Are You Ready to Rumble?

Introduction:

Finish this statement: Where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name… there are bound to be 4 or 5 opinions.

Churches, are not immune to conflict.

I heard about a Youth Pastor who was having a difficult time at a church. People where accusing him of all kinds of things which threatened his ability to keep his job as youth pastor. Some of what he was accused of what indeed true but like always when people are upset the facts were stretched and those who were upset began to dig. In the end the poor man lost his Job and his wife and children had to change churches and were forced to start over.

A year earlier. The senior Pastor of that church had gone on a retreat with the youth pastor. Both pastors like to drink coffee and this was one of their shared passion which they bonded over. The cup said on it San Antonio! The Alamo city was where the retreat had been healed. At that retreat the Senior Pastor bought the Youth pastor a coffee cup!

After the youth pastor had been fired the senior pastor went into the youth pastors empty office discouraged that things had not worked out. He was sad that he was now the only pastor at the church and wished he could talk to the man who used to sit behind the desk in this empty office. That is when the senior pastor noticed a San Antonio coffee cup setting on top of a cassette tape on his desk. He was hurt to see that the youth pastor had given back the cup he had bought him on the special trip together. He leaned in close to see what the tape said. The title of the tape read, “When your senior pastor stabs you in the back”.

The church at the highest levels can experience conflict.

But we are not blind because Jesus gives us a method for conflict resolution.

Look at verse 15 the word brother is used. Why because when we have conflict in the church we sometimes forget that we are family. We are brothers.

You might say well pastor I have never had conflict in my family.

Yah right lol. The fact that the church is a family is one of the very reason that we do have conflict.

listen to this because this is how Jesus wants us to solve conflict in the church.

4 Steps to Resolving Conflict Jesus Way.

individual sports vs team sports

When you have conflict with someone. Treat it like an individual sport. Make it a 1 v 1 thing not your team vs my team.

Can I Get a Witness

this is why you don’t bring a charge against an elder without 2 or 3 witnesses.

Family Meeting

family vacation are fun but family meetings are not so fun.

We should try and avoid these. Sometime more bad than good can come from them.

4 ways test. Is a tool we could use to prevent this.

Excommunication

Excommunication is not killing or hurting people it is just removing them from fellowship by viewing them as someone you cannot trust.

Resolve the opening story about Wes:

When we do conflict resolution Jesus way He promises us the power and privilege of His presents.