Managing Church Conflict

Managing Church Conflict Conflict within Churches continues to be a problem (Tony Cartledge 2001), and it shows little sign of abating. In fact, the opposite could be much closer to the truth. Perhaps this is why so many in the ministry turn to the writings of Hugh Halverstgadt (2002), a ministry professor from Chicago. In the introduction to his book â€Å"Managing Church Conflicts†, Halverstgadt analyzes the personal and congregational reasons that provide the root causes, which can lead from minor disagreements to outright conflict. His book develops the theme that, as in many areas of life, to sensibly address these problems, ministries and churches globally need to institute a system of conflict management. Leading the reader through a step-by-step conflict management strategy, covering a wide range of typical scenarios, Halverstgadt leads us to his image of peace in churches based upon the notion of Shalom, which promotes the â€Å"right harmonious relationships to other human beings,† (Nicholas Wolterstorff, 1983).   The real question is whether the views held, and the solutions that Halverstgadt promotes to resolve conflict, address the situation. Halverstgadt’s preface asks the question â€Å"can Church conflict be Christian?† and argues that where it degenerates into a â€Å"dirty fighting† scenario, which is not uncommon, this is perhaps not the case. To address this he suggests that ways of turning such disputes into a â€Å"fair† Christian fight need to be found. However, he accepts that there is no need for the Church to fear conflict, provided it is engaged in a manner of fairness. He provides an insight into the reasons conflicts, identifying that essentially the foundation for all conflict is power and that power turns to conflict once its balance is disturbed. Such disturbances can one sector seeks to promote its power in a way that other may perceive would result in a weakening, and therefore limiting or reducing, the power that they think they should enjoy. As, in the case of the Church, most conflicts are deemed centered round power battles within the congregation itself, the book promotes the theory that it falls to the pastor or minister to take on the mantle of conflict manager. It suggests that to successfully take on and execute the role, the manager will needs to reassess their own ideas and beliefs in terms of conflict and their reactions to a situation that arises. In effect, Halverstgadt is looking to the conflict managers to retrain themselves into this new role so that their approach will lead to a solution to the issue that will be acceptable to all of the parties concerned. He acknowledges that the force nature of such a role may be alien to the person, but counsels that as long as they approach it from a position of self-worth, a knowledge that one is a loved member of God’s and the communities family, others will respond positively to them. Part two of â€Å"Managing Church Conflicts† concentrates on the understanding of the issues that have given rise to the conflict, and analyzing these issues and the parties involved into their component parts. One of the first steps advocated is to set rules for the discussion of the conflict, which may mean reorganizing the current ways that existing systems of debates within the Church and its congregation are managed. Often, in conflict situations, both the root causes and indeed the participants in the dispute are not easily identifiable. Therefore, the book suggests that there is a need for the conflict manager to move between the disputing parties and draw them together in conversation that is open and productive. One of the first, and most important, steps in this process includes ensuring that the disagreements move from a â€Å"dirty fighting† stance, which is characterized by its personal direction and content, to an open discussion based upon the foundation of Christian ethics. Haverstadt suggests that it is only once all of these issues have been addressed that the ministry or pastor can move onto the next step, which is the task of managing the conflict and bringing about a resolution that is just, fair and brings about unity once again. Haverstadt further recognizes that managing a conflict situation is no easy task, even for the most experienced conflict manager, and that is has certain limitations. Therefore, in the second part of his book, he sets out a straightforward systematic process for the church mediator to follow.   How they can avoid damaging exchanges between the parties, partially by using the interpretations of faith on the issues, and seeking calmer methods of controlling the discussions. He further discusses ways in which this process should not be limited to just the main protagonists as this could bring about the arising of new conflicts, but include the Church community, so that everyone understands where the process is heading. Furthermore, recognizing that there are issues within the individuals involved that might be better served in private, he suggests that the using of a mentor, or coach, may be beneficial. This gives the individuals the opportunity to discuss those feelings on a personal basis, and to receive comfort and counseling from those appointed to assist them. The desire is that this will lead to a situation where parties can put forward the basis of their strategies and arguments in a positive and clearly defined manner. In the relative calmness of discussion that these moves are hoped to produce, Haverstadt’s book then attempts to deal with the subject of resolution itself, outlining the strengths and weakness of the possibility of trying to reunite the differences or achieving a negotiated settlement acceptable to all. The whole focus or aim of the procedures that Haverstadt’s book promotes is the perception that, by following the guidelines outlined, a position of shalom will be reached. Shalom, in the biblical understanding of the term, a vision which emphasizes the notion of a united, just community bound in pleasant relationships. Although this may seem to exclude discord and diverse viewpoints, as Haverstadt explains, this is not the case. Diversity in the vision of shalom is realized and accepted within an enthusiastic wish to maintain and restore relationships with others using the one abiding link between the congregation, namely their belief in God and the trilogy. Differences in this situation become part of the core strength of the community, rather than the influence that tears the community apart. Result To the extent that the focus of Halverstgadt’s interpretation that the causes of Church conflict are produced by a clashing of power bases, there is little evidence to argue against his findings. If one looks at the development of the Christian Church over the centuries since it’s birth with the death of Christ, the power theory is evidently supported. From a that one focus, Christianity, one has seen it develop into a multi-faceted structure, with the only link, and that somewhat precarious, being the core belief in the trilogy. Catholic, Anglican, Baptist and Methodist, amongst a host of Churches, ostensibly promote the same message, all offering the same vision for the salvation of the human being. Yet, when reflecting about each other, the divisions are obvious, sometimes almost vitriolic in their expression. Historically, it is clearly demonstrated that these divisions resulted from a conflict of power. A typical example is the way in which the King of England separated the Anglican Church from the Church of Rome. Halverstgadt’s promotion of the use of conflict management in an effort to resolve Church conflicts, by providing a calm and common sense vehicle through which issues can be identified and resolved is laudable. Such systems have been used as an integral part of human resource management in business for a number of years, often with much success. However, like all strategies, it has its limitations. Successful conflict management in a community relies upon all the protagonists having the same goals. Business is possibly unique, in that all involved have a tangible focus for conflict management, the business itself. The difference with Church conflicts is that although much of the dispute is about power, it also rests in emotions and non-tangible ideas and beliefs. For example, some of the congregation would promote the idea that the Church should accumulate wealth, so that it can promote its message from a position of strength, others promote the idea that strength of message is better served and more honest from a position of meekness. Conclusion My opinion of this book is that it will serve as a good foundation for dealing with Church conflicts in a number of instances, the main areas to benefit from this good will be concentrated on a parochial basis. At the level where major conflicts occur, as identified in the example of conflict between King of England and the Church of Rome, the power driven differences are too embedded within the psyche of the dominators of the various factions for mediation to be truly successful. In addition, whilst the vision of Shalom is a worthy target for all communities, particularly in Churches, such is the nature of the Human Being that it is unlikely the culmination of this vision will come to fruition. My conclusion therefore is that, whilst the book provides valuable direction from which the Church, its concentration and examples are too localized to make a significant impact upon the area where it is needed most, namely the hierarchy of the various religious sects themselves. References Halverstgadt, Hugh. F. (1992). Managing Church Conflict. Westminster/John Knox Press. U.S. Cartledge, Tony. W.   ed. (2001). Church conflict a common problem. Biblical Recorder. North Carolina. U.S.A. Wolterstorff, Nicholas (1983). Until Justice and Peace Embrace Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. p 70.               

Learning from LeapFrog Essay

1. What was the Leapfrog business model at the time that the company launched its first products and services? How did the business model change over time? 2. Who are LeapFrog’s key stakeholders? How does LeapFrog deliver value to each of these stakeholder groups? 3. At the time of the case, Leapfrog had become the #3 consumer toy company in the U.S. behind #1 and #2, Mattell and Hasbro respectively. What factors contributed to Leapfrog’s success? Do you expect the success to continue in the future? 4. What challenges and opportunities does the company face in early 2003? Would you buy stock in Leapfrog? Why or why not? As an independent member of the company’s board of directors, what would you expect of management in the short-term and long-term? How would you fulfill your fiduciary duties to the company’s shareholders? Canyon Ranch 1. What is the value of customer information to Canyon Ranch? 2. As CIO, how would you make the case for customer relationship management (CRM) and business intelligence (BI) systems at Canyon Ranch? 3. What impact would you anticipate these systems to have on the Canyon Ranch strategy and capabilities? 4. What advice do you have for Canyon Ranch executives? Business Intelligence Software at SYSCO 1. What will be the biggest obstacles faced by the business intelligence implementation as it expands throughout SYSCO? 2. Why did SYSCO decide to initially address only two questions with its new BI software, rather than using it as a more general analysis tool in the operating companies? Why did Business Objects recommend this approach? What are its strengths and weaknesses? 3. Will effective use of BI software ever be a competitive differentiator for SYSCO? Wouldn’t it be straightforward for another food service company to also purchase and implement similar software? 4. How much software should Day purchase at this time? Boeing’s e-Enabled Advantage 1. What challenges and opportunities did Boeing face in the late 1990s? 2. What is the e-Enabled Advantage? How did it link to the company’s strategy? 3. What advantages would such an approach give Boeing? 4. What challenges did Boeing face in executing such a radical new strategy? CareGroup 1. Describe the health care context in which the case occurs. 2. List several strengths of the IT environment at CareGroup. 3. On the other hand, list several weaknesses that led to the collapse. 4. Evaluate carefully the 10 lessons that John Halamka learned from the experience. What are the pros and cons of each of these lessons? Are there other learnings that come from this situation? The IPremier Company: Denial of Service Attack 1. How well did the IPremier Company perform during the seventy-five minute attack? If you were Bob Turley, what might have you done differently during the attack? 2. The IPremier Company CEO, Jack Samuelson, had already expressed to Bob Turley his concern that the company might eventually suffer from a â€Å"deficit in operating procedures.† Were the company’s operating procedures deficient in responding to this attack? What additional procedures might have been in place to better handle the attack? 3. Now that the attack has ended, what can the IPremier Company do to prepare for another such attack? 4. Describe the ethical implications of not being sure if credit card numbers had been stolen. What options do you have in the struggle to be an ethical vendor, yet to stay in business? What actions would you take? 5. In the aftermath of the attack, what would you be worried about? What actions would you recommend? Strategic Outsourcing at Bharti Airtel Limited 1. What must Bharti do well to succeed in the Indian mobile phone market? What are Bharti’s core competencies? 2. Do you think Bharti should enter the outsourcing agreements outlined by Gupta? What do you see as advantages and disadvantages of such agreements? How do the different outsourcing agreements work towards building these core competencies? 3. If you were Bharti, what major concerns would you have about entering an outsourcing agreement with IBM? With Ericsson, Nokia, or Siemens? 4. How would you structure the agreements to address your concerns and capture any advantages you have identified? What governance mechanisms would you design for the agreements? 5. Assume the role of IBM or Nokia. What major concerns would you have about entering an agreement with Bharti? How would you structure the agreement and the governance mechanisms? VW of America: Managing IT Priorities 1. What is your assessment of the new process for managing priorities at Volkswagen of America? Are the criticisms justified? Is it an improvement over the old process? 2. Who controls the budgets from which IT projects are funded at Volkswagen of America? Who should control these budgets? Should the IT department have its own budget? 3. How should Matulovic respond to his fellow executives who are calling to ask him for special treatment outside the new priority management system? 4. What should Matulovic do about the unfunded Supply Flow project? The ITC eChoupal Initiative 1. What was ITC’s motivation for creating the eChoupal? 2. What were the old and new physical flows and information flows in the channel? 3. What principles did it employ as it built the newly-fashioned supply chain? 4. What barriers did ITC face in embarking on this project? 5. How should ITC develop this platform for the future?

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Shojo and Adult Women a Linguistic Analysis of Gender...

Shojo and Adult Women: A Linguistic Analysis of Gender Identity in Manga (Japanese Comics) Junko Ueno Abstract: This study analyzes the linguistic behavior of female characters in shoJo (girls) and ladies (women) manga (Japanese comics) and discusses the portrayal of female gender identities in the context of popular print media. Considering the great impact that Japanese print media has had over Japanese womens speech patterns throughout history, a linguistic analysis of female characters speech patterns in shojo and ladies manga may reveal the kinds of representations of language and gender in manga and how these representations may affect Japanese womens gender identity today. Based on data collected through quantitative and†¦show more content†¦As Ito (2000) argues, It is very influential for children and adults alike because it teaches the readers the roles, expectations, rights, duties, taboos, and folkways of Japanese society whether the reader is aware of it or not (pl4). Ogi (2003) also states that one of the roles ladies manga performs is to offer alternate role mo dels to adult women. Therefore, in addition to studying peoples actual linguistic behavior, it is important to examine the kinds of representations of language and gender in manga and how these representations may affect Japanese womens gender identity. This study analyzes the linguistic behavior of female characters in shojo and ladies manga and discusses the portrayal of their gender identities in the context of popular print media. Research Questions This study poses the following two questions to explore gender identity expressed through language use in manga. 1. How and to what extent do the female characters speech pattems, the use of gendered forms in particular, in shojo and ladies manga magazines differ according to the characters ages? 2. Under what circumstances or settings are traditional and unconventional womens language used in manga magazines? Literature Review Conventional characteristics of Japanese womens speech Japanese male and female speech differences have bee n extensively examined in

Essay on Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism - 1038 Words

Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism constitute the essence of the traditional Chinese culture. The relationship among the three has been marked by both competition and complementation in history, with Confucianism playing a more dominant role. Confucianism emphasized a reiteration of current moral values and Taoism developed a system of based upon a harmonization of man with the natural order. These two popular philosophies, however, developed into popular religions eventually. Besides the major religions, ancestor worship and animism also have strong support in China. Chinese people are very pragmatic, worshipping gods that might answer their prayers. Confucius (551–479 B.C.) was a Chinese philosopher and founder of the Confucian school of†¦show more content†¦Daoism is a philosophy or way of life. Dao means the way or the path. Daoists devoted themselves to reflection and introspection in an effort to understand the fundamental character of the world and nature. Confucius revered tradition and encouraged his disciples to study historical records, music, poetry, and ritual. Confucius talked repeatedly of his vision of a more perfect society in which rulers and subjects, nobles and commoners, parents and children, and men and women would wholeheartedly accept the roles assigned to them, devoting themselves to their responsibilities to others. Confucius taught code of proper conduct. Although Confucianism is often followed in a religious manner by the Chinese, arguments continue over whether it is a religion. Confucianism discusses elements of the afterlife and views’ concerning Heaven, but it is relatively unconcerned with some spiritual matters often considered essential to religious thought, such as the nature of the soul. He created amoral code on based on ethics, humanity and love. Confucius philosophies emphasize the ideals of order and harmony. Confucianism is an ethical system rather than a religion. 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Macbeth Essay Summary Example For Students

Macbeth Essay Summary Here’s an essay I wrote for my English 4 class. The topic for this essay is as follows: The relationship betwen Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is of prime importance. Give sufficient analysis and examples of the nature of the relationship. (Complementary and conflicting elements, static and/or changing, depth of true understanding, degree of â€Å"evilness†, etc. ) Macbeth is a play about death, destruction, deceit, depravity and corruption. At the center of all this is Macbeth and Lady Macbeth (a quaint way of saying Macbeth’s wife). As the play progresses, their relationship changes dramatically as a result of how each of them handles their emotions following King Duncan’s murder. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is a strong, domineering person. She seems able to coerce Macbeth into doing things that he would not do on his own. She seems willing to trample anyone in order to get what she wants. She seems ready to kill. She would have no problem dancing on the backs of the bruised for the same reason stuck up rich people today don’t care about the starving kids in Africa–she has never seen or experienced it. When reading Macbeth’s letter that told of the witches’ prophecy she said, â€Å"Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o’ the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way. † She wanted to take the quick and dirty route to royalty (murder), but didn’t think Macbeth was up to it. She has never killed anyone (as far as we know), so she doesn’t understand why it would be so difficult. Macbeth is a battle-hardened soldier who is no stranger to danger. He has killed more than a few men, women, and children in his day. We’re informed of that at the opening of the play when a sergeant tells of how Macbeth hunted down Macdonwald and â€Å"unseamed him from the nave to the chaps and fixed his head upon our battlements. † But Macbeth knew the difference between right and wrong. Macdonwald was a traitor and fully deserved to be cut in half. Killing Duncan was a different story. Murdering a good king/friend in order to gain wealth and power is not very P. C. and is downright immoral. When Lady Macbeth brought up killing the king he was hesitant to talk about such a thing, then blew her off and said, â€Å"We will speak further. Of course, being the whipped little mama’s boy that he is, he was talked into her fiendish conspiracy plan. When it came right down to it, Lady Macbeth couldn’t kill Duncan. She says, â€Å"Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t. † Of course that is a bunch of BS; in reality she was just too fainthearted to get the job done. This was her first sign of weakness, though it certainly was not her last. As the play progressed her emotions got the best of her and she was slowly transformed into a pitiful, spineless, little jellyfish who kills herself because she can’t take the heat. Near the end she goes insane and walks around saying odd things like, â€Å"Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh! † She was obviously more than a little disturbed by her role in the king’s murder as well as the various other killings that had taken place. She was so far gone that the doctor proclaimed, â€Å"This disease is beyond my practice. † Macbeth’s character changed in a much different manner. After killing the king, he felt empowered and soon began slaying more people. 4 Units : Target completion date: October 14, 2016 EssayMacbeths cruelty in action is shown when Lady Macduff and her son arebrutally slaughtered. When he planned to kill Banquos son, Fleance, he couldacquit the murder to himself by referring to the prophecy that Banquoschildren should be kings. But he is in no danger from Lady Macduff or her son;the crime is more loathsome because it is motiveless. At the beginning of theplay Lady Macbeth prayed that she should know no compunctious visitings ofnature that might prevent her from

The whole towns sleeping The Red Room comparison Essay Example

The whole towns sleeping The Red Room comparison Essay At the beginning of The whole towns sleeping, you are introduced to a very peaceful, tranquil, average American town. It is as though nothing out of the ordinary has ever really happened here. It was a warm summer night in the middle of Illinois country. Whereas in The Red Room, the opening is set in an old dismal castle with three odd contradicting servants. This story instantly starts off creepy while in the whole towns sleeping, it doesnt. The old woman sat staring hard into the fire, her pale eyes wide open. We will write a custom essay sample on The whole towns sleeping The Red Room comparison specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The whole towns sleeping The Red Room comparison specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The whole towns sleeping The Red Room comparison specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The whole towns sleeping is set in an average town in 1950s USA. It is set mainly outdoors with some indoor sections. The Red Room is set in a dank old castle in 19th century England. There are no real similarities in setting. The theme of both stories is straight and simply fear. The authors of the stories wanted to frighten you either by death or ghosts but with the same effect. The two stories are similar in the fact that they build up to a climax, and then end rapidly. The main character in the whole towns sleeping is called Lavinia. She seems fearless, but this is not always the case, as she can become frightened. However, most of the time she would try to hide her fear, or just say something, which makes her look brave. Bosh! She was saying this when her gullible friend was talking about the lonely one, trying to sound fearless, but I expect that she was probably dubious, and she just didnt want to show it. In the Red room, the main character is a 28-year-old man who is very sceptical about many things. Eight-and-twenty years I have lived and never a ghost have I seen as yet. His name is never given, and I feel that this is just to make the story more frightening. If his name is given, it becomes more personal and therefore friendly, which is not frightening. This character doesnt believe in the unnatural, or many things like that. He believes that if he can touch it, it is real. He is also a bit arrogant and fearless much alike to Lavinia in the whole towns sleeping. I do not like either character much as they are both egotistical and this is not a very friendly feature. I feel that they should both be more open-minded. But then the stories would be less scary if the characters were instantly scary. I do not like people who have this characteristic, so I do not like the characters. However, I find them both very realistic, which shows the talents of the authors off well. HG Wells language is quite old fashioned. I.e., he says, eight-and-twenty, rather than twenty-eight as we would say nowadays. He uses very vivid description, which sometimes becomes so much as to sway you away from what is actually happening in the main story line. There are little similes and metaphors in this story. He uses some direct speech at the very beginning and at the very end, but hardly during the main story section in the middle. It is more: I saw this, I touch this and so on. It is told in the first person and this is better so you can see exactly what he is seeing and thinking in an easier and clearer way. Ray Bradburys style is completely different to HG Wells in the fact that it is up to date language and also in the American style. There are quite a lot of similes and metaphors such as Cool as mint ice cream And quite a lot of personification such as: fans whispered. heat was breathing. There is a lot of direct speech which I personally prefer as I find it easier to follow. This story is in the third person and I find that this one is better in third as you can see exactly what they are thinking rather than what one person thinks they are thinking. HG Wells creates suspense by having the candles blow out a lot in the Red Room. The suspense is not particularly good as you are unaware of what will happen if he does get entrapped in the darkness, but then this makes you wonder about what will happen more so. It begins when 1 candle innocently blows out. It ends when the man knocks himself out. Ray Bradbury created suspense by having a long section when Lavinia feels that she is being followed. In this part, Lavinia is counting which adds greatly to the suspense. You are saying to yourself, shes only got 12 to go, 11, 10 and you get immersed into the story. I feel that this suspense section was much more successful than that of the Red Room. In the Red Room, the ending is far too abrupt and there is now imagination. You are told what had happened rather than wondering what will happen. There is almost no imagination here. It would have probably been better to end off with the man fainting and not have the explanation paragraph. In the whole towns sleeping however, the ending is much better, just when you think that all is well and safe, I turns out that is isnt and you are left wondering what will happen to her. (Which is almost certainly death!) I much preferred the whole towns sleeping because of its more modern language; better characters that are easier to relate to; the use of more similes, metaphors and personification; more direct speech; the more exciting suspense section; and the unexpected twist at the end. I fell that the whole image of fear was more greatly achieved in the whole towns sleeping because of the fact that the women all know what are they are to be scared of. And the fact that it was set in a small, innocent town to which you wouldnt think there would be anything like this happening is also more exciting.