New Life : Why Church

A culture of peace is an environment in which members are encouraged and equipped to use biblical peacemaking to strengthen relationships, resolve conflict, enhance outreach, and give witness to Jesus Christ.

A culture of peace has six primary characteristics, as reflected in the following diagram. Beginning with a passion for the gospel of Christ, these six characteristics build on and reinforce one another in a dynamic, cyclical manner:

A church can experience numerous benefits as it builds a culture of peace: their people will be blessed with stronger relationships and more enduring marriages; the church can be spared from distracting conflict and division; and church leaders can be removed from the "complaint loop" and spend less time as a lightning rod for others' grievances. These changes can free up substantial time and resources that can be devoted to kingdom ministry.

Your Church Already Has a Peacemaking Culture

Every church has a peacemaking culture of some kind. This culture is a combination of the congregation's attitudes, customs, and practices for resolving conflict. A peacemaking culture is rarely developed in a deliberate way. It is neither discussed nor voted on. It is not recorded in the minutes or bylaws. Instead, it usually grows over time as a set of unwritten rules and expectations that is passed on from one generation to the next.

These rules and expectations typically develop over decades. They are often subtle and unspoken, yet they can exert an inexorable influence over a congregation. All too often, they stifle healthy discussion, promote factions, trigger battles for control, undermine outreach, destroy pastors' careers, and even split congregations. These rules, expectations, and patterns are deeply ingrained in congregational life. As a result, it usually takes a deliberate, long-term effort to transform a church's peacemaking culture

The following articles and true stories address conflict and peacemaking issues related to the local church. While not exhaustive, these articles can be a good place to begin exploring concepts of peacemaking for your church.

As God opens your eyes to see how you have sinned against others, he simultaneously offers you a way to find freedom from your past wrongs. It is called confession. Many people have never experienced this freedom because they have never learned how to confess their wrongs honestly and unconditionally. Instead, they use words like these: "I'm sorry if I hurt you." "Let's just forget the past." "I suppose I could have done a better job." "I guess it's not all your fault." These token statements rarely trigger genuine forgiveness and reconciliation. If you really want to make peace, ask God to help you breathe grace by humbly and thoroughly admitting your wrongs. One way to do this is to use the Seven A's.

Four G's of How Can I Please God in This?

1st G: Glorify God

2nd G: Get the log out of your own eye

3rd G: Gently Restore

4th G: Go and be reconciled

Other Considerations Be Prepared for Unreasonable People

Whenever you are responding to conflict, you need to realize that other people may harden their hearts and refuse to be reconciled to you. There are two ways you can prepare for this possibility.

Four Promises of Forgiveness

Through forgiveness God tears down the walls that our sins have built, and he opens the way for a renewed relationship with him. This is exactly what we must do if we are to forgive as the Lord forgives us: We must release the person who has wronged us from the penalty of being separated from us. We must not hold wrongs against others, not think about the wrongs, and not punish others for them. Therefore, forgiveness may be described as a decision to make four promises:

"I will not dwell on this incident."
"I will not bring up this incident again and use it against you."
"I willl not talk to others about this incident."
"I will not let this incident stand between us or hinder our personal relationship."