Week 8: Theology of Conflict

One of the greatest misunderstanding about conflict that I believe exists in the church today is that conflict is sin. I think there is a large portion of people within our churches who have begun to equate conflict with sin. We avoid conflict as if it isn't supposed to exist. We have a hard time realizing that conflict is a part of our fallen world and that it is an expression of the diversity that God has created. No we should never let conflict spill over into anger, bitterness, slander, gossip, or any other sin issue, but we as a church need to understand that we will deal with conflict and having conflict itself is not sin.

1. Conflict Exists
When dealing with interpersonal conflict it is important to always recognize that it is a part of our world and our churches and it is not something that should be avoided. Christ never avoided conflict with his disciples or any other person who was doing something contrary to what he preached. This is true for those of us in the church today. We need to recognize conflict and not avoid it.

2. Love in Conflict
All conflict should be approached with the heart and mind of Christ. Regardless of what the conflict is over, we should never approach someone with a personal vendetta or with anger. As followers of Christ it is critical that we are focused on love and unity. That is what Christ desires of us and that is what we should strive for in our interpersonal relationships. No, we won't always agree with the decisions and opinions of people, but that does not mean that we should forget about what Christ has showed us about how to treat one another.

3. Recognizing Sin
In conflict its important to recognize sin. The unfortunate thing is that conflict in the church can sometime be a result of a sin issue or can lead to a sin issue. Recognizing what sin is from a Biblical perspective is critical to making sure that we know how to approach conflict. Once we are able to recognize sin that will enable us to intentionally and effectively confront a brother or sister in Christ.

4. Discipline
At times it may be possible that conflict will lead to the church having to discipline a member. Remember that discipline is not punishment or a means of hurting someone, but it is a lesson and teaching moment for the person who is struggling. At all times we should remember our love for this person and that our actions need to line up with who we represent.

5. Restoration and Redemption
Conflict needs to have an end. Regardless of whether or not you ever come to a consensus about the particular topic, you need to agree to focus on things we have in common rather than our differences. There are so many things that are so much more important than the petty things that we sometimes get in conflict over. We also need to recognize that discipline is not the end when our conflict does lead to this action. We must be willing to restore and redeem our brothers and sisters in Christ to the church.