3. Thou shalt always publicly respect and support your church’s leadership. After all, you’re on the same team shepherding the same group of people. For the sake of building each other’s credibility and avoiding gossip, take care of disagreements and conflict behind closed doors. If done in public, everyone always looses. Gossip starts, people take sides, the body is divided, staff relationships are stressed, unity turns to tension and perspective Christians leave the church because it’s just as ugly in there as it is out in the world, except in the world people don’t always fake it with smiles. If the conflict is severe enough, be willing to bow out graciously for the sake of the body and find employment elsewhere. Easier said than done, yes, but sometimes it’s the most Christ-like thing to do. Always make sure your disagreements are respectful and courteous and that discussions are limited to the person(s) involved.

Posted on August 6, 2007