HOW TO HANDLE DISAGREEMENTS IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
PART FIVE
James 3:17 gives us the elements of godly wisdom which are to be inserted and brought
into play in the posture of conciliatory agreeable.
❒ PURE - Godly wisdom is sincere and has moral and spiritual integrity.
❒ PEACEABLE - The WISDOM FROM ABOVE desires conciliation (unity of thought and feeling) to be achieved via the 2 lane avenue of sacrificial love (agage) and equity (justice and
fairness)
❒ GENTLE - The WISDOM FROM ABOVE contains “sweet reasonableness” - fair, generous and considerate.
❒ REASONABLE - It yields to persuasion - it listens to reason and intensely desires to be righteous at all course.
❒ FULL OF MERCY - The WISDOM FROM ABOVE is and willing, and even anxious, to forgive, good fruits - It is aggressively good in its witless for Christ.
❒ UNWAVERING - Godly wisdom is single -minded and steadfast in its desire to always please God.
❒ WITHOUT HYPOCRISY - The WISDOM FROM ABOVE is untainted by phoniness or pretense.
AN CONNECTED THOUGHT
✉ The pastor/teacher who consistently seeks conciliation (unity of thought and feelings) and not compromise, by allowing the wisdom and fruit of the Spirit to have access to others through Him will be the instrument for an ever-growing unity in his fellow-leaders and in his flock.
5 ARE THERE SOME PERSPECTIVES, PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICES BY THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP WHICH CAN LESSEN FRICTION AND THE POTENTIAL
FOR FRACTURE?
1B BY FOCUSING ON ISSUES AND THEIR BIBLICAL IMPLICATION RATHER THAN ON PERSONALITIES.
2B BY REMEMBERING THAT NEGATIVES DO NOT ERASE NEGATIVES, ONLY POSITIVES ERASE NEGATIVES
✉ that is, criticism and fault-finding does not reduce or remove friction, but praise and positive reinforcement, correctly and appropriately applied, can reduce and eliminate friction. The confronting of stubbornness, rebelliousness, poor judgment and sinful behavior needs to occur, but when it’s really just a case of different perspectives or purposes, or incomplete information it needs to be dealt with by a sincere desire to understand the other’s viewpoint and even possible discover alternative other than the two that may be in confrontation.
3B BY KEEPING A JAMES 1:2-5 PERSPECTIVE THROUGH EVERY CONFLICT
4B BY MAINTAINING A FOCUS ON SUCCESSFUL MINISTRIES AND RELATIONSHIPS.
▲ Don’t let the friction take you away from the care and nurture of the productive ministries. ACCENTUATE the POSITIVE.
5B BY KNOWING THE HISTORY OF CONFLICTS.
▲ Like feuds, sometimes the real reason for peoples friction may have been long lost and forgotten and the friction is simply habitual.
6B BY REALIZING THAT EVERYONE INVOLVED HAS CONTRIBUTED SOMETHING TO THE PROBLEM.
▲ Seldom, if ever, is there real or total innocence, and everyone involved can contribute something to its solution if they really want to. (It is generally accurate to interpret “I CAN’T to “I WON’T.”)
7B BY HIGHLIGHTING THE RELEVANCY OF THE AREA OF FRICTION TO THE OVERALL THRUST AND PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH and CONSISTENTLY CLARIFYING EXPECTATIONS AND GOLDS SO THAT VARIOUS PERCEPTIONS CAN HAVE AN ORIENTATION POINT:
8B BY CONSISTENTLY SETTING SHORT AND LONG TERM GOALS THAT PEOPLE CAN BE DELIGHTED ABOUT and which can motivate both serving and giving.
▲ People need exciting and reachable goals consistently cast before them. (Caution: Do not leave unfinished goals scattered in the past, however.) Christians need to focus on finish lines instead of hurdles) Phil 3:14.
9B BY LAMENTING (crying: I don’t do that often) FOR THOSE WHO ARE DRIVEN AWAY BY FRICTION
▼ Carefully avoid the “good riddance” attitude” “Where is the back door.” attitude. “Do not let kindness and truth leave you,” Proverbs 3:3a)
Drafted By Charles E. Whisnant
