Posts Tagged ‘conflict transformation’

The aim of all coaching is “to evoke transformation”. In the church we know this is nothing short of holy work borne of sacred imagination that can lead to God-sized outcomes.

Who we are or the way of our souls is critical in conflict transformation and mediation ministries, whether in congregations, other organizations/communities or between individuals. While what we know is important, skills and techniques, who we are is the deepest and most influential component of conflict transformation and mediation ministries

Jesus had a remarkable gift for seeing through everything superficial, for peeling back the layers of the dusty, superficial robes of identity we wear, to peer into a person’s inner soul. Whether speaking to a Roman Centurian, to a Samaritan adulteress, or to a distinguished Rabbi, Jesus always seemed to see beyond title or position and to respond to the deeper thoughts and real need of the individual he was relating to.

The way of our hearts and souls toward those we lead, can create as much of the resistance as the actual issues we confront—this is a process/content struggle. Sometimes the issues are symptoms of deeper process materials that are “off” . To admit that my behavior might be part of the problem is difficult. Relationship is everything.

We can gradually increase everyone’s capacity to walk those moments with grace and to recover the capacity to engage in conflict. Perhaps then we can come to accept conflict as an integral part of life and welcome it as an opportunity to get to a deeper level of knowing how to make things work for everyone.

Conflict gives us the opportunity to grow and transform – as individuals and as a community. It gives us the opportunity to learn, listen and seek understanding from those with whom we disagree and, in the process, grow our relationships stronger.

For Buber, the essential element of genuine dialogue is to experience the other side. This means to imagine the real, which demands “the most intensive stirring of one’s being into the life of the other”

On Being: In our conversation (with John Paul Lederach) in “The Art of Peace” he calls his work “conflict transformation” rather than the more commonly used term of “conflict resolution.” Across three decades, in over 25 countries on five continents, he has sought to help people transform their relationships with their enemies.”

The witness that Christians can most powerfully offer the world is not that of a perfect people, but of a people always fully engaged in the reconciliation experience.

Faith & Leadership: A divided world does not need a church free of conflict and sin but a church that models how conflict and sin can be transformed into peace.