COPING WITH CONFLICT A MEASURE

A Measure of Discipleship

Spiritual conflict! You have likely thought about this subject in terms of something that happens elsewhere-such as on the front lines of missionary service. After all, isn't the heat of the battle always on the front lines? The very fact that you have picked up this book indicates that, at least to some extent, the front lines have reached your front door. Conflict is no longer something for other people in other places. It is here and now, up close and personal, and at just the time when you were trying so hard to grow in your discipleship. How do you know when you are growing in discipleship? Measurement is not just in the number of hours spent in Bible study, the disciplines involved in your prayer life, the amount of money given to spiritual causes, the miles of missionary journeys you have traveled, or the number of persons to whom you have witnessed, but it is often in the way you respond to conflict. Just as true metal is tested in the fire, so the believer is tested in the conflicts encountered. Many a believer, successful in the eyes of the world, has failed in the face of conflict and thus negated much of the ministry entrusted to him or her. Conflict that could have propelled them toward God instead drove them away from God. Realizing that the only hope we have at successfully coping with conflict comes from the power and wisdom of God, we nevertheless must find creative ways to cope personally with our conflicts. The purpose of this book is to identify potential areas of conflict and then offer Bible-based assistance for resolving conflict with the assistance of divinely offered power and wisdom. So if the front lines have reached your front door and coping with conflict isa reality in your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ, you've picked up the right book. Read on.