Thursday, May 09, 2013

Conflict in Small Groups



Work through conflict to experience spiritual growth.

Conflict is a necessary part of community, and yet we hate it and avoid it as much as possible. But without conflict, life never develops—we never develop. Consider any movie. There is always conflict. Without it, the characters would never change, and we wouldn't care about them.

More than being afraid of conflict, we're afraid of ugly conflict. But conflict doesn't have to be mean or ugly. Conflict is merely any anxious situation that begs to be resolved. Without it, we never move or progress, and nothing ever gets better. Problems are never identified as problems. Grace, growth, development, ministry, and forgiveness never occur.

There will be conflict in our small groups. People will disagree. People will get on each other's nerves. People will be immature and selfish and sinful. But don't let it stop there. You need to work through the conflict in order to come out better on the other end. Things need to be called out and identified. Truth needs to be spoken. Love needs to be extended. Read more

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