The hurts of people often spill over into the life of the congregation causing conflict. Your chair of finance is going through a nasty divorce and is mad at God. The mother of one of your Sunday School teachers is chronically ill. A major factory in your community has relocated, taking with it many of your church members’ jobs. Some losses in your own life remain painful and unresolved. And you wonder why the church council meetings are so rancorous and your church is mired in unproductive conflict. What do you do? How should you lead? According to Lyon and Moseley, conflict is often about ungrieved loss. When conflict occurs, pastors and other church leaders must know how to be present in the dynamics of grieving loss, encouraging space for a new thing to emerge. With rich and helpful illustrations, this book reveals how leaders can understand group-wide dynamics of conflict, ground their leadership in the liturgical meanings and rhythms of church life, and accompany congregations through potentially destructive realities toward the creative possibilities that conflict can bring.

Is your church facing a period of change? Are you overwhelmed with too much to do? Or are you searching for a new vision? If you are looking to take your church in a new direction, then How to Develop Your Local Church can help you decide which path to follow. Written by an experienced practitioner, it will help you to understand your congregation better: how it operates, what its members take for granted, what their priorities are and what the 'character' of the congregation is. The book then explains some of the reasons for frustration and conflict in church life, and points to positive ways forward, giving guidance on planning and decision-making. Just as no two churches are the same, there is no 'one-size-fits-all' answer to how your church might develop. Rather, it is only by drawing upon the collective wisdom of the local congregation that worthwhile change will begin to happen.

You Don’t Have to Dread Conflict Every church will experience conflict at some point. But it doesn’t have to destroy you. In fact, conflict can be an incredible opportunity, if you know how to seize it. Unfortunately, very few churches use the opportunity well, but your church can. Michael Hare, PhD, has been helping churches recover (and even grow) from conflict for over 20 years, and now he can help you too. Learn: how to recognize healthy and unhealthy conflicts what the five levels of conflict are and why they matter how to design an action plan that will succeed how to prevent unhealthy conflict before it begins With copious case studies and practical tools, you’ll find it’s surprisingly manageable to develop these new skills. Learn to lead confidently in the face of conflict and invest in your church’s future today. PLUS! Additional Resources in the back include: Conflict management Style Survey Conflict Assessment Tools Interview Questions for Assessing Conflict and more! "I enthusiastically endorse this book and welcome it as a valuable addition to the growing stable of peacemaking resources!" KEN SANDE Author of the Peacemaker and Founder of Peacemaker Ministries and Relational Wisdom 360 "Few things break God’s heart more, and cause the hosts of hell to rejoice more, than conflict among His followers. My friend Mike Hare is well-qualified to prepare church leaders with practical intervention strategies (brought to life by case stories) that enable us to anticipate, analyze, and resolve conflict, moving step-by-step through processes that result in unity and blessing." DR. WESS STAFFORD President Emeritus, Compassion International Author of Too Small to Ignore and Just a Minute

This extensively researched empirical analysis of the GDR in the years 1971-1989 challenges current historical interpretations of GDR history. It focuses on four social groups - youth, women, writers and Christians - to highlight the stability of this socialist society until 1987. The strength of the regime is shown to have been based on a continuously negotiated process of give-and-take involving major parts of the population.

First Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Should the pulpit be used as a place to address issues of congressional conflict? After first examining the nature of conflict within human groups, William H. Willimon discusses how to prepare sermons on controversial subjects, suggesting ways to use the biblical text to examine divisive issues. He comments on the importance of style and delivery tone when dealing with difficult topics.

Spiritual Tensions is a 2-part workbook for emerging leaders. Living In The Tensions will help disciples learn how to navigate the tensions in the spiritual life while Tensions Within Christianity focuses on issues that sometimes cause conflict among Christians. Here’s what you will find inside: Living In The Tensions - The Eternal Versus The Temporal - Developing Realistic Expectations - The Problem Of Sin - Sorting Out Good And Bad - The Spiritual Battle Tensions within Christianity - Defining Success In The Church - Avoiding Extremes In Theology - Avoiding Extremes In Practice - Different Denominations - Racism - Ministering To The Wounded And/Or Rejected

A bestseller that offers an intimate insight into Fidel Castro, the man behind the beard! · This historic encounter between religion and revolution paved the way for Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Cuba in 1999 and the rule change in the Cuban Communist Party (1992) accepting as members those practicing their religious faith ·