Ryan’s Reviews > Making Peace: A Guide to Overcoming Church Conflict > Status Update

Jesus measures spiritual status by our ability to recognize and admit that we are sinners.

"A leaders silence is more than a failure to lead. It is unbelief, even deceit. It doubts the power of God to redeem, reconcile, and intercede."

Leaders are not called to be right or to be certain. They are called to trust and to be faithful. ... Further...he is called to warn. ...but if the leader fails to warn, the leader is held accountable for his sin and the sin of all the people

"Silence is not golden in the church. Keeping silent is a passive form of lying. It is deceitful. Believers are called to speak the truth in love. Allowing false impressions about people or circumstances engenders more discord, not less."

From previous post ... This is the case with most church conflicts. The public issue or presenting cause, is often relatively small, insignificant, and not the real issue. Rather, conflict is usually a result of many suns going down on unresolved and unreconciled issues. As time passes and sins go unconfessed, the many footholds can make a stronghold

"In your anger do not sin: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold" eph4:26 ...whatever foothold the devil has is the likely result of our failure to keep short accounts of sin and our unwillingness to apply the blood of Christ and the power of the resurrection over evil. This is the case w most church conflicts. ...continued in next post

"Conflict is God-purposed. The conflict in your life right now is not a surprise to God, nor beyond His power to work out for good purposes. God allows conflict, perhaps even leads us into it, that we may know His love and trust His peace."