Communication and
Conflict Management
for the Sake of Mission
What is the purpose of life?
What is the meaning of success?
What is the measure
of a life well lived?
Did I reach my life goals?
What was my life about?
Have past issues been
resolved?
Leadership
Identity Questions
Have I lived my
life with integrity?
Who am I?
What is the meaning
and purpose of life?
What is happiness?
Who are we?
What do we do?
Why do we do it?
For whom do we do
it?
How did my life
matter?
Was my time well
spent?
What did I mean to others?
How can I get my needs met
without being selfish?
What can I look back on with pride?
Did I love well?
Collaboration is the
identification,
release
and union
of all the gifts in ministry
for the sake of mission.
Sofield and Juliano
Conversation
Good conversation connects us at a deeper
level. As we share our different human
experiences, we rediscover a sense of
unity. We remember we are part of a
greater whole. And as an added joy, we
also discover our collective wisdom.
Suddenly we see how wise we can be
together.
Margaret Wheatley
Reflection

What are the hallmarks of a good
conversation for you?
– What does a good conversation “look” like?

What feelings do you experience when you
have a good conversation?
– What does a good conversation “feel” like?

What are some of the outcomes of a good
conversation for you?
Reflection

Take a minute to think about a good
conversation you have had recently that
reflects some of Wheatley’s ideas.
– What was it about your behavior and
attitude that helped you connect?
– What was it about the other person’s
behavior and attitude that facilitated the
ease of your conversation?
Principles of Conversation
Margaret Wheatley

We acknowledge one  We slow down so we
another as equals
have time to think
and reflect
 We try to stay
curious about each
 We remember that
other
conversation is the
natural way humans
 We recognize that we
think together
need each other’s
help to become better  We expect it to be
listeners
messy at times.
Conversation
Conversation is a meeting of minds with
different memories and dreams. When
minds meet, they don’t just exchange
ideas, they transform them, reshape
them, draw different implications from
them, engage in new trains of thought.
Conversation doesn’t just reshuffle the
cards, it creates new cards.
Theodore Zeldin
Are you willing to be influenced by the conversations
you have?
Disturbed
Excited
Surprised
Curious
Willing to receive what the other says
Willing to respect diversity
Willing to challenge in order to understand and not
to convert the other to our way of thinking
Willing to yield to new ideas
Reflection

What helps you to keep an open mind as
you converse with someone?

What keeps you willing to be “influenced”
by what another person is saying?
One of the ways in which we
build a human society is by
recovering a reverence for
words and their potency to
form and sustain community.
Timothy Radcliffe, OP
Speaking is not just
about words
Speaking is a moral act,
demanding the deepest
responsibility.
Timothy Radcliffe, OP
We have lost St. Augustine’s sense of awe
when he says, “Words, those precious cups of meaning.”
Timothy Radcliffe, OP
Reflection

Think about some conversations you have
had recently.
– Have there been times when words created
problems for you?
– What happened?
Conversation: Art & Discipline
Art
Discipline


Creative side: birth of
relationship
 Nourishing
 Enlighten decisionmaking
 Connect people at the
center of energy
Learning
 Understanding
 Desire to know more
 Application of what
we learn
Reflection

How do you foster the “artistic” dimension
of conversation?

How do you foster the “discipline” side of
conversations as you engage with others?
Government
Structure
Governance
Interrelationships
within
levels of governance
Spirituality
Ongoing
Spiritual
formation
Operating
Principles
Mission
Resources
Local
Communities
Committees
Ministry
Each of us is a word of God
spoken only once.
Each member of a community
is unique.
Sofield, Hammett, Juliano
Reflection

What strikes you as you reflect on this statement?

What are the implications of this statement for us
as we relate with others?

What do your congregation’s documents say about
the uniqueness or importance of each person?
– How does this influence the manner in which you
engage with others?