3. This session:
1. Change in organizations -
difficulties, blocks, and levers
2. Change and conflict
3. Conflict in congregations
4. Dealing with conflict
Case study
4. Case study
1.What do you
imagine the
causes of conflict
are?
2.What’s gone
wrong?
3.How are
possibilities for
positives
outcomes to be
found?
5. ‘Why can’t the status quo be the way
forward in this matter?’
Speaker in General Synod quoted by Charles Handy
Slow changes in the environment can inoculate us all
Charles Handy
9. Change train
Traditionalists Conservatives Progressives Radicals
Brake van Engine drivers
Passengers Track layers
14% want to
18% Resisting 66% Passive 2% lead
get there
Rational motivation
Emotional motivation
10. 3 change blockers
• Blinkers and filters. We filter the world
through familiarity spectacles. Group-think.
• The predictability imperative. The unexpected
often the unwanted. Carry the present into
the future.
• The grip of coalitions. Alliances to block
change – we like what we’ve got.
Charles Handy
12. Change and Conflict
• Goal mission, aims, values, objectives
• Role changes, differences, position
• Cognition ideas, opinions, judgements, ways of
thinking
• Affections feelings, intuitive responses, emotions
• Relations other people, communication, alliances
• Behaviours words, actions, values, behaviour
• Spiritual faith, spirituality, religion
• Self inner struggles, tensions, illness
Adapted from Skills for Collaborative Ministry, SPCK
13.
14.
15. Conflicts in congregations in relation to
different congregational models
House of Family Community Leader Mixed
Worship
Money, staff Minister, Money, staff, Money, staff, Minister,
building worship, worship, money, staff,
outreach, outreach, worship,
gender, sexual gender, sexual outreach,
orientation orientation gender, sexual
orientation,
governance
Administrative Personal Moral Moral Multiple kinds
arguments arguments arguments arguments of argument
Confined to Widespread Widespread Widespread Widespread
board or and emotional and emotional
committee
16. House of Family Community Leader Mixed
Worship
Process viewed Unremarked Viewed as Viewed Viewed with
positively moral positively suspicion
No factions Minister v lay Older v newer No factions Many groups
leaders members each with a
preference
No obvious Prompted by Prompted by Prompted by By new
trigger minister members minister or minister or by
proposing proposing new members minister
admin/finance policies/ proposing new proposing new
change programmes policies/ polices/
programmes programmes
Resolved by By vote and/or ½ by ¼ by Unresolved or
vote exit of some compromise compromise large groups
and by vote and by vote exit
17. Why conflict in Church?
• Voluntary organization • Part of ‘leisure time’
• Emotions near surface • Nero syndrome – small
• Ideological commitment place in which imperial
to peace power can be exercised
• Avoidance mechanisms • Natural territory for the
• Tendency to spiritualize fragile and needy
issues • And ...
• Inevitable lack of clarity
carried over into
inappropriate areas
18. Sources of conflict in the Local Church
• Maintenance versus • Clergy versus lay people
mission Again roles hard to be
Both require complex precise about. Clergy use
organizational responses charismatic authority to
and are hard to be precise defend priorities because
about role poorly defined. Sub-
• Conservative versus groups make competing
liberal traditions demands. Finance
Between congregations problems blamed on
and denominations, but clergy. Close-knit lay
also within congregations communities likely to
dominate the clergy
19. 5 styles of conflict management
from Morgan, G. Images of Organization
• Avoiding
Ignoring conflicts in hope they’ll go away
Putting problems on hold
Invoking slow procedures to resolve conflict
Using secrecy to avoid confrontation
Appealing to rules to resolve conflect
20. continued
• Compromise
negotiating
looking for deals and trade-offs
finding satisfactory solutions
• Competition
creating win-lose situations
using power plays to get one’s way
forcing submission
21. continued
• Accommodation
giving way
submitting and complying
• Collaboration
problem solving
confronting differences and sharing ideas and
information
searching for solutions
Finding win-win solutions
seeing problems and conflicts as challenging
24. Active peace-making born of realism
• Change attitude to conflict
• Conflict can be a wake up call from God
• Conflict happens
• Conflict can be productive
• Conflict can transform things
25. Conflict transformation
is to envision and respond
to the ebb and flow of social conflict
as life-giving opportunities
for creating constructive change processes
that reduce violence,
increase justice
in direct interaction and social structures,
and respond to real-life problems
in human relationships.
John Paul Lederach
26. Digging deep
Foundations of a transformational approach
1. Recognize conflict is a continuous and normal dynamic
in human relationships
2. Envision conflict positively as a potential for
constructive growth
3. Respond willingly in ways that maximize that potential
for positive change
27. Don’t be part of the problem by
• Trying to subdue things by force of personality
• Letting dominant people set the agenda
• Wearing two hats at once
• Not declaring your intentions
• Using the pulpit for personal remarks
• Denying your own anger
28. Do work at
• Proactive intervention
• Active listening and mirroring
• Validating others’ opinions and empathizing
• Centred speaking – yourself and what you
feel, not conjecture about others and their
opinions
• Being assertive but not aggressive
• Consensus rather than idealized unanimity
Adapted from Colin Patterson
30. References
• Becker Penny Edgwell. (1999) Congregations in Conflict. Cambridge: CUP.
• Carroll, Jackson W. (2006) God’s Potters: Pastoral Leadership and the
Shaping of Congregations. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
• Handy, Charles. (1990) Understanding Voluntary Organizations. London:
Penguin.
• Nash, Sally and Paul Nash and Jo Pimlott. (2011) Skills for Collaborative
Ministry. London:SPCK.
• Lederach, John Paul. (2003) The Little Book of Conflict Transformation.
Intercourse (PA):Good Books
• Morgan, Gordon. (2006) Images of Organization. London: Sage.
• Patterson, Colin. (2003 ) How to Learn Through Conflict. Cambridge:Grove
Books.
• Starkey, Mike. (2011) Ministry Rediscovered. Abingdon:BRF.
• Steinke, Peter. (1996) Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach. New
York: Alban Institute.
Editor's Notes
TASK - change it and ways of group will change. Redefinition changes other things. Transformational leader key – sees the possibilities. E.g. Building projects in local churchSTRUCTURES Reorganize – too often boxing the problem – identify it and give someone the responsibility to solve it , its just been put in a box. Doesn’t do a lot – people go on doing what they always did whatever you call them.SYSTEMS communications, numbers, participation etc. Agents of change, e.g. McCormick and instalment payment for farm machinery, hospital system in 19th century, Borsig (locomotives) and factory system in Germany – floor supervisor and apprenticeship schemes, 16th century Czech Comenius invented textbook revolutionised teaching.Take away food, sponsored runs, garden centres, hospice movement – social inventions of systems, not technologies.PEOPLE assumption ne people will bring the missing ingredient – but very costly in many ways. Better to change to change skills, capacities and attitudes – personal development and learning.
