David and Solomon: Two Sides of Conflict
Marshall Shelley and Robert Moeller
Politicians are satisfied with 51 percent of the constituency behind them. Pastors, however, feel the pain when even one critic in a hundred raises his voice.
—Marshall Shelley Conflict in the church is unavoidable. It's been that way from the beginning. The church began with a remarkable blend of close community and simmering conflict. The Book of Acts describes a peaceful atmosphere: "All the believers were together and had every thing in common.…. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:44-47). Only a couple of pages later, however, the situation has changed. Not only is the church threatened by outside enemies, but the extraordinary unity within was apparently short-lived. Complaints arose about the way the church was caring for widows. Later, the church was divided over lifestyle expectations for new converts. Still later, Paul and Barnabas sharply disagreed over a staffing decision, and they parted ways. Procedures, prerequisites, personnel—all areas that continue to challenge church unity today. Pastors may feel the effect of conflict in the church more than most. One reason is that relationships are the professional priority of pastors. They know their effectiveness in the church is often judged by how well people work together. A second reason is that pastors tend to be "people persons," relationally oriented. Getting along with people is important to them. And when relationships are strained, pastors often feel like failures. Politicians are satisfied with 51 percent of the constituency ...
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