A few years ago, I surveyed a group of twenty-five successful, veteran pastors who were leading a variety of healthy churches. I asked a few simple questions. One of the questions was, “Please list the three things you did not learn in seminary, but wish you had.” I was surprised that there was one response given by all of them: Learning to resolve conflict effectively.
Most pastors leave a church because of unresolved conflict. One seasoned church consultant told me that he discovered that, regardless of the size of the church, once a pastor has seven cases of unresolved conflict, the stress of the pastorate increases to the level that he feels the need to leave.
Biblical pastoral leadership requires getting along with others and helping others get along with each other. Effective pastoral leadership is often about resolving conflict and making peace. Keep reading
Also see
Matt Smethurst: When Staff and Lay Elders Collide
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