I once heard Nancy Ortberg say that “Good leaders steer into conflict, not away from it.” Nancy’s admonition sent chills down my spine. Why? Because I am a leader, and I don’t like steering into conflict. Yet conflict is everywhere isn’t it? We have conflicts with our spouses, our children, our employers, employees, and our friends. There isn’t a day that goes by where we don’t experience some kind of conflict. The questions isn’t whether we’re going to have conflict, the question is whether we’re going to “steer into it” or “away from it.”
That’s where we find ourselves in this message, considering what it would look like to steer into conflict. In the new family of Jesus, we are given processes and skills to enter into conflict. The goal is not to have conflict for conflict’s sake. Some people just like fighting. No, the goal is to enter conflict to potentially bring true peace to a relationship. That’s the way of Jesus.
Listen in as we learn that, the way to what we want in our relationships, is usually the way we’d rather not go.