The CHURCH ADVOCATE in 2017, attempts consistently and effectively to be relevant.
Evidence of that can be seen in the two cover articles on the very current and pressing challenge of bi-vocational ministry which are featured in the most recent issue.
It is extremely significant, then, to note that the next two articles in that same issue address the question of how to resolve/deal with conflict. The articles are written by Bill Shoemaker and Brandon Kelly, both of whom hold positions as Directors on CGGC General Conference staff.
For the record, in my opinion, both are decent articles. They are very short, two pages in the CA format, probably only about 1,000 words each. Articles this brief can't contribute much of substance. But, their very appearance, as two articles in one CA issue, make a statement.
Bill's article notes that there are a variety of reasons conflict exists among God's people, including reasons connected to differences of conviction over issues of truth. He concludes by exhorting the people of the CGGC to make this the 'Year of Peace'.
Brandon's sets out three goals of conflict resolution, the preferred goal being to "redeem" conflict so that those in conflict, in the end, grow spiritually. Key to redeeming conflict, he says, is Paul's admonition that we speak the truth in love. Kelly concludes by offering the services of General Conference staff to the individuals and churches of the CGGC in dealing with conflict and seeing it redeemed.
One observation: Both articles cite biblical authority, Bill's especially. And, that is noteworthy. It can no longer be assumed that CGGC leaders will use the Word as their authority.
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Yet, the big-picture question that has been banging away in my mind is this:
Why is the CA addressing the question of how to resolve conflict?
Think about it.
The CA, in recent years, has consistently presented articles having to do with issues that the people in Findlay see as being either challenges or opportunities for the CGGC.
To the praise of its editors, today's CA is never theoretical. It is always focused. It is always concrete. It is always timely. It is always relevant.
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No one in the CGGC Eldership is more out of the loop than I am.
There is a very small network of people who update me on ERC news, but, rarely, do I hear anything beyond the scuttlebutt I'd pick up during lunch time at a Commission meeting, back in the day.
So, I have to ask, why use the very limited space in one issue of the CA to include TWO articles on conflict management?
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I can only guess that the issue of conflict resolution is, in some way, from the perspective of the people in Findlay, becoming critical in our body.
And, I wonder on what level.
In case you are wondering, I don't have delusions of grandeur to the degree that I think that, in Findlay, there is the perception that my blog creates pressure that challenges the unity of the CGGC. I can't even imagine that being the case.
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A few of my SIXTEEN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CGGC BRAND provide glimpses of what may be going on here.
One of them is, Cynicism, which notes that when CGGC mountaintoppers attempt to lead in a new direction, many pastors and churches in the CGGC, merely assume that this is yet another fad of the CGGC moment--another bandwagon. They instinctively reason that, if they just take a deep breath, this one will soon fade away and will be replaced by another and then another.
This reality demonstrates that the cynics have no respect for the people on the mountaintop.
This reality in the CGGC also demonstrates, that there is no leadership in the CGGC because there is virtually no follower-ship. That is, when the people who consider themselves to be leaders attempt to do what their job descriptions describe, and lead, very few in the CGGC actually follow.
In that way, there is conflict in the body that the people on the peaks of the CGGC mountain in Findlay must feel. And, being people with sincere hearts who love the church, the cynicism of so many, being so deeply entrenched in the essence of the CGGC identity, must affect the mountaintoppers deeply.
And, it must feel, to them, as if there is real conflict that must be redeemed, yet seems irredeemable.
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As I say, though, I am waaaaaaaay out of the loop.
What, I do know is that, in 2017, The CHURCH ADVOCATE is never theoretical and that it is, these days, always focused, always concrete and timely and relevant. It never presents material out of thin air.
These two articles are about something.
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