Sooner or later, every small group will experience conflict. In some groups, conflict will become evident from the first meeting. In others, great pain is taken to avoid conflict. The members maneuver around it and make it clear that "we don't do conflict here." But the ways we behave ...
The bad news is that conflict is an inevitable part of any successful small group. The good news is that group conflict can be managed effectively by any group leader, and can even strengthen relationships within a group. With practical advice from experts like Joel Comiskey, Mark Bonham, and Teena M. Stewart, "Handling ...
Why we need to err on the side of love, not politics
Alan Danielson
I had no idea what I was in for when a former marine came into my office and asked me to mediate a conversation between himself and a man who attended his small group. The marine said this man was completely anti-war. You can already see where this is headed.
I met with them both to hear the story of how the subject of war came up in their group, and it turned into a full-blown political debate. Without ...
Practical guidelines for leading in a difficult situation
Betty Veldman-Wieland
Conflict is a normal part of small-group life. In fact, if we don't have conflict, someone is not being honest. People are just too different from one another to avoid it completely.
Personally, I do not like conflict. It makes me feel, well, conflicted! At the same time, I believe that understanding the nature of conflict and being prepared to deal with it as a small-group leader, coach, or staff ...
Because ignoring a problem is the worst thing you can do.
John Atkinson
If you lead a small group, sooner or later you will have to deal with conflict in it. Unfortunately, conflict is a surefire consequence of people really sharing life together. Why? Because you cannot bring together a room full of people from different cultural, social, economic, religious, and family backgrounds and expect them to always agree on every issue.
Successfully leading a small group is a difficult task all by itself. But that task can become nearly impossible when your group contains one or more challenging personalities—people who talk too little or too much, people with emotional problems, people who promote false theology, and so on. ...
Practical information that will help you prepare for that inevitable clash
Abigail Johnson
Depending on how conflict was dealt with in our families—and depending on our own conflict style—we may be more or less comfortable with this area of small-group life. Personally, I assume that conflict is a normal part of all human interactions. Nonetheless, some types of conflictive behavior are easier to deal with than others.
When interacting with my family, I prefer a forthright sharing ...
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