Inside Church Fights
An interview with Speed Leas
Marshall Shelley and Kevin Miller
January 1, 1989
Speed Leas may be one of the world's foremost authorities on church conflict, but the first question people usually ask him is not, "What causes churches to fight?" Instead, the starter question is, "Is Speed your real name?"
Yes. Speed's grandfather was named for Joshua Speed, a farmer and acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln. Joshua Speed and Lincoln corresponded regularly, and they argued heatedly in their letters over the divisive issue of their day: slavery. Despite their deep differences, however, their letters display civility and a genuine respect for the other.
Joshua's namesake tries to bring that same spirit into his work as director of consulting for the Alban Institute, a nonprofit research and training group based in Washington, D.C. Each year he consults with dozens of churches experiencing deep conflict and tries to help them clarify the issues, make decisions, and resolve differences.
Speed was thrown into conflict early. After earning M.Div. and S.T.M. degrees from Yale, he became pastor of an all-black church in Watts, and a year later, the Watts Riots broke out. Speed spent time learning community organization from Saul Alinsky, but he soon found that Rules for Radicals didn't work in the local church. "The norms of the church don't allow for that kind of direct confrontation," he says.
Following seven years as director of the Center of Metropolitan Mission In-Service Training (motivating churches on poverty, racism, and other urban issues), the activist became a peacemaker. Extensive study in organizational management, change, and conflict led to the landmark book Church Fights (Westminster, 1973; with Paul Kittlaus). Soon he was a welcome guest in churches as a full-time consultant with the Institute for Advanced ...
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