Back to Cornerstone magazine / Back to cstonenet.com Information and responses regarding the Chicago Tribune Artilce about Jesus People USA. Growing Together, Growing Apart: Coping with Church Conflict and Communal Controversy We of Jesus People USA Covenant Church live in a particularly intense form of interrelationship. Some call our lifestyle "communal," others view it as a form of extended family (or families). Our experiences together can often bring us into conflict with one another, and we view this as a mostly healthy form of growth. As the New Revised Standard Version puts Proverbs 27:17, "Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens the wits of another." But there are also those times when creative, constructive differences degenerate into angry, even bitter, permanent splits. Some have left our community angry with us for what they perceive as our shortcomings (for various reasons). We in turn feel angry and hurt ourselves in some of these situations. We also find ourselves becoming introspective, which is healthy when not done to excess. What, if anything, can we do to lessen conflict among our members, or between members, former members, and leadership? Why does such conflict occur at all? What we have found is that the people and processes regarding conflict in the church are not unique, even when placed in our perhaps more unique setting. Instead, using a number of different resources, we have found and continue to find some frameworks to explain the painful process of church conflict. What has been painful for us is the fact that, since we live in a manner different from the majority of our fellow Americans (that is, communally), angry former members of our community can often find a more ready media ear than angry members of a more traditional church congregation. This has led to us trying to understand our own situation via two different streams of thought. First is the area of church conflict, which (again) seems more universal than we perhaps thought it was, despite differing forms of church government, congregational make-up, or denominational oversight. Second, and less understood by most, is the area of communal life vs. the American mainstream, particularly when that communal life is rooted in what we believe to be a calling of God upon our lives. Sociologist of Religion have, to a remarkable degree, investigated and written about the startling anti-religious bigotry small religious groups often experience at the hands of American culture. This, too, is part of our own story, and though we are uncomfortable with "victim" language, we do believe that at times the mass media is too ready to sensationalize a communal group. We began to realize that since our situation is less unique than we at first might have thought, others also might be struggling with similar problems and challenges. This page provides some of the links to sites and/or writings dealing with church conflict and related issues. We do not necessarily agree with all the opinions of these links, but have found food for thought on nearly all of them (unless specifically noted). This list will continually be added to as we continue struggling with such issues, so check back! The Links: Links to Sociological Studies and Individuals: Jeffrey Hadden's New Religious Movements site: "In addition to creating a foundation for understanding religion, this site also seeks to promote tolerance and appreciation of all religions without preference for any particular faith tradition." Links (mirrored here) regarding Church Conflict and related issues: Coping with the Damaged People by Rev. John Simpson, General Superintendent, Baptist Union of Victoria, Australia Surviving the Culture of Criticism by Rev. John Simpson, General Superintendent, Baptist Union of Victoria, Australia The Illusion of Congregational "Happiness" by Gil Rendle, Senior Consultant, The Alban Institute Is Abuse About Truth or Story... Or Both? By Jon Trott, Editor-in-Chief, Cornerstone magazine "Knives": The Things that Hurt Us Most By Thomas F. Fischer, M.Div., M.S.A. The "Beagle Principle" By Thomas F. Fischer, M.Div., M.S.A. Links to related sites: The Alban Institute deals with church conflict and conflict resolution. Ministry Health is an excellent Australian site for pastoral support and resources.