Several years out of college and graduating with a degree in theology, I sat in a booth at a restaurant with one of my former professors. He kept tabs on all of us for research purposes and probably just because he cared about how we were doing in the field and in our churches. He wanted to see us succeed as pastors. He asked me a question, the memory of and the moment of I still remember well.


My immediate answer was conflict resolution. I have often thought about that answer since then. I think I would still answer that way. He was my Hebrew and Greek professor and I still love him for his passion and commitment to helping us love the Word in its original languages. I could have said we needed another year of Greek or more classes on translating the Book of Romans or something. Instead I said without hesitation, conflict.

Why conflict? Why do I think we still need more help and training in this area? Because any church I've ever been a part of that had any chance to do something good for God and the community also had conflict in it. Usually it was there long before I got there, sometimes I brought some of my own and sometimes I made things worse. And on a number of occasions I helped to make things better. So I take it very personally when we start talking about the health of a church and whether it is conflicted or not.

Conflicts are as varied and dynamic as something over the color of the carpet or whether women can serve as elders or who is responsible for the leadership of the church or what type of music is used in worship. I've seen dozen's of reasons for conflict, some of them terribly ridiculous and some of them very necessary. All of them offered the chance to see redemption and care on the part of members even though the times of conflict were very trying on members and leaders alike.

Most members can tell stories of conflict that shock you. What they don't tell you is how to solve conflict or how to mitigate it. Once in a while, a wise leader in the church has some good advice, but not very often. For the most part, we've learned to hide out when conflict starts to appear in a church.

For Paul, he wrote about and entered into conflict with courage and compassion. A quick survey of all the passages where conflict was involved will give you a lot of reading and preaching material. In each of his epistles you can find it. In Philippians we find this;

Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Phil. 1:12-18

Paul faces conflict for himself as he is in chains and he writes with awareness to his friends in Philippi about a pulpit conflict. This must have been a very serious conflict in the church for Paul to write about it and it must have been among some heavyweights because they had access to the pulpit as it were. They too were preachers.

I don't want to unpack the passage and explain it here, I simply want to take notice of it and that it describes a serious conflict. This helps us to understand two things, that conflict in the church is more the norm than the surprise and that we should learn more about it and how to approach its resolution as opposed to running from it. All churches worthy of being called churches are going to have conflict. That is my observation. The question that follows is, how do followers of Christ respond to that conflict.? More on that later. For now, Paul's advice is to rejoice.