Week after week, each group in our church (God’s Field Church in Ambridge, Pennsylvania), including my groups, would try to make time to pray, fellowship and discuss what we learned in our Scripture reading during the week.
We would make efforts to meet and would continually have conflicts over the time and place of these meetings, despite our efforts to make meetings work. The ripple effects of only a certain number of people meeting due to others’ non-availability, caused some jealousy, anger and resentment. The goal for me was to show grace and help the others in the group show grace and learn to forgive each other, while learning that conflict is unavoidable when you are dealing with people.
As we were dealing with these conflicts in our Discipleship For Life groups, my husband gave me Christ Centered Conflict Resolution: A Guide for Turbulent Times by Tony Merida.
This book was very helpful in understanding that conflict comes from within you. James 4:1-3 helps me understand the quarrels and fights, the internal conflicts with each other come from within us.
This book also speaks about using these conflicts to expose the idols in our lives. Through conflict, we can recognize idols, and we can repent, giving them over to Christ. Through conflicts in our lives there are opportunities to mature in our faith and relationship with Christ.
It is truly a blessing to watch and witness the D-Life groups praying and reading Scripture together. They also share time together during the week.
This book helped me see that we do not have to avoid conflicts within the church and that we can face them, learn and mature from them. Our five groups are finishing up with the New Testament and our plan is to start the Old Testament in the fall of 2026.
“Christ Centered Conflict Resolution: A Guide for Turbulent Times” by Tony Merida can be purchased on Amazon.com.
