8 Steps to Turn Differences into Opportunities

Differences – threat or opportunity?

Differences consume us. The media concentrates on the differences between communities. Differences are presented as reasons for fear and violence. Sadly churches have become consumed by their differences. Many members often do not recognise each other as sisters and brothers in Christ.

Turning differences into opportunities is the subtitle of a classic book by world renowned mediator Mark Gerzon. His 2006 book Leading Through Conflict: how successful leaders transform differences into opportunities remains an essential book for those who abhor conflict in the church.

Fear or Hope – what shapes your leadership?

Gerzon calls leaders out for their lack of courage and unwillingness to overcome conflict in their organizations. Effective leaders bring people together, he says. Frightened leaders or survival oriented managers (and Ministers) freeze in the headlights of conflict and betray the people and organizations that they are called to serve.

Alternatively, hope believes that a better future is possible. The Gospel is about the reign of God bringing peace and reconciliation for the whole of creation. Do Ministers / Pastors / Priests and other leaders in the church believe enough if the reconciling work of Jesus Christ to hope in the face of conflict? Is your God big enough to overcome the intractable differences in your church?

8 powerful tools

Gerzon offers eight effective tools for people who want to move from being local dictators and everyday managers to being effective mediators of peace and wholeness.

1. Integral vision – acknowledging all sides of the conflict
2. Systems thinking – understanding the connection between the factors that contribute to a conflict
3. Presence – using all your emotional, spiritual, and mental resources to understand the nature of the dispute
4. Inquiry – asking the right questions to get all the relevant information
5. Conscious communication – making good choices about how you communicate during a conflict
6. Dialogue – inspire people’s ability to work through the conflict
7. Bridging – build partnerships that cross the borders that divide
8. Innovation – foster breakthrough ideas and new options for resolving differences

Conclusion

Differences are always with us. Differences are not inherently bad. When we discover that there are differences between us and others a whole new world of possibilities opens up before us.

Navigating our differences together as a group is one of the ways that God leads the church into a more faithful place. However when differences have become personalised and deeply conflicted it is very much harder to realise those opportunities. That’s when expert guidance – and a lot of faith – come.

In later posts I will unpack more of Gerzon’s work from Leading Through Conflict or you can buy it here. I have drawn on his book The Re-United States of America in earlier posts such as Enough! It’s time to show some courage and Finding a Creative Solution to Conflict