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The Art and Science of Intentional Interim MInistry:
Helping Hurting Churches to Heal

This workshop is for ministry professionals who have or will experience conflict in the church - and who are interested in reaching with understanding to some of the root causes and cures.

"Church conflict" is not an oxymoron, much as we might wish it to be so. We are not alone - even the early church was not immune. In the "Introduction To The Book of James" in The Message, by Eugene Peterson, we find the following:

When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. ...Christian churches are not, as a rule, model communities of good behavior. They are, rather, places where human misbehavior is brought out in the open, faced, and dealt with.

Given that conflict is a fact of life in today's churches, what do we do about it? Most of us - whether lay or clergy - are not trained to help heal conflicted situations. How do we intervene in conflict to harness the energy it produces for the good of the community of faith?

All denominations have responded to the special needs of churches paralyzed by conflict. Many have chosen to equip specialists to help churches stabilize and return to their primary mission of making and maturing disciples of Jesus Christ.

In order that you may be better prepared to serve special congregational needs in times of severe strife, we will examine conflict dynamics unique to the "church setting" such as :
                Constructive-destructive conflict
                Conflict causes - who's to blame?
                Church system?
                Power and control - use and misuse
                Successful Interim Ministry - what is it? And How do I do it?

LEADERS

Dianne B. Christopher is credentialed and accredited by the Interim Ministry Network. She has served as Intentional Interim Senior Pastor of an 800 member United Methodist congregation in conflict and is in another interim appointment.

Diane Kimm Mitchell is credentialed by the Interim Ministry Network. She was serving as Intentional Interim Associate Pastor of an 800 member United Methodist congregation in conflict and is now serving another appointment.

DATES AND PLACES

This seminar will be offered on the following dates and locations.  Click on a location for further information.

If your church or conference would be interested in hosting or sponsoring this seminar, please click on the "Sponsor Info" button or text link for information.

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