I just finished editing a feature on church conflict that Church Central will post next week, so I have had conflict on my mind. Sometimes church conflict is small—a matter of carpet colors or the placement of the pulpit. Other times it is large, looming over issues of theology, doctrine and denominational policy. Conventions over the summer have again left strange schisms among more groups, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), that voted to keep the ban on homosexuals in the ministry while also voting, in a somewhat schizophrenic fashion, to not punish violators.

Here's what Rev. Al Mohler writes in his Washington Post column about churches that let their ‘yes' be ‘no' and their ‘no' be ‘maybe':

"The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [ELCA] has voted to encourage its bishops not to take punitive action against ministers who violate the denomination's ban on active homosexuals in the ministry. Last year, the Presbyterian Church USA [PCUSA] took a similar action, allowing local jurisdictions (presbyteries) to ordain candidates for ministry who violate a similar policy. Both cases represent tragic failures of leadership. Both churches failed to maintain their own standards and lacked the courage or consensus to change them."

Schisms threaten unity

American Episcopalians know what this is all about, having been through the dilemma of  Rev. Gene V. Robinson's ordination. The move has carved a schism so great that more conservative U.S. Anglican bishops are now being ordained in Africa. According to reports, yesterday the Right Rev. William Murdoch and the Right Rev. Bill Atwood were consecrated at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi by Kenya's Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi.

Conservative Anglicans are smart this way, avoiding the ethical dilemma Lutherans and Presbyterians now face of pledging obedience to church authority while at the same time pledging obedience to Scripture—when the two are in conflict over tolerating homosexual behavior. Bishops ordained under the more conservative Kenyan church have avoided the "institutional hypocrisy" as Mohler calls it, of condemning sin and also tolerating it.

However, even lesser church conflicts feel like "institutional hypocrisy," too. The church is supposed to be an institution of acceptance, love, discipline toward righteous living, etc., etc. So when a congregation is mired down in divisive debates, whether over morality issues or something else, it is in direct opposition to Christ's prayer for the unity of believers. Whatever hinders the health of a church hinders its work.

Church consultants see this time and again in their work with hurting congregations. A conflict turns a church inward. The battle raging within the walls prohibits the church from winning the war outside the walls.

There are answers, however. Several consultants we spoke with offered solutions for typical church conflicts. While the answers may not alleviate the pain, they can eradicate the problems of a conflict. Look for the conflict feature on Church Central next week. Maybe there's hope yet for unity.