Step 6

As Christians, we are called to love one another. In fact, as we discovered in Step 1, love for one another is to be a defining quality of Christians. Unfortunately, many Christians think and act as if loving one another means that we never engage in conflict. Or that, if we could only love one another as we should, there would be no need for conflict. In many churches there is a culture of ‘niceness’, which acts a cover for conflict avoidance. Then, when differences arise, people don’t know how to respond and often leave.

Step 6 addresses the subject of conflict, a subject few people find comfortable. But we do so in the conviction that the church that knows the secret of healthy conflict has discovered one of the keys that enables us to love each other. In fact, those who know how to approach conflict with confidence are often better able to live out the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives and act as peacemakers.