Articles for tag: Walnut Grove Christian Church

September 30, 2007

By Barney Wells To live above With the saints we love, Ah, that will be glory. To live below With the ones we know, That”s a different story. Many preachers have quoted that little poem over the years, and most of us understand its sentiment. While it certainly is pleasant for brothers to “live together in unity” (Psalm 133:1), it seems inevitable they will sometimes live in conflict. This article shares some of what one smaller rural church has learned about preventing, intervening in, and resolving conflict. Since 1889, the Walnut Grove Christian Church has met

September 30, 2007

Christian Standard

Church Life

How to Resolve Conflict

By Barney Wells If you work well at preventing conflict, you won”t need to intervene often, and if you intervene promptly, resolution will naturally follow””most of the time. Most church members really do not want conflict in their lives or in the church, and given a little help and encouragement will resolve their conflicts in short order. Now and then, however, amicable resolution doesn”t come. Then the leaders must take a different kind of action. Matthew 18:17 shows that some conflicts must be addressed by the leadership churchwide, and sometimes individuals must be allowed, or even required, to leave. Earlier

April 22, 2007

Barney Wells

Church Life

Land of Opportunity

Newcomers are moving into rural communities, and churches can feel the strain when long-term residents and newcomers collide. This introduction explores agrarian and cosmopolitan contrasts and why understanding them can ease conflict.