Conflict is normal and inevitable – but Christian leaders often feel ill prepared to handle conflict in the church. Transforming Church Conflict: A Foundation Course for Senior Church Leaders is a training course for those in positions of oversight in the church. The five-day course is focussed on conflict in church settings, and is run by the Bridge Builders team whose training work has been acclaimed by many church leaders. As a senior leader,you will want to attend this training course if you are looking to:
· Develop new skills for handling and transforming conflict
· Assess conflict in churches and discern appropriate interventions
· Give time to personal growth as part of a learning community
· Be part of a movement that is changing the culture of the church
· Put the church’s energy to more creative use, avoiding destructive conflict
Held residentially, the course builds on Bridge Builders’ experience of leading similar training since 1996. The course aims to raise self-awareness, to deepen understanding of conflict and to teach methods for transforming conflict. Spaces are limited and early booking is recommended. Course participants will be invited to join our Bridge Builders’ Network, of Christian leaders around the UK involved in transforming church conflict.

The course includes teaching, group work and guided practice. Active and practical in focus, the sessions provide hands-on skills training and use various role-plays based on the kinds of conflicts encountered in the church. Each day includes times of prayer, worship and journaling. The course is intensive and includes some evening sessions; we strongly recommend avoiding any other commitments during the week, including scheduling any extended telephone consultations.

Presenters

Alastair McKay is director of Bridge Builders at the London Mennonite Centre, providing training, mediation and consultancy services to churches since 1996. Alastair has an MA in Conflict Transformation, is studying for a Doctorate of Ministry, and has contributed to the books Making Peace With Conflict (Herald Press, 1999) and How to Become a Creative Church Leader (Canterbury Press, 2008).

Colin Patterson is assistant director of Bridge Builders, and an Anglican priest. He has worked as a training officer for the Diocese of Durham, is an experienced adult educator, and is author of the Grove booklet How to Learn Through Conflict.

Jackie Searle is an Anglican priest in parish ministry in Derby Diocese, and a member of the Bishop’s senior staff, as Dean of Women’s Ministry. She is a member of Bridge Builders Network, and is an experienced adult educator.

Who is the course for?

The course is designed for senior church leaders, such as Bishops, Archdeacons and others in the senior staff team (Anglican and Roman Catholic), Regional Ministers (Baptist), District Chairs (Methodist), Divisional Commanders (Salvation Army), Moderators (URC), or equivalents in other denominations. If in any doubt, then please contact Alastair at alastair.mckay@menno.org.uk to enquire.

Meals and Accommodation

The course is fully residential, with accommodation from Sunday night to Thursday night, and with meals provided each day from Sunday evening until Friday lunch time, of breakfast, lunch and evening meal, in single room accommodation at Whirlow Grange Conference Centre, Eccleshall Road South, Sheffield S11 9PZ (see www.whirlowgrange.co.uk).

Cost, Application and Cancellation

The cost for the course is £845. A special “early bird” discount of £100 is available if booking by June 30 2010, giving a reduced price of £745. A training manual and a style profile are included in the fee.

Spaces are limited to a maximum of 24, so do apply early, as our courses are regularly over-subscribed well in advance.

To apply, download the brochure and application form. Print out the application and mail it, with a cheque for £100 made payable to Bridge Builders, to

Bridge Builders
London Mennonite Centre
14 Shepherds Hill
London N6 5AQ

Once accepted, the £100 deposit is a non-refundable. The balance of the fee is due ten weeks before the start of the course (i.e. by 3 January 2011). The full fee is owed if a place is cancelled within eight weeks of the course start date (i.e. from 17 January 2010 onwards).

Course Timings

Sunday 13th March: arrival from 5:00pm for dinner at 6:30pm
Monday 14th March & Thursday 17th March: 9:00am-6:00pm
Tuesday 15th March & Wednesday 16th March: 9:00am-1:00pm, 3:30-6:00pm, 7:30-9:00pm
Friday 18th March: 9:00am-2:00pm

Course Objectives

1. To increase your self-awareness as a leader facing conflict, so that you become clearer about how others experience you and what you have to offer;
2. To transform your attitude towards conflict and engaging with conflict, so that you are able to face conflict more constructively;
3. To equip you with practical skills for working with conflict, so that you can engage with conflict more confidently in future; and
4. To equip you with conflict analysis skills, so that you can better assess what type of interventions may be most appropriate in situations referred to you.

Course Outcomes

By the end of the course we expect that you will have:
· Developed greater awareness about your communication style and its impact on others
· Reflected on Biblical resources related to conflict
· Enhanced your skills for communicating effectively in times of conflict
· Experienced and practised skills for facilitating meetings
· Learnt ways of building consensus and working with resistance in groups
· Developed your ability to analyse conflict and to identify what intervention, such as mediation, may be most appropriate
· Considered ways to nurture a culture of creative engagement with conflict
· Reflected on the type of leadership needed in times of anxiety and tension
· Discovered ways that conflict can offer opportunities for growth

What past participants have said about this and similar courses:

This course will take you forward, deepen any current knowledge, and leave you better equipped to serve Christ.
Rt Revd Andy John, Bishop of Bangor, Church in Wales

The course gave me confidence in myself, new knowledge about a specialist area, and integration with so much else I am involved with.
Ven Peter Robinson, Anglican Archdeacon, Diocese of Newcastle

The course is challenging, enriching and great fun. You will be equipped to engage with conflict in new and deeper ways, both in yourself and with others.
Rev Nigel Coles, Baptist Regional Minister, Bristol

A safe space to learn and reflect with others from all denominations.
Ven Rachel Treweek, Anglican Archdeacon, Diocese of London

A truly transforming experience, and most useful at an early stage of a new leadership role.
Revd Peter Barber, Methodist District Chair, Chester & Stoke District

An intense, but deeply rewarding opportunity to learn and develop new skills in a hugely important area of church life.
Major Neil Webb, Salvation Army Divisional Leader, Hampshire

Gives an opportunity, in a safe environment, to engage with deep issues in relation to self, experience, and communities. Challenging,unsettling and energising!
Revd Julie Nelson, Advisor for Women’s Ministry,
Ripon & Leeds Diocese

Gives insight and helps equip church leaders to deal with the complex and conflictual nature of church life.
Monsignor Robert Draper, Roman Catholic Vicar General, Cornwall

Senior leaders know that Christians’ good intentions to love each other can end in hellish situations. This course is a richly resourced event which effectively equips participants to assist churches to pave the way to more loving places.
Revd Roy Lowes, URC Synod Moderator, West Midlands