LCMC to Offer Congregational Conflict Team Training
Has your congregation experienced conflict recently? Are you prepared for a conflict that might arise during the upcoming months or years?
We invite all LCMC pastors, congregational leaders, and interested congregation members to a new online Zoom “Congregational Conflict Team” training on Saturday, October 9 or Saturday, October 23, from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. CDT.
We encourage congregations across the association to identify members who are interested in learning the basic steps of Biblically-based conflict resolution and attend one of the these online trainings.
The training will consist of understanding conflict from a systems perspective, learning to identify sources of anxiety in congregational conflict, and developing skills in the conflict resolution process.
Conflict that disrupts mission affects up to 40% of congregations at any point in time. All congregations experience conflict at some level. The question is how we deal with it.
Often times pastors or church council leadership will “power up” attempting to exert their influence to solve a problem. Others will capitulate, run from conflict, and deny or ignore its existence. This rarely works, but causes the conflict to go underground and resurface at a later time in more dramatic ways.
Unresolved conflict results in a myriad of people leaving churches every year. Congregations become unproductive, discouraged and drained of energy, and live in despair when we avoid conflict and become hopeless to remedy it.
But there is good news! God has given us his Word and tools to resolve conflict that can restore hope and bring reconciliation and forgiveness.
Congregational conflict teams will be trained to see the larger picture of a system at work instead of the usual blame game that results in most conflicts. Conflict teams will become skilled at helping conflicted parties in your congregation identify resolutions that are mutually satisfactory to all parties involved in a conflict. Conflict teams will be trained to help participants see each other as humans – God created and redeemed – in order to gain a heart of peace towards one another and seek solutions together that can bring help and hope.
For more information or if you would be interested in having a group from your church participate in Congregational Conflict Team Training, contact Perry Fruhling, LCMC Coordinator for Pastoral Ministry, at perry@lcmc.net.
As we continue to learn about anxiety and its effect on the life of the church, we thank God for the opportunity to walk together to grow in bringing hope to struggling congregations.
Conflict Resolution Workshop Video Available
Congregations who are interested in viewing the LCMC Conflict Resolution Workshop video recorded by LCMC Coordinator for Pastoral Ministry Perry Fruhling, may email Perry (perry@lcmc.net) for a link to the video along with the workshop workbook.
Congregational councils, small groups, or newly forming conflict resolution teams may have interest in forming a study around the video presentations.
The video was recorded at Richland Lutheran Church, Richland, WA, in February, 2020, and is a great opportunity to learn the basic concepts of anxiety in congregations and how to resolve conflict between two individuals or parties of people in a Biblically-based process.
Pastor Fruhling is also still available to do in person Conflict Resolution Workshops in your congregation. Simply contact him for more information and to schedule the event.
Author
Perry Fruhling is a family man, a Cubs fan, rarely tan (burns easily), and recently began (running out of rhymes here!) his work with LCMC as Coordinator for Pastoral Ministry. He loves meeting people and is enjoying getting to know LCMC pastors, leaders, and congregation members in the call process and working with seminarians and pastors in the certification process. He also hopes to partner with churches and leaders around conflict resolution. He enjoys humor and the old cartoon series Scooby Doo where something has gone awry in the world and it’s up to “those meddling kids” to solve the mystery. Although Perry loves a bumper sticker he once saw, “What Would Scooby Doo?”, Perry believes it’s all about what we as God’s people do together through the Holy Spirit’s power to strengthen our churches for witness in the kingdom of Christ. Jinkies, I guess we’re off to solve another mystery. Like, wow!
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