Pastors

Our Best on Responding to Conflict and Crisis

The best training tools to handle church conflict appropriately.

Leadership Journal October 25, 2016

Conflict and crisis can arise in every ministry. Though challenging, they can create opportunities for God to do his best work. These resources provide wisdom and guidance to help you lead well in the toughest times.

1. Handling Conflict Assessment Pack This assessment pack is a preventative tool for you and your leadership team to use before conflict hits. You’ll understand your natural response to difficult people, how to talk with your critics, how to pursue unity, and the best ways to avoid gossip. Ideal for your next team retreat or quarterly meeting, these 6 assessments will help your ministry stay healthy.

2. Handling Conflict Also ideal for preventative use, this training tool is a thorough guide to keeping conflict healthy and staying united as a church. With these handouts, assessments, and discussion starters, your leadership team can develop a vision for how to handle future conflicts within the ministry.

3. Dealing with Difficult People Encountering difficult people is a normal part of every church leader’s ministry. From receiving criticism and complaints, to leading reluctant followers, it’s important for leaders to know how to maintain redemptive relationships with challenging people. This tool can be used for discussion with your leaders, or to encourage specific leaders as they face challenging people.

4. Avoiding All-Out Church War If you’re in the midst of a major church conflict, this tool is for you. Learn from an in-depth examination of church fights, establish principles for fighting fair, and set action steps to resolve the conflict and move forward in unity.

5. Facing Theological Division Sometimes conflicts go deeper than personal disagreements and enter non-negotiable territory. If your church is facing theological division, you need the discernment to handle it with integrity, grace, and hope. This tool takes a case-study approach to equip you to face theological division and make it out of crisis-mode.

Our Latest

Make Faith Plausible Again

Bryce Hales

A peculiar hospitality can awaken faith in our secular contexts.

Public Theology Project

Russell Moore’s Favorite Books of 2025

CT’s editor at-large recommends a handful of biographies—from Augustine to Robert Frost—along with sci-fi, Stephen King, social media, and more.

The Priest and Social Worker Deradicalizing Jihadists in Prison

One Catholic and one Muslim, they disagree on the role of religion in their work in Lebanon, but are united in their aim.

News

Hong Kong Church Rallies After 60 Congregants Lose Homes in Deadly Fire

Joyce Wu

The territory’s worst fire in decades claimed more than 150 lives.

The Russell Moore Show

 Listener Question: N.T. Wright on the Parable of the Talents

N.T. Wright takes a listener’s question about the parable of the talents told in Luke 19, and why it’s not all that it seems.

Celebrating Christmas with Hot Chai and Crispy Murukku

Amid rising persecution, Indian Christians share Jesus’ love with friends and neighbors through delectable dishes.

My Top 5 Books on Christianity in Southeast Asia

Compiled by Manik Corea

Explore how the faith has flourished in Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other countries in this religiously diverse region.

Trading TikTok for Time with God—and Each Other

Some young Christians embrace lower-tech options.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube