Most of us cringe at the thought of conflict in our congregations. But is conflict something to be avoided? A recent study of small Episcopal Churches seems to suggest that the answer is no.
When the Faith Community Today 2005 responses of the most rapidly growing, most rapidly declining, and stable small churches are compared, both the rapidly growing and rapidly declining congregations report far more "very serious disagreements or conflict" in all areas. For example, serious disagreement over how worship is conducted occurred in 7.1% of declining churches, 6.9% of growing churches, and in no stable churches. Money was another divisive issue, with serious disagreements erupting in 18.5% for the rapidly declining, 13.3% in the rapidly growing, but in only 3.4% of the stable churches. When one looks at the areas of priest's leadership style, use of church facilities, and the actions of General Convention 2003, a similar trend emerges. Both growing and declining congregations experience serious disagreements and conflict; it is the stable congregation that reports being least conflicted.
These statistics suggest that lack of conflict may be a sign that a congregation is at a plateau, or at the point of stability in its life cycle. This point is an ideal time to begin the revisioning process, looking towards new ministry and mission in the future. What is God's intention for your congregation in the coming years?
Do you have a story about how your congregation discovered new vision? If so, please post your response. If you've never posted to a blog, you can do so anonymously. Other (sm)all congregations can benefit from your wisdom and learnings...
No comments:
Post a Comment