Leadership and Conflict

As a leader, how do you face and transform conflict? Your response depends upon your leadership style, which grows out of who you are, your personality, values, and temperament.

How will you lead?

To face and transform conflict, you first must be honest about who you are and about your desire to lead into and through conflict. If you are concerned about yourself, you might lead by avoiding conflict, which shows little courage in being truthful or vulnerable.

Ultimately, you have little concern for yourself or others. If you are concerned about others, you might lead by trying to please them. Ultimately, you are seeking personal peace without facing the conflict. If you lead focused on love and courage, you might lead by facing the conflict with vulnerability, while being truthful, showing compassion, and offering hope to move forward. All along the process you are working for transformation which brings resolution.

Although it seems simplistic, you lead into and through conflict based on your self-awareness, your vulnerability, and courage.

Let’s look at one way Jesus faced conflict.

Read Mark 1:21-28

²¹They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. ²²They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. ²³Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” ²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” ²⁶And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He^[^a^] commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Reflect on Mark 1:21-28

The good news according to Mark is God sent Jesus to oppose the pain, suffering, tragedy, and evil in the world. For Mark, Jesus is opposing the things that separate people from God and one another. He begins his story with Jesus teaching in Capernaum. He sets the context of his story as a conflict of authority.

Who is Your Authority?

On one side are the scribes, who are the professional scholars of the Bible and Jewish tradition. Their authority is in being the official voice of the tradition. On the opposite side is Jesus, a teacher, model, and embodiment of the love of God.

Jesus’ authority is not centered in his ability to cite the scriptures or his great insights. It is not in his tone of voice, confidence, or assertiveness. Jesus represents the authority of God. In other words, to have Jesus as your teacher is to live the life God created you to live and not necessarily to cite the teachings of Jesus on how to live.

Conflict in Mark’s Gospel

By Mark setting up the conflict in this way he is saying that the scribes belong to the side of pain, suffering, and evil. There are no “Christian scribes” in Mark. The scribes formed part of the opposition to the church in Mark’s setting.

He illustrates the conflict with Jesus casting out an unclean spirit. “Unclean” does not mean dirty or unsanitary, but ritually impure. In this story, unclean is more about not keeping the rituals of the religion than a major evil.

Conflict of Authority

Jesus is recognized as the Holy One, Holy Spirit in Luke, as opposed to the unholy spirit possessing the man. Sometimes the unclean spirit is called a demon. The word for “demon” means to do one harm. So, the conflict of authority is between the tradition of the religion which binds the man and does harm and the love of God which sets him free with healing and hope?

The unclean spirit asks, “Have you come to destroy us?” Here is the struggle. The forces of impurity acknowledge that they are already defeated. There is no struggle. Jesus commands with a. word, and the demons are gone. This is Mark’s way of illustrating that the final victory of God over evil is present in the ministry of Jesus.

It is interesting that the unclean spirits recognize Jesus while the humans to not. That is part of Mark’s story of keeping Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one, secret until the appointed time.

Leading Through Conflict

Now, what does this have to do with leading through conflict? When facing conflict, keep in mind the following:

Your purpose is to assist people in becoming followers of Jesus for the transformation of community and the world. There will always be conflict. As a Christ-centered leader, your responsibility is to transform the conflict. Although there will a conflict of values, your job is not to determine right and wrong but to assist people to become more who God created them to be.

As you seek to bring about positive change, you will face the spiritual values of traditions that often hold people hostage. Your authority, centered in the love of God, is to lead with compassion and care providing opportunities for people to become who God created them to be.

Transformation of Conflict

The transformation of conflict results in people being set free and restored. Even though conflict can be and will be uncomfortable, it is often necessary for healing and transformation. With Jesus as your authority, your leadership will bring freedom from oppression.

Confront evil head-on. Be honest and vulnerable. Your leadership will be seen as the ability to address the real needs of the people entrusted to your care.

Be self-aware. Know when you are responding out of love and when you about to react out of fear or anger. Your authority rests in Jesus. Respond with calm authority. Be a person of stability who brings hope. Stay focused on the love of God and upon well-being of all persons involved. Lead with courage and not with fear. There will be times of fear, but remember perfect love casts out fear.

They way you lead into and through conflict show those entrusted to you that you care for them and all involved. When addressing any conflict, you address not only the immediate needs, but you leave a lasting witness to those who follow.

Respond

Today, be aware of the situations and circumstances that reveal conflicting values. With Jesus as your authority and the love of God as your model, think about how you will respond to conflict. How will you have crucial conversations? Be aware of the moments that make you angry and/or afraid. Think about how you will respond with love and care. Be aware of how your responses are a witness to the people around you.

Return

Give God thanks for the people you encountered today. In whom did you see Jesus? In what situations did you face conflict? How did you respond to resolving the conflict? When did you react out of anger or out of fear? How did you respond out of love and compassions? What did you learn about yourself? What will you do differently tomorrow? Give God thanks for the experiences that have helped you become who God created you to be. Remember, who you are is how you lead.