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| We're all brothers, right? |
As a Christian leader, we often have
to deal with security issues, conflict and sometimes belligerence within the
church. As a church does serious
outreach and attempts to connect with cultures outside of the church culture,
there are often more opportunities for conflict and more possibilities that
violence might erupt in or against the church.
Our first impulse is to
protect and defend the church community, and this impulse is good. We all want to do our best to protect God’s
people and we all hate to see violence in a house of God. When these issues come to the forefront, we
often find that we're unprepared to deal with the conflict, belligerence or
violence, not only because we've rarely had to deal with it, but because we've
never really thought about such events happening within a church. However, churches need to think about these
issues now, the more so as anti-Christian sentiment rises.
It is important for us to
consider what we would do as church leaders if belligerence or violence occurs
in our church, how we can best prevent such situations from occurring, how to
de-escalate such situations and what is the best way to deal with these
situations as followers of Jesus.
I. The Foundation of Dealing With Conflict
There are three passages that can offer us a foundation, as leaders, for
our dealing with the conflict of those
whom we have in our churches as guests.
These ancient texts—two from Jesus and one from Paul—can help us learn
how to deal with conflict as followers of Jesus, rather than in the everyday
manner.
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| Letting another succeed |
1. A Different Kind of Leadership
And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and
those who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors.' But it is not this way with you, but the one
who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader
like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the
one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you
as the one who serves." Luke 22:25-27
First of all, our leadership style is to be like Jesus’ and not like the
world around us. The world focuses on
security or on how leadership can benefit oneself. Jesus says that imitating Him in leadership
means that we are always looking to the benefit of those whom we are
leading. A leader is not meant to just
prevent anxiety in themselves or others, but to primarily act for the good of
those whom they lead. If Jesus is our
servant, willing to accept any humiliation so that we can obtain all the
benefits He has to give, even so are we, as church leaders, supposed to allow
ourselves to be humiliated, even hurt for the sake of others, as long as it is
for their benefit.
This is a difficult concept to accept for oneself, but it is the basis of
Christian leadership. Not to do things
for one’s own sake, but to sacrifice all for the sake of the other.
2. Benefiting Those Who Hurt Us
"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who
hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the
other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from
him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is
yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat
you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even
sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those
from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend
to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and
do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great,
and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and
evil men. Be merciful, just as your
Father is merciful." Luke 6:27-36
Again, in general, dealing with those who harm us, we must act like God and
His Son Jesus. An “enemy” is not one
whom we declare to be enemies, but those who do us harm, for whatever
reason. Jesus is saying that instead of
giving harm back to those who harm us, we are to love. Love, simply stated, is acting for the
benefit of those in need. So when
someone harms us, we are to look at them as someone in need. Someone who is deficient in some way. Someone who could use our help. The question is, what is the best way that we
can benefit a person who has done us harm?
Jesus then associates
this one characteristic—benefiting those who do us harm—with God’s behavior
that we should imitate. And He
associates it with a basic characteristic of the Christian life, Love. If all
people love, then what greater command does Jesus give to those who follow
Him? He commands us to love all those
who are the most unlovely, to love without exception. So if someone threatens us, hits us or even
shoots us, we are to consider their benefit, as well as the benefit of those
whom we are protecting.
To be continued...
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