian churches could be following
the same trend.
Recent Studies on Conflict in the Church
In the recent years the concern of studying
conflict and its impact in the churches has been given a
serious thought. This is due to the rise in church
1Ibid., 178.
2The term used to describe a pastor who shows symptoms “to give up, to be less compassionate to the hurting, or to ignore ministry opportunities because we are too busy.” Dana Beatty, Pastoral Burnout and “Brown Out” October 27, 2004 [online]; available from http://www.ctlibrary.com/newsletter/newsletterarchives/2004-10-27.html; accessed 3 June 2010.
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problems related to conflict. We will look at two of the
studies.
2006-2007 Duke University National Congregations Study
Duke University has conducted two studies on
congregations in America. The first study was conducted
in 1998 and the second study was conducted in 2006-2007.
They named this the “National Congregations Study.”1 The
more recent study surveyed 2,740 congregations in the
United States.
In their website, a visitor can browse through
the data on all variables that are available. When
browsing through the 2006-2007 data, under the conflict
variable, it is found that:
- 24% of congregations experienced a conflict in the last two years that was serious enough to call a special meeting
- 26% of congregations experienced a conflict in the last two years that resulted in people leaving their congregations
- 9% of congregations experienced a conflict that led leaders to leave the congregation
- 7% of congregations were classified as “persistently conflicted”
1The method used to come up with the figures
given was to browse on the data, look under conflict and dig into the data. National Congregations Study Wave II, 2006-2007 [online]; available from http://www.soc.duke.edu/natcong/explorefrequencies2_07.html; accessed on 3 June 2010.
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- 35% of congregations reporting conflict indicated that it was about clergy; 12% stated that their conflicts were about church leadership, which may or may not refer to clergy; 8% indicated that their conflicts were about money; and 48% of congregations surveyed selected the catch-all “other” category to describe the nature of their conflicts.
One interesting finding about the congregations
classified as “persistently conflicted” is that they
accounted for 35 to 40% of all church conflict reported
over a four-year period.
The issues pertaining to the current practices of
conditions of corporations and churches have been
discussed. Therefore, an important thing that is to be
done is to be able to identify the causes of conflict.
FACT and CCSP Study
Faith Communities Today (FACT) and the
Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership (CCSP),
not-for-profit entities of the Hartford Seminary and the
Hartford Institute for Religion Research, released a
report in 2005 titled, “Insights into Congregational
Conflict.”1 This report is based on a survey of 14,301
congregations and also makes reference to Christianity
Today’s 2004 pastoral survey.
1Hartford Seminary, Insights into Congregational
Conflict [online]; available from http://fact.hartsem.edu/InsightsIntoCongregationalConflict.pdf; accessed on 11 September 2009.
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One notable finding of the said research is in
connection to the prevalence of conflict. Seventy five
percent of the congregations surveyed reported some level
of conflict in the past five years (1995 to 2000), and
20% reported that they were presently involved in active
conflict.
These findings indicate how important it is for
congregations to prepare for conflict so that it does not
negatively affect their health and effectiveness.
Indeed, this study states that “understanding how
conflict impacts congregations strikes us as an absolute
necessity.”1
Study by David and Diane Noble
In their most recent book, David and Diane Noble,
presents readers with statistics regarding the effects of
congregational conflict. They say that more than 19,000
congregations experience major conflict every year. 25%
of the churches in one survey reported conflict in the
previous five years that was serious enough to have a
lasting impact on congregational life.
1Ibid., 1.
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Only 2% of church conflict involves doctrinal
issues, while 98% of church conflict involves
interpersonal issues. Control issues ranked as the most
common cause of conflict (85%). Because of this, about
40% of church members who leave their churches do so
because of conflict.
In regards to the effects to the pastor, they say
that the average pastoral career lasts only 14 years –
less than half of what it was not long ago. Around 1,500
pastors leave their assignments every month in the United
States because of conflict, burnout or moral failure.
45% of the pastors terminated in one denomination left
the ministry altogether. While 34% of all pastors
presently serve congregations that forced their previous
pastor to resign.1
The next section will identify the causes of
conflict by looking at literature.
1David and Diane Noble, Winning the Real Battle
(Kansas City, MO: BHC Publishing, 2009), 171.
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CHAPTER 4
CAUSES OF CONFLICT
The discussions in the previous chapters have
shown us that the effects of conflict are sometimes
disastrous. There should be a way to come out of it, some
means to identify the causes.
This chapter will review related articles in
regards to identifying the causes of conflict in and
organization or the church.
The Core of Conflicts
In order for leaders to develop skills in
avoiding, analyzing, and addressing conflict, we have to
understand what lies at the center of the problems.
The authors of Unconditional Excellence, quotes
from Ken Sandy’s book, The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide
to Resolving Personal Conflict, regarding the three major
reasons serious differences arise:
1. Lack of Humility: Everything revolves around me, my and mine. As long as we focus on ourselves, we’ll always have disharmony.
2. Lack of Alignment: People are at variance because they don’t know where they’re going. Either they think they’re in agreement with others, or they
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don’t take seriously the minor issues that separate them.
3. Lack of Good Communications: Too often we discover this lack after contention has erupted.1
Because communications problem lie at the core of
many issues, leaders are to develop “Unconditionally
Excellent”2 problem-solving skills. Because self-
centeredness or self interest is also another basic
cause, only by living a covenantal life, continual
modeling of humility will make leaders effective
peacemakers.
Literature Review on Causes of Conflict
“Not all conflict is bad.” This is a statement
that is often heard uttered by church leaders and
conflict resolution experts. They say this with the
understanding of the two types of conflict, where
“managers should stimulate functional conflict and
prevent or resolve dysfunctional conflict.”3
1Alan M. Ross and Cecil Murphey, Unconditional
Excellence: Answering God’s Call To Be Your Professional Best (Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation, 2002), 254-255.
2Ibid., 3. This begins when we make a choice to commit ourselves to becoming the very best in our workplace. It starts with a decision, then action.
3Ronald R. Sims, Managing Organizational Behavior, (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 2002), 246.
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The functional understanding of organizational
conflict perceives conflict as a productive energy, one
that can motivate members of the organization to increase
their knowledge and skills, and their input to
organizational innovation and productivity. Nelson and
Quick defines it as “a healthy, constructive disagreement
between two or more people” which can “produce new ideas,
learning, and growth among individuals,” that can
“improve working relationships.”1
Examples of positive conflicts, by contrast have
the following characteristics: Problem-Solving Mentality,
where everyone is at the table to solve the problem, not
to fight with each other; Going for Mutual Satisfaction,
all sides work for a solution; Everyone Syndrome, each
side recognizes that the other side has legitimate
concerns; and Just the Facts, where the discussion
centers on the facts of the problem, not on the feelings
of the people.2 The successful organization, then, needs
1Debra L. Nelson and James Campbell Quick,
Organizational Behavior: Foundations, Realities, and Challenges, 2nd ed. (New York: West Publishing Company, 1997), 378-379.
2Michael, W. Drafke and Stan Kossen, The Human Side of Organizations, 8th ed. (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002), 104.
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conflict so that diverging views can be put on the table,
and new ways of doing things can be created.
The dysfunctional understanding of organizational
conflict is rooted in the idea that organizations are
created to accomplish goals by making structures that
perfectly define job responsibilities, authorities, and
other job functions. This understanding of organizations
and conflict causes problems because it is “an unhealthy,
destructive disagreement between two or more people”
which takes focus away from the work to be done and
“places the focus on the conflict itself and the parties
involved.”1
Negative conflicts have the following
characteristics. The Feud Mentality, where conflict pits
one group against another; Going for Broke, where each
side wants it all, no compromise; Me Syndrome where
antagonists see only their side of the house; and You
Syndrome where the conflict is personalized and people
are attacked as individuals.2
1Nelson and Quick, 379.
2Drafke and Kossen, 104.
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In the church, personal factors are probably the
main causes of conflict. These personal factors are:
skills and abilities, personalities, perceptions, values
and ethics, emotions and communication barriers.1
Jim Murphy, a well-known speaker and management
consultant, adds the following factors that also
contribute to the difficulty in identifying the correct
cause of conflict. They are, time, experience, faith,
ego, poor training and oversensitivity.2 He elaborates
further that behaviors cause conflict. The four different
behaviors that cause conflict are: intellectual,
emotional, interpersonal, and managerial.3
Leas and Kittlaus, in their book Church Fights,
distinguish three kinds of conflicts. The first is
Intrapersonal Conflict, second is Interpersonal Conflict,
and the third is Substantive conflict.4 A particular
conflict that arises may be a mixture of the above three.
1Ibid., 382-383.
2Jim Murphy, Managing Conflict at Work (West Des Moines, IO: American Media Publishing, 1994), 30-31.
3Ibid., 36-40.
4Speed Leas and Paul Kittlaus, Church Fights: Managing Conflict in the Local Church (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1973), 29-32.
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In the book Effective Human Relations in
Organizations, Reece & Brandt lists the following causes
of conflict: ineffective communication, value clashes,
culture clashes, work policies and practices, adversarial
management, noncompliance, and difficult people.1 While
all factors may become a cause of conflict in the church,
the last cause, difficult people, may be the number one
cause, due to the nature of the church. They continue to
describe the kinds of difficult people that exist in
organizations2: The Tanks: Pushy and ruthless, loud and forceful,
they assume that the end justifies the means. The Snipers: Identify your weaknesses and use
them against you through sabotage behind your back or putdowns in front of the crowd.
The Know-It-Alls: Will tell you what they know—for hours—but won’t take a second to listen to your “clearly inferior” ideas.
The Grenades: Whey they blow their tops, they’re unable to stop. When the smoke clears and the dust settles, the cycle begins again.
The Yes Persons: They are quick to agree but slow to deliver, leaving a trail of unkept commitments and broken promises.
The Maybe Persons: When faced with a crucial decision, they keep putting it off until it’s too late and the decision makes itself.
1Barry L. Reece and Rhonda Brandt, Effective
Human Relations in Organizations (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999), 333.
2Ibid., 334-335, taken from Rick Brinkman and Rick Kirschner, Dealing with People You Can’t Stand, 1994.
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The No Persons: Doleful and discouraging, they say, “What goes up must come down.” And what comes down must never be able to get back up again.
The Whiners: They wallow in their woe, whine incessantly, and carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Gangel and Canine added additional perspectives.
They identified confrontation, dogmatism, and efficiency
breakdown as causes of conflict.1 On the other hand,
McSwain and Treadwell, emphasizes on stress as the root
of conflict. They describe stress as an intrapersonal
conflict which “forces individuals to choose from among a
multitude of options in life how they shall live.”2 The
church sometimes creates stress because of “unmet
expectation and unfulfilled hopes, unrealistic demands,
failure in management, and contradictions in the church
with secular experiences.”3
Greenberg and Baron agrees with McSwain and
Treadwell when they discuss term as “role conflict” which
usually is a “stress from conflicting demands.”4
1Kenneth O. Gangel and Samuel L. Canine,
Communication and Conflict Management: In Churches and Christian Organizations (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992), 180-184.
2Larry L. McSwain and William C. Treadwell, Jr., Conflict Ministry in the Church (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1981), 59.
3Ibid., 64-72.
4Jerald Greenberg and Robert A. Baron, Behaviors
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Speed Leas complements to the previous arguments
when he adds fear, needs, and sin as three shortcomings
in people that cause church conflict.1 He continues in
another article that there are ten most predictable times
of conflict, it is during: Easter, stewardship
campaigns/budget time, addition of new staff, change in
leadership style, the pastor’s vacation, changes in the
pastor’s family, introduction of baby boomers into the
church, the completion of a new building, loss of church
membership, and increase in church membership.2 A church
leader should be aware of these activities and be on
guard.
Donald Palmer, looking from the perspective of
missionary and Christian workers, describes four
underlying causes of conflict. The first cause is when
territory is threatened or disputed. This is when two
parties want to occupy the same space, at the same time
_____________________ in Organizations 4th ed. (Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1993), 230.
1Speed Leas, “Rooting Out Causes of Conflict” in Leading Your Church Through Conflict and Reconciliation, ed. Marshall Shelley (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1997), 104-106.
2Leas, ”The Ten Most Predictable Times of Conflict” in Leading Your Church Through Conflict, 45-53.
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or when two parties propose different goals or solutions
that cannot all be put in action at the same time.
The second cause is when expectations are not
fulfilled. This has been previously mentioned,
expectations are sometimes not realistic or not clarified
and the other party does not act according to the
expectation of the other party.
The third cause is faulty leadership and
administration. This happens when there is an unclear
relationship within the organizational structure, poorly
defined job responsibilities, poor planning, breakdown of
communication, leadership that is too autocratic or too
weak, or overly political.
The last is caused by attitudes and personalities
clash. There are prejudices and biases which are
reflected consciously and unconsciously, and there are
differences in temperaments, personalities and styles.1
Dudley Weeks in his book The Eight Essential
Steps to Conflict Resolution, reemphasizes needs as one
of the ingredients of conflict. Diversity and
1David C. Palmer, Managing Conflict Creatively: A
Guide for Missionaries & Christian Workers (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1990), 7-11.
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differences, Perceptions, Power, Values and Principles,
Feelings and Emotions, are the remaining ingredients for
conflict. It is obvious that Weeks present a much broader
variety of causes of conflict compared to other authors.
After looking at the various causes of conflict,
we will then look at effective techniques in managing
conflict. First we will look on techniques offered from
the behavior science perspective, later on we will focus
on biblical methods of conflict resolution.
The next chapter will be the conclusion of this
paper, while offering personal assessment regarding the
subject of causes of conflict.
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CHAPTER 5
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES & STRATEGIES
In the previous chapters, discussion on the
various causes of conflict has been presented by looking
at what various authors’ understanding of root of
conflict. This chapter will now look at the various
theories for managing conflict which can be used by the
pastor or church leader in resolving conflicts in the
church.
We will begin by looking at several styles of
managing conflict that is generally practiced by managers
in corporations. The purpose of including them is for the
benefit of familiarizing the reader. The styles will be
categorized under two parts, the positive and negative
strategy.
Pondy’s Model of Organizational Conflict
Before looking at the conflict styles, it is
proper to understand one of the “most widely accepted
30
models of organizational conflict” developed by Louis R.
Pondy.1 His model explains the stages of conflict: Stage1: Latent Conflict-potential
Stage2: Perceived Conflict-realizes goals impeded by another party Stage3: Felt Conflict-growing anger Stage4: Manifest Conflict-how to deal with it Stage5: Conflict Aftermath-what would I do differently?2
The first stage of this model has no actual
conflict. However there exist a potential for conflict to
arise because of the factors that become sources of
conflict.
In stage two, perceived conflict begins “when one
party becomes aware that its goals are being thwarted by
the actions of another party.”3 Each party will search the
origins of the conflict, find out why the conflict is
emerging, then examines the event that leads to its
occurrence.
1Louis R. Pondy, “Organizational Conflict:
Concept and Models” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Sept. 1967), 296-320, 310 [journal on-line]; available from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2391553; accessed on 30 June 2010.
2George and Jones, Understanding and Managing, 660.
3Ibid., 661.
31
During the stage of felt conflict, “the parties
in conflict develop negative feelings about each other.”1
The groups are described to “close ranks, develops an us-
versus-them attitude, and blames the other group”2 as the
cause of the problem.
At the manifest conflict stage, “one party
decides how to react to or deal with the party that it
sees as the source of the conflict.”3 Here both parties
try to hurt each other and thwart each other’s goals.
Finally the conflict aftermath stage, which is
bound to happen sooner or later. In this stage “conflict
in an organization is resolved one way or another—someone
gets fired.”4
Popular Conflict Management Styles
To take a closer look at the various strategies
one can use in resolving workplace conflict, let us
review the five different conflict management styles
developed by Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann in
1Ibid., 662.
2Ibid.
3Ibid., 663.
4Ibid., 665.
32
1974,1 and another later model developed by Ron Kraybill
in 1990.2
The five styles of the Thomas Kilman (TKI) are
competing or forcing, avoiding, compromising,
collaborating, and accommodating. While the Kraybill
Conflict Style Inventory (KCSI) calls them Directing,
Avoiding, Compromising, Cooperating, and Harmonizing.
Both use a framework commonly credited to Mouton and
Blake, which maps out responses to conflict according to
the interaction of a horizontal and vertical axis. The
one axis is for assertiveness or focus on one’s own
agenda, while the other axis is for cooperativeness or
focus on the relationship.
The major difference among the two lies in the
cultural sensitivity of the models. While the TKI uses a
forced choice questionnaire and assumes all users have
similar cultural background, the KCSI uses a multiple
1Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann, Thomas-
Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (Tuxedo NY: Xicom, 1974).
2Ron Kraybill, Style Matters: The Kraybill Conflict Style Instrument (Riverhouse ePress, 1990) in Mennonite Conciliation Service in Mediation and Facilitation Training Manual, 4th ed., (Akron, PA: MCS, 2000), 64-66.
33
choice questionnaire and allows the user to identify
whether they are from an individualistic or
collectivistic society.1
The TKI assesses conflict management styles on
two distinct levels: assertiveness and cooperativeness.
Since the KCSI is relatively new and contain similar
characteristics with TKI, we are just going look at the
five conflict management styles of TKI. They are as
follows:2
Avoiding Style
This is when you do not satisfy your concerns or
the concerns of the other person. This style is low
assertiveness and low cooperativeness. The goal is to
delay, to take no action on a conflict or to stay out of
a conflict situation. Overuse of this style results in
negative evaluations from others in the workplace.
1Thomas Kilmann and Style Matters Compared
[online]; available from http://riverhou.dot5hosting.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=95; accessed on 30 June 2010.
2The following descriptions of the TKI Styles are taken from Reece and Brandt, Effective Human Relations, 342-343.
34
However, this style can be used when an issue is
of low importance, to reduce tensions, or to buy time.
Avoidance is also appropriate when you are in a low power
position and have little control over the situation, when
you need to allow others to deal with the conflict, or
when the problem is symptomatic of a much larger issue
and you need to work on the core issue, trivial, or more
important issues are pressing; when potential disruption
outweighs the benefits of resolutions; and when you think
others can resolve the conflict more effectively.
Competing Style
A style that is very assertive and
uncooperative. Both parties always want to satisfy
personal interests and are willing to do so at the
expense of the other party. This is similar to the
win/lose strategy.
This style is best used when quick decisive
actions are vital; on important issues where unpopular
actions need implementing; and against people who take
advantage of non-competitive behavior.
35
Compromising Style
This style is intermediate in both assertiveness
and cooperativeness, because each party must give up
something to reach a solution to the conflict.
This could be used when goals are important, but
not worth the effort or potential disruption or more
assertive modes; when opponents with equal power are
committed to mutually exclusive goals; and as a backup
when collaboration or competition is unsuccessful.
Collaboration Style
High on assertiveness and cooperativeness and
works toward collaborating that involves an open and
thorough discussion of the conflict and arriving at a
solution that is satisfactory to both parties. Designed
to help the conflicting parties work together to find
mutually advantageous solutions to problems so that each
person is satisfied with the outcome.
There are particular situations when it is best
to use this strategy. First is when it is vital to find
an integrative solution when both sets of concerns are
too important to be compromised. Second is when your
objective is to learn and to merge insights from people
with different perspectives. Third is to gain commitment
36
by incorporating concerns into a consensus. And finally
to work through feelings that have interfered with a
relationship. This strategy has been given a lift in the
secular field of conflict resolution by Fisher and Ury.1
Accommodating Style
Accommodating strategy is a style in which a
party is concerned about the other party’s goals to be
met, but relatively unconcerned with getting your way.
This strategy is cooperative but unassertive. It is more
important for both parties to maintain harmony and keep
relationships intact.
This strategy is to be used when you find you are
wrong, when issues are more important to others than to
yourself, when you want to build social credits for later
issues, when you want to minimize loss when you are
outmatched and losing, when harmony and stability are
especially important, and when you want to allow
employees to develop by learning from mistakes.
There is always an appropriate moment to use the
following styles. Research done among managers regarding
1Roger Fisher and William Ury, Getting to Yes —
Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In 2nd ed., (New York: Penguin Books, 1991).
37
the use of the five strategies shows that managers, “have
the capacity to change styles as the situation demands.”1
The study also shows that “managers who used a
combination of competing and avoiding styles were seen as
ineffective by the engineers who worked under their
project teams.”2
Negative Strategies
Let us now look at some common strategies that
result in the increase of ugly conflict. Below are
strategies described by Bacal, a prolific author,
consultant, book author, trainer, and public speaker: Ugly #1: Nonaction. The most common repressive
management strategy is nonaction—doing nothing. Most of the time, people “do nothing” about conflict situations for other reasons, such as fear of bringing conflict into view, or discomfort with anger. Unfortunately, doing nothing generally results in conflict escalating, and sets a tone for the organization..."we don't have conflict here".
Ugly #2: Administrative Orbiting. Administrative orbiting means keeping appeals for change or redress always “under consideration,” orbiting acknowledges the problem, but avoids dealing with it. The manager who uses orbiting will say things like “We are dealing with the problem,” but the problem never gets addressed. Common stalls include: collecting more data, documenting performance, cancelling meetings, etc.
Ugly #3: Secrecy. A common means of avoiding conflict (or repressing it) is to be secretive. This
1Nelson and Quick, 398.
2Ibid.
38
can be done by employees and managers. The notion is that if nobody knows what you are doing, there can be little conflict. If you think about this for a moment, you will realize its absurdity. By being secretive you may delay conflict and confrontation, but when it does surface it will have far more negative emotions attached to it than would have been the case if things were more open.
Ugly #4: Law and Order. The final "ugly strategy". Normally this strategy is used by managers who mistakenly think that they can order people to not be in conflict. Using regulations, and power, the person using the approach "leans on" people to repress the outward manifestations of conflict.1
Win/Lose Strategy
This strategy is only one winner solution,
domination whereby there is a victory of one side
over the other. As an often overused strategy for
solving conflicts, these methods include the use of
mental or physical power to bring about compliance.
Sometimes, this approach is done through socially
acceptable mechanisms such as majority vote, the
authority of the leader, or the determination of a judge.
However, in many occasions, it involves secret
strategies, threat, innuendo – whatever works is
acceptable, for example: the ends justify the means.
1Robert Bacal, Organizational Conflict - The
Good, The Bad & The Ugly [online]; available from http://performance-appraisals.org/Bacalsappraisalarticles/articles/orgconflict.htm; accessed on 22 June 2010.
39
There is often a strong ‘we-they’ distinction accompanied
by the classic symptoms of intergroup conflict. The
valued outcome is to have a victor who is superior, and a
vanquished who withdraws in shame, but who prepares very
carefully for the next round. In the long run, everyone
loses.1
Reece and Brandt suggest that this strategy, even
on the negative method, to be used “in situations where
two factions simply cannot agree on any solution or may
not even be able to talk to each other.”2
Lose/Lose strategy
The lose-lose strategy is exemplified by
smoothing over conflict or by reaching the simplest of
compromises. This strategy can basically be applied in
three ways.3
First, both parties involved can be asked to
compromise. Each party should “give-in” to the other and
1Ron Fisher, “Sources of Conflict and Methods of
Conflict Resolution” School of International Service, The American University, 1977, Rev. 1985, 2000, 4 [journal online]; available from http://www.aupeace.org/files/Fisher_SourcesofConflictandMethodsofResolution.pdf; accessed on 29 June 2010.
2Reece and Brandt, 336.
3Ibid., 337.
40
judge to what degree of compromise is acceptable for
both.
Second, an arbitrator, usually a neutral third
party, is called in to decide how the conflict should be
resolved. Normally arbitration process may take from both
sides as much as it gives in an effort to reach a final
settlement.
Finally, the third way is by going through the
rules. The disadvantage of this application is that it
leaves out the particulars of both parties. Each party
gets some of what it wants, and resigns itself to partial
satisfaction. Neither side is aware that by confronting
the conflict fully and cooperatively they might have
created a more satisfying solution.1
Positive Strategies
First of all we have to understand that there are
two levels of conflict, individual level and group level.
Sometimes a conflict may arise because of an individual
level conflict which escalated to a group level conflict.
In resolving individual level conflict, it is
suggested by Nielsen to use techniques “designed to
1Fisher, 5.
41
change the attitudes or behavior of those involved in the
conflict.”1 If the conflict is on the group level,
techniques in changing attitudes or behavior of groups
and departments in conflict should be used.2
Win/Win Strategy
The win-win approach is a conscious and
systematic attempt to maximize the goals of both parties
through collaborative problem solving. The conflict is
seen as a problem to be solved rather than a war to be
won. The important distinction is we (both parties)
versus the problem, rather than we (one party) versus
they (the other party). This method focuses on the needs
and constraints of both parties rather than emphasizing
strategies designed to conquer. Full problem definition
and analysis and development of alternatives precedes
consensus decisions on mutually agreeable solutions. The
parties work toward common and superordinate goals, i.e.,
ones that can only be attained by both parties pulling
together. There is an emphasis on the quality of the long
1Jennifer M. George and Gareth R. Jones,
Understading Organizational Behavior, 2nd ed. (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1999), 667.
2Ibid.
42
term relationships between the parties, rather than short
term accommodations.
Steps in Conflict Management Process
The organization, when faced with conflict, will
eventually respond to the conflict. There are two models
of response in managing a conflict. The first model is
the Five As and the second one is the March and Simon
Steps.
Victor and Borisoff 5 Steps
Victor and Borisoff1 identified five steps in the
conflict management process, which they call five “A”s:
assessment, acknowledgement, attitude, action, and
analysis. They emphasize that these five steps allow for
a continual process of problem-solving conflict
management.
The first step is assessment step. In these step
the parties gather appropriate information regarding the
problem. They select which of the conflict-handling modes
1Deborah Borisoff and David A. Victor, Conflict
Management: A Communication Skills Approach (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1989). This section draws heavily from the article by David A. Victor, “Conflict Management” Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd Ed., [online]; available from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Clo-Con/Conflict-Management.html; accessed on 30 June 2010.
43
would be most appropriate for the situation and determine
what is and is not at the heart of the problem, what they
might be willing to compromise on, and what each party
actually wants.
The second step, acknowledgement step is one in
which each party attempts to hear out the other.
Acknowledgement allows both parties to build the empathy
needed for the motivation of a synergistic solution to
the problem.
The attitude step, the third step, attempts to
eliminate sources of pseudoconflict. Prejudices regarding
cultural differences or gender-linked communication
styles are recognized. Differences in communication
styles (written, nonverbal, or verbal) are examined in
the attempt to remain objective to both parties' concerns
simultaneously.
Action step, the fourth step, is the carrying out
of the conflict-handling mode which was selected. If that
is the problem-solving mode, one communicates the
possibilities for a solution while building trust and
continually soliciting feedback on positions reached. At
the same time, one must read cues in the other party to
anticipate concerns while remaining conscious of one's
44
own communicative behavior and seeking productive
solutions.
Finally, in the analysis step, decisions are
reached, summarized, and then reviewed to establish that
the needs of all parties have been met (if possible).
Additionally, the analysis step sets the process side of
conflict management into motion as something that is
ongoing by attempting to anticipate and check for short-
term and long-term effects from the solution reached.
Reece and Brandt also offers a similar five step
process in order to go through conflict resolution: (1)
decide whether you have a misunderstanding or a true
disagreement; (2) define the problem and collect the
facts; (3) clarify perceptions; (4) generate options for
mutual gain; and (5) implement options with integrity.1
March and Simon’s Four Process
In 1958, March and Simon published a book where
they described four basic process on how an organization
responds to a conflict.2
1Reece and Brandt, 344-347.
2J. March and H. Simon, Organization (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1958).
45
The first is problem solving. Because problem
solving assumes that objectives are shared, problem
arises with the difficulty of identifying a solution
“that will meet the criteria in which all participants
agree.”1
The next one is quite different than the first.
Persuasion assumes that individual or group goals may
differ, where objectives are ultimately shared at some
level. However, this process is “constructive in the
sense that it attempts to secure true agreement among
participants.”2
The third and fourth processes are bargaining
and politics. Both of these processes seek to secure
only a tactic resolution of the conflict. While
bargaining “takes disagreement over goals as given and
unalterable”3 politics however goes one step further where
the bargaining area is expanded.
1Organ and Bateman, 506-507.
2Ibid.
3Ibid.
46
Examples of Conflict in the Bible
After looking at the various styles, strategies
and steps in conflict resolution. We will now look at the
Biblical references1 and principles of conflict
management.
In the Old Testament we see situations of
conflict. For example Genesis 13:6-7 tells the story of
how a conflict situation arose among Abraham and Lot’s
herdsmen and Genesis 31 records the conflict between
Laban and Jacob. 2 Samuel 14:1-15:37 narrates King
David’s mismanagement of his conflict with his son
Absalom.
The Greek word for conflict is agon which bears
the meaning “contest,” “fight.” There are several NT
passages that use this word. The first two verses is
Philippians 1:30 and Colossians 2:1 have the meaning
“fight.” While 1 Thessalonians 2:2 conveys the meaning
“contention” and athlesis which literally means, “combat
in the public games.” Finally in Hebrews 10:32 carries
the meaning “fight.”2
1For further study on conflict situations in the
Bible, see Palmer, Managing Conflict Creatively, 40-57.
2James Orr, General Editor, “Definition for ‘CONFLICT’” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
47
The New Testament records conflicting situations
of Jesus’ disciples encounter with Pharisees in Matthew
9:34 and Luke 22:24. Also of Paul and Barnabas
differences regarding the qualifications of John Mark
(Acts 15:38-39).
While the Bible contains many more passages that
depict conflicting situations and conflict resolution,1
there are however important principles that can be used
for conflict resolution.
As Job 5:7 shares, “People are born for trouble
as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.” When this
happens automatically conflict will spark up like fire.
The Matthew 18:15 method is a simple method, but requires
the person practicing this to have the following
prerequisites: Humility. This is so important because we have to look to ourselves and to our own weaknesses and feelings to keep things in proper perspective. We need humility to keep from exalting ourselves or arguing from the vantage point of supposed superiority. Keep in mind Galatians 6:1
_____________________ 1915 [online]; available from http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/C/CONFLICT/; accessed on 30 June 2010.
1See Prv 20:31; Ps 51:17; Isa 6:1-8; Matt 18:15-18; Rom 14:19, 1 Cor 14:33; 2 Cor 13:11; 1 Thes 5:13; 12:18; Eph 4:1-3; Jn 4:24, 13:25;
48
Love. If you don't love the person you don't have a right to confront them. If you don't have love for the person you confront you won't have the attitude of desiring God's best for him or her. Keep in mind Romans 15:1-2.
Patience. We need patience in order to have proper self-restraint and we need patience to hear the other person out. Impatience is a source of anger and intolerance—and it has no place in conflict resolution.
To be without hypocrisy. If we are living a deluded lifestyle, contrary to God's purposes for our lives, we can't see clearly enough to qualify for correcting other people. If we want to confront somebody about an area of sin (or even of non-moral issues) we must first have demonstrated victory in this area ourselves.1
It is fitting to close this study by presenting
what Rush summarized as the proper way to end conflicts.
1. A conflict provides excellent opportunity to serve
others.
2. Be committed to resolving the conflict quickly.
3. Take initiative in confronting those involved.
4. Even though hostility and anger are present in
conflict, avoid angry arguments.2
1Biblical Conflict Resolution [n.d.] [online];
available from http://www.biblicalresources.info/pages/pastoral/Conflicts/conflict1.html; accessed on 30 June 2010.
2Myron Rush, Management: A Biblical Approach (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2003), 206.
49
and also to remember the principles Sande proposes in his
book, The Peacemaker: Glorify God, get the log out of
your eye, gently restore, go and be reconciled and
finally keep in mind that we are to forgive as God
forgave you.1
1Ken Sande, The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to
Resolving Personal Conflict (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2004).
50
CHAPTER 6
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
While conflict can have its positive effects in
the church, most of the time it exhibits the negative
effects. It would be ideal for a church to have no
conflict at all. But alas, this will never be the case.
A state of utopia1 can only be achieved when we
all get to heaven.2 Ironically, heaven is where the first
conflict started, when Lucifer drooled: “I will ascend .
. . I will raise my . . . I will sit enthroned . . . I
will ascend . . . I will make myself like the Most High”
(Isaiah 14:12-14). The use of “I” statements is one of
the causes of conflict inside the church.
1Utopia is a name for an ideal community or
society, coined by Sir Thomas More in 1516 describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean, possessing a seemingly perfect socio-politico-legal system.
2The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. Isaiah 11:6
51
When we look at the statistics given in chapter
three, it is evident that the level of congregational
conflict is the same today and in 1998. And what is more
interesting is today’s level of congregational conflict
is the same as it was in colonial times! According to
Emory University historian E. Brooks Holifield, between
1680 and 1740, 122 of 400 (28 percent) of
Congregationalist and Presbyterian ministers in New
England and on Long Island had serious trouble with their congregations: 48 had financial disputes, thirty two became embroiled in conflict over division of a parish... twenty fought theologically with members, and the rest had personality conflicts.1
Because of the ensuing problems, 32 ministers had to
leave the church.
Personal Analysis
Ultimately, looking from the perspective of human
relations, the main cause of conflicts lies in the area
of communication. Lack of communication effects
relationships. Since humans rely on the ability to
express themselves through the means of communication,
1E. Brooks Holifield, God’s Ambassadors: A
History of Christian Clergy in America (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007), 87.
52
when this is distorted a negative reaction will be the
outcome. For that reason, as leaders in the church we
should be able to maintain proper communication inside
the church.
As pastors and leaders, we are expected to play a
role in preventing conflict within the church in the
personal and interpersonal levels. We cannot escape the
fact that conflict is bound to happen, however if leaders
can downplay the causes of conflict, then a small
disagreement can be kept from becoming a conflict.
I would like to propose a positive intervention
method by Peter Roy, in James Autry’s book The Servant
Leader. A simple technique he calls “affirmations,” is a
method to end a meeting that had been contentious and
held the possibility of later conflict. “Before
adjourning the meeting, he [Peter] would ask his
executives to go around the room and ‘affirm’ one
another.”1 This can be done in Church Board meetings and
other forms of meetings that happen in a church setting.
By communicating the affirmation of each other eliminates
any hard-feelings accumulated during the meeting.
1James A. Autry, The Servant Leader (Roseville,
CA: Prima Publishing, 2001), 174.
53
Another method to help prevent conflicts in our
church is to have pluralism as a trait. What is
pluralism? Pluralism, according to Suzan and Thomas
Kuczmarski is “having an openness and nonjudgmental view
toward the differences in individuals.”1 It basically
means that a leader believes in equality for human
beings. It requires a leader not to be discriminative or
to label people according to their beliefs, attributes,
or externally perceived common characteristics. Do not
judge someone based on attributes they cannot change such
as gender, age, skin color, or sexual orientation, nor
religious affiliation or ethnic rituals.2
In the church setting, being able to identify a
potential conflict is a skill that should be developed.
Pastors and church administrators should possess the said
skills. Even when conflicts are bound to happen, the
proper way in handling it will spell a difference between
having positive or negative results.
1Susan Smith Kuczmarski and Thomas D. Kuczmarski,
Values-Based Leadership: Rebuilding Employee Commitment, Performance, & Productivity (Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995), 255.
2Ibid., 256.
54
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