Tradition, Mediation and Church Disputes

So many church disputes are a result of folks forgetting the tried and true ways of doing things. A pastor leaves, a key member moves or passes away. In time, if  a church is not careful, it can slide into a way of doing things that doesn’t work very well. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that many churches can solve conflicts by simply returning to what worked in the past. Not in term of programming (that changes from generation to generation) but in terms of how things get done. Too often, work gets done by a select few while others, intentionally or not, get excluded from service.

In a conflict it is best to return to what once worked, and see if it could still work, or work again. then and only then should you look at major change. It could be that the wisdom that was passed down via constitution works just fine.That will save much effort in trying to “reinvent the wheel.” If it no longer works, however, then you are more likely to engage many church folks who are more traditional, because you tried the old solution. And if you try what once worked and now doesn’t, then you can explain that you tried the past solution, it didn’t work, and why.

When new solutions are needed, there should be a deliberate attempt to slow down, study things, and let overheated emotions cool. Brainstorming and testing a variety of solutions, not just jumping to a conclusion immediately, is key. Use groups that represent as many different viewpoints as possible: often a solution is found by combining several different approaches in new ways. Give the solutions time before discarding. A month or 3 months is not unreasonable for a test period. Many church folks will dislike a solution simply because it’s new.