A lay person's guide to conflict management

Notes: "]By] Speed B. Leas".; "This is a paper about conflict in churches written for people who care about the organization but are not paid to keep it going. It is often difficult for clergy and other paid staff to be helpful as managers of conflict in a disrupted situation because they have such a high stake in the solution to the problems that they often function as advocate, not facilitator. Further, the clergyperson is often the one about whom the rest of the organization is fighting. ... This paper is written for senior wardens, church moderators, congregation presidents and lay leaders who find their congregation in conflict and want to have some ideas about what they can do about it. The attempt is made here to be as practical as possible so that the reader will be able to both understand the problems of the organization and have a clear idea about what to do about them". -- Intro.; Contents: Introduction -- What is conflict ? -- What do people fight about ? -- Why do people fight ? -- What do people do that is not helpful when they fight in church ? -- What attitudes will help you manage the conflict ? -- What are the goals of the conflict management process ? -- What can you do to help manage conflict ? -- A final word.; Author is a minister of the United Church of Christ.