By John Radford

We all have that thought, “I’m sure I’ve been down this track before!” I’ve pieced together a scenario that I have come across a number of times, the details will vary from one church to another but the essence of the problem remains the same. Perhaps it might even sound familiar to you?

A church gets referred to me because they have experienced destructive conflict among their board members. When I meet with the board they describe the following situation.  After a rigorous and lengthy search process they appointed a new senior pastor two years previously.  Things went reasonably well for the first fifteen months and then three members of the seven person Board, which included the pastor as a non-voting member, began to voice their doubts about the senior pastors “fit” with their church.  He was not the most dynamic preacher but they all acknowledged he gave clear and relevant Word-based sermons. They felt that he was being negatively influenced by some of the more powerful members of the church who would initiate change informally rather than doing things through the proper church structures and procedures. They also felt uncomfortable with the direction in which their new pastor was moving the worship component of the Sunday services. There was a sense that he had not integrated into the church community and was not sufficiently in touch with the “real” issues in the congregation.

The pastor felt that he had not been accepted by all the board members. Two of them in particular were bent on trying to get him to be someone that was not him and from previous bad experience he was not prepared to go down that track.  In his words; “If I can’t be myself then maybe I’m not the man for the job!” Based on this statement and given the fact that the church had not experienced the growth envisaged under the senior pastor’s leadership, a motion had been put before the board that the senior pastor be asked to resign his position. The board was split on this proposal and they also agreed that this issue had the potential to split the church.  At my first meeting with them it was established that this was their third senior pastor in the last twelve years.

Let’s assume that the pastor did in fact resign and there is a call for a transitional leader.  Church transitions often have conflict as their foundation.  Using this scenario I want to explore a few aspects of conflict that are worth considering from the perspective of the transitional leader.

Conflict is a sign of both dysfunctional and healthy relationships. Although much church-based conflict is destructive, some conflict is necessary for a healthily functioning community. There is an enduring view that the absence of conflict is a sign of a healthy church.  Quite the opposite is true.  When a community is vibrant one of the key indicators of effective relationships is the presence of constructive conflict.

Examine the Gospels from the perspective of the disciples and ask yourself, in that first Christian church, did individuals experience more or less conflict in their lives than before they committed to follow Jesus?

Remember conflict is valuable for you as a transitional pastor in that it provides you with an invaluable window into the dynamics of the church’s relationships. Even when a conflict appears dysfunctional, do not assume it is negative for everyone.  In fact at some level someone will benefit from an enduring conflict. We will only know what function conflict is fulfilling when we stop to look beyond the present battles. In the church scenario presented, an exploration revealed that the conflict in which the present pastor found himself had played out with two of his predecessors in a very similar way.  Over a twelve year period, even though the pastors changed, the pattern of the conflict remained constant. This was enough of a signal for me to explore beyond the pastor-board conflict to examine the larger church community dynamic.

Significant conflict in any community has a history and a pattern.  So by exploring beyond the present battles we will discover the relationship patterns that drive the conflict.  In our church case I  enabled the board to realize that the problem they were dealing with neither began nor ended with the present senior pastor.  He was part of the problem, but as it turned out, not the most significant part. The key issue had to do with three of the board members’ fear for the church and their need to assume control. Although never intentionally planned, the control of the pastors over the years had  became part of a dysfunctional pattern.

Significant conflict in the church system will find you. In your role as transitional pastor you will not need to go in search of the significant conflict, it will come to you.  As you enter the dynamics of the relationships of your church in transition you will experience the systemic conflict that forms both the health and sickness of that community.  Once discovered, the opportunity exists to change the unhealthy patterns and not just fix the present problem.  By looking for the patterns behind the events you have a chance of building and renewing relationships for a healthy, supportive community.  You will help the community to understand how they “do” conflict and leave them better equipped to embrace the conflict that God requires of them for the Church, His bride.

Does the church leadership model autonomy or community.  Van Yperen (2002) makes a carefully argued case that much of the dysfunctional conflict in our churches is the result of the prevailing western ideology of individualism. This results in conflict over individual rights and purposes versus those of the community. He contends that one of the consequences of this conflict is that most leaders model autonomy, not community.   As interim pastor you will begin to discover the leadership model that has predominated in your church by, amongst other things, the expectations for you to join or distance yourself from the community.  Do you begin to experience community that is “agape” (other) focused, or “eros” (self) focused?

Gain perspective, seek God.  It is possible for transitional leaders to get weighed down, even caught up, in the emotionally laden details of the conflict. The challenge is to stand back and view the system as a whole, while at the same time staying connected in a real way with the church community. My experience of developing peace facilitators in South Africa, who as a matter of personal survival needed to be able to stand back from the conflict in which they were working, led me to develop a technique called Relationship Mapping.  Facilitators “map” the conflict system of which they are a part and determine their position within it. Further, having someone outside of the church system who you can use as a “process sounding board” is essential for the transitional pastor. Even more important is prayer. It provides opportunity to gain God’s perspective if we are prepared to listen for his direction and prompting.

In conclusion let me share with you my personal guiding scripture which reminds me of my purpose in conflict. My prayer is that it will inspire you.

"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character: and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5:2-5)

Biography:

John Radford: Ph.D. (Psychology)
Coach for Transpectives
www.transpectives.com