In the Bible, there is a clear teaching that one should plan carefully.
Some examples of this teaching are:
Dr. Terry Wise presents a list of ten predictable times of conflict
citing the work of Davis, Dobson, and Leas in “Mastering Conflict and Controversy.”1
These ten time are each listed and discussed below.
1) Easter: How unfortunate that at the very time
of the year in which the Church should reach its pinnacle of celebration
it experiences conflict! Many possible reasons for this could be
postulated. This time of year is at a logical end of mainline church
activities and programs. Summertime activities causes a general decline
of attendance in the congregation. This makes it difficult to administer
programs, conduct classes, or begin ministries in the community.
The pressure to complete the activities, decisions, and plans for the Church
then increases during the Easter season. Also, the typical church
fellowship undertakes many programs related to the celebration of the resurrection
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The strain on resources during this time
may be the cause of much conflict. In any event, the Easter season
is noted for conflict in many churches so the pastor and leadership need
to plan accordingly.
2) Stewardship Campaigns: Conflict erupts in most every
stewardship campaign or building program such as “Together We Build (TWB)”
or “Share the Vision (STV).” The basic issues in such campaigns relate
to the goals of the ministry. People are uncomfortable as a rule
whenever money is involved in a matter. But in the case of a TWB
or STV program, the congregation must have a consensus on why the program
is necessary and what the result of it should be. In one church,
the issue became whether existing facilities should be expanded or a new
church should be planted. People with passionate convictions on both
sides were unable to agree. Many left the church when the decision
was announced to expand existing facilities with a new building.
Nothing tests the commitment of a congregation to a ministry goal or direction
like asking them to contribute their own money to the cause.
3) New Staff: Conflict is multi-faceted when the staff changes
at a church. The ministry team consisting of the Pastor and paid
staff members must accept and assimilate a new team member. This
is difficult because of the deep bonding which takes place among believers
due to the common Spirit who lives and works in us. It becomes difficult
to begin anew a relationship with an “outsider.” The church membership
must also get used to the new staff member. Lay leaders in the church,
who in the interim may have had access to the Pastor, must now route requests
and plans through an intermediary. This naturally causes conflict
between the “new” guy and the “old” member. The congregation at large
must learn to respond to the leadership of the new staff member.
This can cause conflict as members receive support and ministering of a
potentially different nature than they experienced previously.
4) Change of Leadership Style (New Pastor): A Pastor by
definition is the shepherd of a local fellowship of believers. People
do not naturally follow a leader. “Followership” is a trait that
must be learned over time. A Pastor develops trust and then commitment
to his role and authority level in the Church. Disrupting this relationship
with a new Pastor causes conflict as the congregation must again learn
“followership.” An older Pastor’s comforting, gracious style may
be replaced with a young, aggressive Pastor whose style rubs people the
wrong way. Dr. Wise points out that a cycle of conflict develops
when choosing a Pastor -- First the young Pastor with evangelistic zeal
starts out followed by a desire for a more seasoned Pastor to guide the
larger flock. As complacency sets in, the congregation desires a
younger, more dynamic Pastor to liven things up. Later on, enough
feathers have been ruffled that an older Pastor is sought. In all,
any change of leadership is hard to manage successfully. The role
of Pastor is so vital and so critical to a Church that it naturally leads
to conflict among the membership.
5) The Pastor’s Vacation: Apparently, when the cat’s away,
the mice measure and judge the performance of the cat. Sometime,
the congregation decides to choose a new Pastor while he and his family
are away. Or the congregation may decide to tackle some difficult
issues on which the pastor disagreed with the general consensus.
If any of these situations occur during the Pastor’s vacation, then conflict
is inevitable.
6) Changes in the Pastor’s Family: As a Pastor’s family
grows, it creates a burden on the Pastor’s time and money. This burden
naturally spills over to the church fellowship who supports him.
Also, as the Pastor’s children grow older, the problems they experience
grow larger and more complex. Since the Pastor and his family are
in a “fishbowl” -- subjected to constant public scrutiny -- they must endure
harsh judgment, endless advice, and potentially devastating gossip about
their problems. A Pastor’s aging parents can also create conflict
in the Church as it impacts his ability to effectively carry out all the
duties inherent in the role of pastor. These family changes, for
the most part, can be anticipated by a church fellowship when calling a
new pastor. They are likewise predictable, in most cases, for an
existing Pastor or minister on staff.
7) Introduction of Baby Boomers Into the Church: “Baby Boomers”
bring a new dimension in ministry to the Church. Their demands for
a businesslike approach to all activities, consistently exciting worship
services, and freedom from commitment to anything that impact their leisure
pursuits simply breed conflict with older, established members. On
the one hand, a Pastor may see the need to make changes to a worship service
to attract and accommodate the baby-boomers. But in trying to incorporate
those changes, he eventually incenses the existing membership. If
efforts to evangelize the baby-boomers are successful, their sheer numbers
may cause a change in the power structure of the Church, leading to conflict.
The concerns, goals, and styles of the baby-boomer generation seem to clash
substantially with their predecessors.
8) Completion of a New Building: Why would the completion
of a new building be a time of conflict for the Church? Often, it
means a church fellowship is now saddled with an enormous debt because
the Church chose to build on credit. The resulting debt payments
require existing membership to bear the burden financially, resulting in
conflict. Or the congregation must step up to evangelism as a means
to attract newcomers into the fellowship, also causing conflict.
Completion of the facility means the membership must contribute the resources
-- be it time, money, or skills -- necessary to utilize it to maximum potential.
This requirement contributes to the development conflict among the membership
and between the leadership and membership.
9) Increase in Church Membership: Changing the mix of players
on any team creates conflict. This is even more applicable when the
“team” is a church congregation. Increasing membership is usually
viewed as a favorable thing; some congregations, though, experience conflict
at the mere thought of expanding. The members feel very comfortable
with one another and do not wish to open their circle of friendship.
But overall, most congregation want to grow. Conflict goes hand-in-hand
with growth as the facilities strain to accommodate increasing attendance,
members are increasingly called to help in various ministry roles, power
structures within the Church shift, and previously shared visions begin
to blur. While it is impossible to predict when a Church will begin
growing, it is possible to spot a trend of growth as it happens.
At this point, the leadership should realize and plan for dealing with
the conflict that is about to begin.
10) Loss of Membership: Similar to the impact of increasing
membership, a loss of members can be a time of conflict. The mix
of people within the Church changes causing conflict. Roles and positions
in the Church which used to be carried out are left undone because individuals
are gone. This creates quite a bit of frustration as the congregation
struggles to compensate with ever shrinking resources. Membership
losses also mean financial losses. A taken-for-granted cash flow
suddenly becomes a sore subject for the Pastor and his staff. Staff
positions may have to be cut, causing still more conflict. Like increasing
membership, declining membership is difficult to predict but can be spotted
as a trend. At this point, leadership should take steps to (a) plan
for downsizing that may become necessary and (b) initiate changes to reverse
the trend and begin increasing membership.
