When is the church more likely to experience conflict?

In the Bible, there is a clear teaching that one should plan carefully.  Some examples of this teaching are:

• "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed" (Prov 16:3, NIV).
• "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed" (Prov 15:22, NIV).
• "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty" (Prov 21:5, NIV).
•  "Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance" (Prov 20:18, NIV).

This last verse applies directly to the issue of conflict.  There are predictable times of conflict in the Church.  As a result, a wise leadership group should be aware of these times and plan ahead how to address the conflict which is invevitable.

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 judgement, 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.

In all, change is the common root cause of conflict in the Church.  Whether it is change in the people, traditions, goals, or community, change causes people to engage in conflict.  A well managed Church ought to have processes defined and in place to deal with conflict which is going to occur at some point.  Understanding this need, predicting when conflict is likely to occur, and discipling the membership in approaches to dealing with conflict should go a long way toward helping a Church work through conflict.
 

End Notes:

1. Wise, Dr. Terry. Managing Conflict. Trinity College and Seminary. Course tape 4.

Our Creator God loves you and wants you to know Him! If you would like to contact this ministry for further information or questions, please send your e-mail to:
Email: ministryrequest1@WordTruth.Com
Web Site: WordTruth.Com

Copyright 5/23/2001, Randy Lariscy.