Insights from in and around the association
UBA Voices
Is There Such a Thing as Good Conflict?
Consider whether you agree with the following two statements: “Churches need to innovate in order to reach their God-given potential.” “Conflict in a church is a sign that we’re doing something wrong.” Many church and ministry leaders would affirm both of these statements. Even if they don’t verbally agree, their behavior indicates they do. They will talk about starting new programs in order to be more effective. And they will be surprised and disappointed when they encounter resistance or conflict.
Building (and Rebuilding) Trust
In one season or another, every one of us has needed to either build or rebuild trust. The issue of trust is a human issue. Building it is crucial to every budding relationship, and rebuilding it is crucial to every damaged one. So, how do we build or rebuild trust? They didn't teach me math in seminary, but over the years, I have used this formula:
TRUST = (Truth + Transparency) * Time
Resolving Conflict God's Way
In Matthew 18:15–20, Jesus outlines a very clear and specific way for conflict to be addressed. This is based upon that fact that relationships between people are very important to God. Especially as leaders, we should have the maturity to follow Christ's powerful wisdom in this area. So, here are four steps involved in Jesus’s reconciliation process.
Sharing Spaces
I was in a meeting a couple of weeks ago with two churches wanting to share a building. The host church is almost 60 years old, and the church wanting to share their space was an immigrant congregation that is about 5 years old. It was a challenge to work out the details across cultural worldviews and language barriers.
Little Jordans that Divide
What are the little things we let divide the church? As small differences carve deeper divides in the church, we must be careful not to turn our eyes and weapons against our brothers as the Israelites were tempted to do. We must fight not to look at those who have been in the trench with us and wonder if they, too, are just a little too dangerously different.
How to Love When You Don't Know How
All of us have someone in our lives that we really don’t know how to love—or at least we don’t know how to love them well. Maybe, it’s just someone you can’t love all the time. Both Scripture and modern research show us that loving relationships are key. But what does that look like?
Creating a Container for Conversation
“We need to talk.” That simple sentence can spark fear and trembling, especially when there’s disagreement. We know conversation is a path forward but we also fear it may be unproductive and difficult. When we create a container for overheated conversations, we can talk things out without hurting ourselves or anyone else. We can make progress toward mutual understanding and decision-making.