Today I am writing primarily for pastors on the topic of conflict resolution within the church.
Regrettably, no church is free from relational conflicts (not even the New Testament church). Given the presence of indwelling sin, wise pastors will both expect relational conflict and prepare their churches for it. And history has shown that pastors who fail to prepare for conflict will experience serious consequences when it arises.
Ken Sande can help.
Ken has served pastors by helping them prepare for conflict, and by helping them grow in godliness and glorify God in the midst of conflict. I have recommended his book The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict to many pastors over the years. And you may have noticed that in my two-part interview with Ken (here and here), he briefly mentioned a new DVD-based group study from Peacemaker Ministries designed for leadership teams called The Leadership Opportunity. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you more about this resource.
The Leadership Opportunity: Living Out the Gospel Where Conflict and Leadership Intersect arrived on my desk in a large box that included:
• 14 teaching sessions on four DVDs,
• a 152-page study guide,
• the devotional book While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks by Tim Laniak,
• a leader’s guide,
• a supplemental materials binder that contains model forms and other documents,
• a Peacemaking Principles pamphlet,
• and a Quick Start Guide to jump into the study.
I was so impressed by the content that I had copies of the study purchased and mailed to every senior pastor in Sovereign Grace Ministries.
You can learn more about the series here. What follows are two videos. One provides an introduction to the series by Tim Pollard, a Vice President at Peacemaker Ministries. The second contains the entirety of the first session by Ken Sande. These videos can help you determine if the study is suited for you and your pastoral team.
Trailer/Introduction by Tim Pollard (14 minutes)
The Leadership Opportunity from Peacemaker Ministries on Vimeo.
True Leaders Must Be Peacemakers: Learning to Prevent and Fight the Fires of Conflict by Ken Sande (32 minutes)
The Leadership Opportunity Session 1 from Peacemaker Ministries on Vimeo.