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Local Church Administration
Deadly sins;
If these are in your congregation, your congregation may die. You must
act. These sins won't go away on their own...
Hypocrisy
Living Honestly
Do
you have a problem with Hypocrisy in your Church? Being and living an
honest Christian life should just be a natural endeavor. We, who have
been filled with the Holy Spirit, know the Scriptures should have no
problem with honest living, yet we do. The entire human race is
hypocritical at one time or another, somehow this is our nature, as
demonstrated by our history, actions, interpersonal relationships,
divorce court and testimony by behavioral scientists. There is perhaps
not a person on this planet who has not...
Pride; the Destroyer
of Humbleness
The Extermination that Hypocrisy Causes!
Hypocrisy can become the “Articles of War” within a church and within a
community coming against a church! When the average Joe or Joann off the
street is polled on why they do not go to church, it won’t be long
before the word hypocrisy comes up! Why? Why do non-church people have
such a negative response to the church and especially to hypocrisy?
The Law from Within
Hypocrisy causes more problems than any other endeavor human or satanic
in giving the church a bad name in the world! "They Will Know That we
are Christians by our Love." So will they
Conflict
Understanding, Resolving and
Preventing Conflict
Cultivating Biblical Solutions with Conflict Conflict is a Reality, Even
in a Church! This is the introductory article in the series. Matthew
5:9; Luke 6:27-36; Galatians 5:19-26; Philippians 2:3-6; Colossians 1:17-20;
3:12-17
Preventing Conflict
How can we restrain our desires to manipulate,
control, and to be aggressive, and repair relationships instead?
When do we engage in conflict?
Onward Christian solders? There are times when we as Christians are
called to arms, as the song goes, “onward Christian solders.” As they
said in the Middle Ages, “if the cause is just…”of course most of the
causes were not just. But for us, if there is a situation that must be
defended, we need to prepare ourselves...
Dealing with Difficult People
Are
they just being unreasonable? A lot of people are unreasonable—even
Christians. We will run into people who will just not get it; they will
not listen, deal, resolve, or handle things God’s way. They only want
their way or the highway.
Agreeing to Disagree without Disunity
We,
as mature Christian leaders, need to see the distinction of God’s
providence working in the lives of His people, and the pettiness of our
actions. God is in control and He will win, no matter what we do.
Church Staff Conflicts
Commit to a Positive Solution or Understanding If it is your desire to
destroy and split a church, then simply have no plan to resolve staff
disputes. Satan will just love you and your members will be
disillusioned and spread bitterness and spiritual distraction to others.
Cultivating a Biblical
Solution to Conflict
God
calls us to confess! We need to look to God’s Word as the primary
example for our interpersonal relationships and to the ways we confront,
extol, and exhort people with love and care. There are scores of
examples of conflict in Scripture and how it was handled properly and
improperly.
Proper Attitude and Motives
We
must remember that as a Christian and ambassador of Christ, we are to
proceed any endeavor with the Fruits of the Spirit where love is our
focus. We must have the proper motives before we can be the peace makes
and resolve the conflict.
Types of Conflict
There are three main categories of conflict, Interpersonal Conflict,
Intrapersonal Conflict and Substantive Conflict.
Talking your
Way out of Conflict
This
is a basic step by step biblical process to solve conflict personally or
in a church. Most problems seem complex; intertwined with so many people
and so much hurt and communication ills, they seem overwhelming and
hopeless. But, that is not the case; most problems have just a few
simple components to them that can be isolated and dealt with.
Overcoming the Fear of Conflict
Conflict and discipline may conjure up medieval inquisitions, emotional
trauma from being overly disciplined as children, or libelous defamation
of other’s character. Personal accountability has gone under the strata
of the Jurassic period, that it now takes a pastoral Archeologist to dig
it up again. Personal confrontation and the sharing of ethics have
become a repulsive by-word in our society and not the virtue, as it
should be.
Taking Responsibility in
Conflict
Do
You Attack Others to Cover Yourself? Are you more likely to trust people
first until proven wrong or do you start by distrusting others until
they prove themselves as trustworthy? What does Christ want us to do?
Why we have Conflicts
The
Bible teaches us that conflict comes from the desires that battle within
our hearts and that this is the result of our sinful nature. Sin is at
the root as our securities are threatened, our happiness is at stake,
our focus is misplaced, and our God is ignored. Sometimes, our good
desires are escalated to sinful retaliation; truth becomes concealed and
twisted, listening does not happen, we are not understood, and we do not
understand the other person. Thus...
Gossip
Gossip is Evil!
Gossip is Missing the Mark that Christ has for us! The result of gossip
being spread and not adequately dealt with; especially by leaders,
creates an atmosphere of distrust.
Listening to All Criticism!
Do
you Have the Nose for the News? Gossip Mongers! The Bible gives us clear
direction on how we are to keep our mouths in His direction, that is
God's direction not ourselves.
Hiding Gossip Behind
Prayer!
Do
you hide Gossip behind your prayer requests? Did you know that is evil
and manipulative, what God absolutely hates? One of the most despicable
things I've ever seen in my ministerial experience was a prayer group
spending all their time gossiping and very little time actually in the
Word of God and prayer.
The Three Breeds of Gossip!
Gossip devastates all the good work previously done in a church! The
Bible is directing us to restrain our speech. A wise person controls
their tongue; what they say and how they say it. The Bible goes on to
say that people who spread gossip have malicious intentions as much as
the people who start the gossip in the first place. This malice leads to
the destruction of property and persons, just as bad as a fire would
destroy a home or a church.
Gossip is the Ultimate Destroyer!
Gossip is Evil and Gossip destroys! "There is no better way to start
conflict, than to spread gossip!" Most Christians have not let Christ
transform them beyond the first stage of salvation; especially in their
way of thinking and mindset. This places a limit on how and what Christ
is able to accomplish in their lives. Therefore, the result of this
behavior is that gossip becomes a normal practice. So most Christians
listening to or spreading the news are not aware that it is wrong,
because their experience and minds tell them it's okay...
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