Comments on: Community/Unity: not the absence of conflict, but the presence of a reconciling spirit http://www.seabourn.org/not-absence-of-conflict/ Connecting you to ministry around the globe Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:56:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Keith http://www.seabourn.org/not-absence-of-conflict/comment-page-1/#comment-375 Keith Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:46:54 +0000 http://www.seabourn.org/?p=467#comment-375 Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts, Eric. I invite you to consider my team. We definitely traffic in lively, productive conflict. My job is to make sure it's always a safe place (in the many meanings of that term!). I do agree that we in our ministry don't always live this out well. I've served in places where it was a reality and in places where it was not a reality. Sometimes, I think our misunderstanding of constructive conflict is a faulty understanding of Spirit-filled and living out God's will, the untrue idea that if all are Spirit-filled and hearing from God, we'll have agreement. That's uniformity of understanding of God's will, and terrible uniformity of the unique people God has made us to be. The real miracle is not that we are uniform in our understandings and actions, but that we can experience supernatural unity in the midst of our differences. Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts, Eric. I invite you to consider my team. We definitely traffic in lively, productive conflict. My job is to make sure it’s always a safe place (in the many meanings of that term!). I do agree that we in our ministry don’t always live this out well. I’ve served in places where it was a reality and in places where it was not a reality. Sometimes, I think our misunderstanding of constructive conflict is a faulty understanding of Spirit-filled and living out God’s will, the untrue idea that if all are Spirit-filled and hearing from God, we’ll have agreement. That’s uniformity of understanding of God’s will, and terrible uniformity of the unique people God has made us to be. The real miracle is not that we are uniform in our understandings and actions, but that we can experience supernatural unity in the midst of our differences.

]]> By: Eric http://www.seabourn.org/not-absence-of-conflict/comment-page-1/#comment-374 Eric Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:30:22 +0000 http://www.seabourn.org/?p=467#comment-374 Keith, this sounds so great in theory but I have to say that in 5 years on staff in 4 different assignments (on three different continents) I have yet to see it lived out. We say we don't want the absence of conflict, but in actuality we live out quite the opposite. I'm afraid we're an organization of chickens when it comes to dealing with conflict. Not trying to be a downer, this is just my personal experience, Eric Keith,

this sounds so great in theory but I have to say that in 5 years on staff in 4 different assignments (on three different continents) I have yet to see it lived out. We say we don’t want the absence of conflict, but in actuality we live out quite the opposite.

I’m afraid we’re an organization of chickens when it comes to dealing with conflict.

Not trying to be a downer, this is just my personal experience,
Eric

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