Love Your Team -- Mike and Karen

Mike W. and Karen Hibberd also walked us through how to deal with team conflict, and they did a great job of it. Some notes from their time:



* Among the top 5 reasons Muslims give for choosing Christ is the lifestyle of Christians they have seen... the love they exhibited in relationships and the treating of women as equals.



*Mike talked about how we are to love our enemies... he has a hard time thinking of enemies. But he can think of people he's been hurt by, dislikes, doesn't get along with or doesn't agree with. We need to love these people as well, and everyone we have conflict with.



* Conflict isn't bad, it just is part of life in a fallen world. There's no intimacy without conflict, and our conflict-free relationships are often superficial.



* Bad ways to deal with conflict:

Deny/Avoid (We are told to put aside falsehood)

Judge/Attack/Accuse (We are told not to judge; Matt 7:1; I Cor. 4:5)

Talk to Others About It (Eph 4:31... don't slander)

End the relationship

* How we should deal with conflict (Matt 5:23-26)

* Healthy steps to resolve conflict:
1) Go to the Lord
2) Go to the other person
3) minimize conflict by knowing expectations, team norms, good communication

*Remember, we can't do this without the help of Christ (John 15:5)