Lynn Buzzard was not yet out of Duke Divinity School when he faced his first political dilemma: the largest donor in his student pastorate quit giving. A third of the church's budget suddenly evaporated.
"My basic nature in those days was to run from conflict," he notes. "So I didn't say anything to the man; I just resented him and felt persecuted. I learned secondhand what the problems were: he found ...
At Willow Creek, we expect disagreement—forceful disagreement. Unity isn't the word we use to describe our relationships. The popular concept of unity is a fantasyland where disagreements never surface and contrary opinions are never stated with force.
Instead of unity, we use the word community.
We say, "Let's not pretend we never disagree. We're dealing with the lives of 17,000 people. The stakes ...
Six months into our church plant, the two most influential families had a fight. Nasty words were exchanged, battle lines drawn. Both sides began recruiting people to their cause. Something had to be done, but what? I held separate meetings with the two parties, but that just made things worse.
"Lord, help me," I prayed desperately. I set up another meeting with both families.
"Tension and conflict in multiple-staff churches are caused either by the ego of the staff member or the incompetent management of the senior pastor." I wish to expose that statement for what it is—a myth. Staff members are just not that rebellious nor senior pastors that incompetent. Assigning blame at either point misses the real issue in most cases and only perpetuates conflict.
Pastors have learned not to be discouraged the week after Christmas or the week after Easter. Those Sundays are traditionally the lowest in attendance. Coming as they do immediately after high points in the church year, the unprepared pastor sets himself up for despair if he doesn't recognize the pattern.
In the same way, pastors are better prepared for church conflict if they know when it's more likely ...
DEVOTIONS The Good Fight Four spiritual disciplines to keep fights from scarring your soul. Mark Buchanan
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Why are Christians so fractious? In 15 years as a pastor, I've seen a lot, and heard more: deacons in fisticuffs, screaming matches at business meetings, gossip-mongering that borders on lynching.
I know a church once teeming with 400 joyful members. In less than six months they dwindled to a few bedraggled survivors. Years later, they've still not recovered. The issue? A small faction wanted to push ...
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