Dissenting in Peace

So You Disagree . . . by Ron Kraybill, Dave Brubaker, Barbara Date, and Arlene Kelly, Mennonite Conciliation Service, $45

Reviewed by Martin B. Copenhaver, pastor, First Congregational Church, Burlington, Vermont

A line in The Music Man says people in Iowa can "stand nose to nose for days and days and never see eye to eye." How often this describes life in a church! The source of conflict can be anything from a point of doctrine to the color of new drapes. Whatever the cause, conflict can devastate a church, because accompanying such disagreements is the uneasy feeling that conflict does not belong in the church.

This helpful study kit with audio cassette tapes is produced by the Mennonite Conciliation Service (21 South 12th Street, Akron, PA 17501-price includes postage). It challenges the notion that a church can or should be free from conflict. The very title recognizes its inevitability. The presenters point out that the Bible is shot through with examples of God's ...