More Than a Nonanxious Presence
When I came to my first local church appointment in California from the East Coast, about the only thing I had been told about the…
Browsing: Conflict
Articles
Your Leadership Attitude is Contagious
A co-worker arrived at the door of my office waving an angry email from one of our most talented adult education teachers. The teacher was…
Why I Don’t Engage Unhappy Church Members by Email
One thing I do not do anymore is engage unhappy parishioners by email or respond to them if they write to me. You know what…
Determine On What Hills You Are Willing To Die
As a much younger leader, I wanted to fight about everything. Growing in this particular understanding may be more a factor of aging and maturing.…
The Promise and Peril of Conflict
A compelling example of leaders turning conflict into opportunity for structural and cultural change is found in the first seven verses of Acts 6. The…
Promise and Peril: Understanding and Managing Change and Conflict in Congregations
In Promise and Peril (Alban, 2009), David Brubaker tackles the conundrum churches face: Change usually leads to conflict, but change is required to make progress.…
Communication Strategies for Addressing Conflict
Whenever I work with churches that are experiencing serious conflict, especially those that have reached the point of impasse, communication issues commonly emerge. Regularly, parishioners…
Eight Strategies for Managing Conflict
In her book Getting to Amen: Eight Strategies for Managing Conflict in the African American Church, Lora-Ellen McKinney summarizes key strategies for managing conflict in…
Speaking the Truth in Love to a Longtime Member
During my third year as pastor of the Austin Church in north-central Pennsylvania, I faced a leadership crisis that threatened the effectiveness of my ministry…
Leading in a Wounded Church
One of the most important challenges of the church in our times is the specialized ministry necessary in a congregation after trust has been broken.…
Congregational Leadership in Difficult Times
What would your congregation’s worship service look like next Sunday if your sanctuary burned to the ground tomorrow, if a beloved pastor announced that he…
10 Tips for Handling Criticism in Ministry
Margaret Marcuson says that criticism and complaints are an issue in almost every area of ministry. She outlines ten strategies for handling complaints and criticism…
When Church People Swarm
Margaret Marcuson says that when anxiety is high, church people often function reactively rather than thoughtfully, and band together like locusts. As a young seminarian,…
Leaders Stay Connected
Margaret Marcuson discusses the tension between individuality and togetherness for church leaders using the metaphor of a string quartet. Leaders straddle the tension between togetherness…
Working with a Volunteer Treasurer
A pastor in her first year at a congregation tells of a lesson learned the hard way in working with a volunteer treasurer. Last fall…
Orchestrating Conflict
A pastor talks about practicing leadership theory learned from reading Leadership on the Line by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky, who advocate the role…