Beyond Matthew 18: Understanding, Managing and Resolving Conflict in the Church

CONFLICT, and the division, ill-will, and heartache it brings, seems to prevail all around us. Regrettably, people of faith are not immune from the impact of conflict. In fact, too often it seems that those who profess faith in Christ experience conflict in disproportionate measure. Christian families, church leadership teams, Christian owned businesses, and even churches themselves, too frequently disintegrate under the heavy burdens of unresolved conflict.

This book is presented as a resource for gaining a fuller understanding of conflict between Christ followers, and for increasing the effectiveness of conflict resolution efforts. It uniquely draws from multiple conflict-resolution disciplines, combining and unifying each with a fuller and more complete understanding of Biblical guidance offered on the topic. And it provides the effective strategies necessary to restore peace and unity among those entwined in conflict.

Whether one is embroiled in a conflict or is seeking to help manage or resolve a conflict between others, this book is ultimately designed to help the readers' efforts to promote and restore unity and peace between those within the community of Christ followers who are struggling in conflict, and to do so in a way that honors God and the guidance provided in His Word.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. William ("Bill") Buelow has been guiding others to the successful resolution of conflicts for more than 30 years. Uniquely qualified and experienced as a counselor/therapist, attorney, mediator, chaplain, pastor, and educator, Bill combines the best practices of each discipline as he works with church leaderships, families, business leaders, and others toward restoring Christian unity, trust, and common purpose in a manner that is consistent with and under the authority of biblical instruction. Bill has earned doctoral degrees in law and ministry and a master's degree in counseling psychology, and has completed advanced training in Transformative Mediation.

The author of multiple legal publications, Bill now offers this book as a practical guide to understanding conflicts between Christ followers and to assist readers' efforts to effectively promote and restore unity and peace between conflicting Christian brothers and sisters.