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Mission-focused pastor takes on churchwide role

Pastor Mark Schultz has accepted a call from the LCANZ to serve as the church’s Assistant to the Bishop – International Mission from next year.

Despite serving for 18 years at Sydney’s LifeWay Lutheran Church, Pastor Mark wasn’t looking for a change. He often told people ‘God would need a sledgehammer’ to move him from his role as lead pastor at the multi-ethnic, multi-site church, which includes Chinese and online worshippers and worshipping communities at Newcastle, Illawarra, Western Sydney and Cambodia.

It turns out that the churchwide international mission role was the ‘sledgehammer’ God used to disrupt and eventually dislodge Pastor Mark from his ministry at LifeWay.

Pastor Mark said he didn’t give the LCA International Mission role any real thought when expressions of interest (EOI) were called for in August this year. ‘There was more than enough change and work to do at LifeWay, and I was happy to grow here for the rest of my ministry’, Pastor Mark said. ‘It wasn’t something I was looking for. I’ve always believed that the grass is greenest where you water it, and it is really lush here!’

However, Pastor Mark said God wouldn’t let him ‘find peace or let it go’. ‘I was restless, and everyone around me, to a person, expressed that they believed God had a bigger part for me to play in the church and that I should submit an EOI’, he said.

‘During this time, I had also personalised the vision prayer that we pray as a community, “Lord, prepare my heart for what you have for me next and give me a heart of faith to go where you call me to go” and added, “and use me where you can use me best for your kingdom purposes. Amen”. The peace returned the moment I pressed send on the email with the EOI attached!’

Pastor Mark will succeed Pastor Matt Anker, who served in the role from early 2019 until July this year. LCA International Mission Program Officer Erin Kerber has been Interim Assistant to the Bishop and will continue in that role until Pastor Mark starts early next year.

Pastor Mark was ordained in 1995 and first served in Auckland, New Zealand, in a community with more than 28 different languages. He then served at St Peter’s, Loxton, in South Australia’s Riverland, and moved to St Mark’s Epping, in suburban Sydney, in November 2006. In 2014, the congregation changed its name to LifeWay and embarked on a multi-site ministry.

During his time at LifeWay, Pastor Mark has led nine mission teams to Thailand and Cambodia and has been involved in running intensives on leadership, worship and law and gospel.

These ministry experiences, along with his service on the LCANZ Council for Local Mission and as a current member of the Australian Lutheran World Service Board, have all been training grounds for this new role. ‘Looking back, it’s hard not to see how God has been shaping me for this new adventure’, Pastor Mark said.

He said he is excited about ‘reimagining what collaborative and interdependent partnerships can look like in this new era of mission and ministry’.

‘We are entering an interesting time in international mission, as Christian mission is no longer seen as emanating from the West’, he said. ‘We can gain as much from our partners as our partners can from us, and these insights will be critical on the local mission front as Australia’s cultural diversity continues to increase.’

Pastor Mark will be installed in the role on 23 February 2025 at his home congregation in Mount Barker, South Australia, but will remain based in Sydney.

 

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The path of peace – an Advent reflection

by Reid Matthias

In the Book of Mark, he is described this way: ‘And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the River Jordan. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptise you with water, but he will baptise with the Holy Spirit.”’

For some reason, my brain connects so much more with the visual of this Grizzly Adams-type mountain man wearing a tunic of camel’s hair and eating grasshoppers dipped in a bowlful of honey. Imagine one of John’s after-hours parties – all the countryside and all the people of Jerusalem are out to hang out with him, the celebrity, and he says, ‘Hey, can someone pass the crickets? I’ve got the munchies’.

But he is a celebrity, it seems. He wanders in the wilderness, preparing an opportunity for one who is greater than he is, one more powerful, one who can do much more than baptise with what little water can be found in the wilderness.

He is coming. And we believe, because they (celebrities) inhabit our minds through a screen. Celebrity is as celebrity does, as Forrest Gump should have said.

John the Baptist can’t escape the celebrity status that he has gathered, but with it comes great responsibility. And, unlike present-day stardom, he is not drawing the light to himself. There is no self-aggrandisement, no braggadocio, no false sense that he thinks to himself, ‘Maybe I should think a little closer about my own sense of power’.

He recognises that there is someone greater than he is and his job, as foretold by his own father, Zechariah, in Luke 1:76–79: ‘And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the most high; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare a way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven, to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.’

What incredible poetry (this is entitled ‘Zechariah’s Song’)! He is singing about his child’s future right after he is born and with the vivid understanding that his son has a role in showing God’s mercy, whose light shines down from heaven …

And guides our feet into the path of peace.

Isn’t that what we all want this Christmas? It seems like every Christmas I profess peace with my mouth, but it is still far from my heart. I wander around in a trance-like state, thinking about ‘Christmassy’ things, and yet the gift that I truly want is one that John brings to us first and foremost.

Peace on earth, goodwill to all people.

We’re not told much about John’s early life – only what Luke recalls after Zechariah’s Song: ‘And the child grew and became strong in the Spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.’

Can you imagine the frustration of both Elizabeth and Zechariah at mealtime every night?

Elizabeth: Zechy, have you seen John? He’s supposed to be washing up for supper.
Zechariah: (shaking his head) Last time I saw him, he was by himself, heading out into the hills.
Elizabeth: What does he do out there anyway?
Zechariah: Who knows? I tried to find him once, follow his tracks, but they always lead to beehives.
Elizabeth: What?
Zechariah: I have no idea. My guess is he likes honey. Good thing his metabolism is still working. Wait until
he gets our age. He’ll have to hit the YMJA (Young Men’s Judean Association) and work off some of that desert fat.
Elizabeth: Well, I suppose it’s true. He never seems to
be hungry when he gets home. I just hope he is getting enough protein.

I would have loved to have heard what Elizabeth and Zechariah would have said when he showed up with grasshopper wings stuck in his teeth!

But the Scripture says that John lived in the wilderness. He wandered and waited for something. Perhaps he really didn’t know what that would be or what that would look like. Maybe John just assumed that he was destined for nomadism and that after his parents passed on, it was only natural to think – just like the rest of the Jews living under Roman thumb – that God had forgotten them.

In St Luke’s Gospel we read: ‘During the priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’ (Luke 3:2,3).

John went from place to place and talked about that which would set the people’s feet on the path of peace: forgiveness of sins. Here is the place where, in our spiritual lives, we find crooked paths of jealousy, rough roads of hatred and soaring mountains of pride. When baptism occurs, those potholes are filled in, and sin ceases to have power over our salvation (or damnation, as it were), because the power of Christ allows us to be ‘baptised into a death like his’, which gives us life with him.

It was in this wandering that John encountered the word of God at long last. Perhaps on a quiet morning when he least expected it, and at the perfect time, God beckoned in his own way to this rugged man of the wilderness, and said, ‘Dearest John, I’ve got a plan, and I need you near the front and centre for a while’.

For this man who wandered, life would never be the same – and for one who wandered by himself, great crowds would probably have caused him great stress.

But it is in the wandering that perhaps all of us can encounter God and the call to something bigger than ourselves – to allow the light of Christ to reflect off of us to show others One who is greater than us. In this way, even in the midst of the struggle of making the path straight for God this Christmas, we might encounter the path to peace.

Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. This article was originally published as ‘Advent II – The Wandering’ on his online blog https://ireid.blogspot.com

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Because we bear your name – Bishop Paul’s letter

Rev Paul Smith
Bishop, Lutheran Church of
Australia and New Zealand

‘Joy, O joy, beyond all gladness!’ These are astounding and inspiring words from the rarely sung chorus of the Christmas hymn in our Lutheran Hymnal and Supplement (LHS) 32, written by 17th-century hymnwriter Christian Keymann.

The good news of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is deeper and lasting beyond simply happy feelings. The angel told the Bethlehem shepherds, ‘I bring you good news of great joy!’ The telling of the nativity story is great joy. God has become enfleshed and dwelt among us out of great love for all humankind.

This story began with God’s promise at the dawn of time, to send a saviour to ‘strike the head’ of the serpent. At Christmastime, we remind each other that the promise unfolds in the story of the manger and the cross. God will bring about that exchange of our sin for the righteousness of the sinless Son of God so that we would have peace with God. This is the good news of great joy!

The chorus of Keymann’s hymn continues, ‘Christ has done away with sadness. Hence, all sorrow and repining, for the sun of grace is shining’.

This does not mean Christians are free from feelings of sadness, sorrow or struggle. Rather, this ‘good news of great joy’ of the coming of Christ means that, whatever we experience or whatever comes our way, we walk as people of grace in the light of the gospel. Because of the manger and the cross, we know God is with us. Because of Christ Jesus, we know God is for us.

With this sure promise of grace over us, before us and within us, we come to God with complete confidence with all our weariness and heaviness. We join with the psalmist, praying: ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.’

The hymn’s image of the ‘sun of grace shining’ draws on another biblical promise spoken by the prophet Malachi where, in chapter 4, we read of the ‘sun of righteousness’ rising ‘with healing in its wings’. This image is also sung in the well-loved carol, ‘Hark! The herald angels sing’ (LHS 33).

As people of grace, the people of our Lutheran Church have been walking as sisters and brothers in Christ in the light of the ‘sun of grace’. We have travelled through 2024, during which our General Pastors’ Conference and Convention of General Synod met, and we resolved to remove our prohibition that required the ordination of only men as pastors in our church. We also resolved to continue as one church in which both the ordination of men only and the ordination of both women and men are received as faithful understandings of the word of God.

As we work through these things together as sisters and brothers in Christ, the words of Keymann remind us of the sure promises of God in all circumstances. We are people of the gospel who are given hope in what our Lord Christ Jesus has done for us: ‘Joy, O Joy beyond all gladness, Christ has done away with sadness.’

As we prepare for Christmas festivities, we know that around us are people who do not know or have forgotten the joy of salvation. As the shepherds left their flocks to ‘make known’ what had been ‘told them about the child’, may the Lord give us the opportunity to give a good account to family, friends and neighbours of the Christmas hope and joy within us.

Keymann’s hymn ends with a beautiful and hopeful prayer:

‘Jesus, guard and guide Thy members,
Fill Thy brethren with Thy grace,
Hear their prayers in every place,
Quicken now life’s faintest embers;
Grant all Christians, far and near,
Holy peace, a glad new year.

Joy, O joy, beyond all gladness!
Christ has done away with sadness.
Hence, all sorrow and repining,
For the sun of grace is shining.’

Praise the Lord!

In Christ,
Paul

 ‘Lord Jesus, we belong to you,
you live in us, we live in you;
we live and work for you –
because we bear your name’

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Synod enables ordination of women and men

On 5 October at the 21st Regular Convention of the LCANZ, General Synod voted to enable the ordination of both women and men as pastors in the church.

Delegates resolved to support a proposal from the General Church Board (GCB) and College of Bishops (CoB) to remove from the LCA’s Theses of Agreement the paragraph (VI:11) that prohibits women from entering the pastoral ministry.

The resolution incorporated recommendations from the 2024 General Pastors Conference (GPC) and was passed with a 71.3 per cent majority, 269 votes for and 108 against, with all 377 registered delegates voting.

In effect, this means that the church’s teaching on the office of the public ministry remains unchanged apart from the requirement of the ordination of men only. The proposal passed by Synod included the expectation that the Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations (CTICR), together with the church’s pastors conferences and districts, will finalise a doctrinal statement on ordination in 2025, to be approved by an online General Pastors Conference and online Convention of General Synod.

The decision also confirmed the commitment to parishes and congregations that they may call a pastor who best meets their ministry needs. Parishes and congregations will not have to call a pastor who is a woman.

Synod delegates prefaced their debate with prayer led by Bishop Emeritus Mark Whitfield, who called for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, singing the prayer in both English and Te reo Māori. LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith said: ‘We commend this resolution to God, trusting his mercy, guiding our feet in the way of peace.’

In a pastoral statement to the Convention after the vote, the bishops of the church noted that the respectful dialogue of delegates showed ‘deep love for the church and the desire to find a way forward together’ and that the tone after the vote ‘reflected the grace of God among us’.

Despite more than three decades of theological study and debate, division has remained within the church about whether the Scriptures permit the ordination of women.

At the 2023 in-person sessions of the 2021–23 Convention of General Synod, delegates voted by a strong majority to direct GCB and CoB to find a way for the LCANZ to operate as ‘one church with two different practices of ordination’ and to report back with a detailed framework to the 2024 GPC and General Synod.

The Way Forward project team and working groups appointed by GCB-CoB worked through the theological, constitutional and governance requirements to allow this directive to be accomplished.

When the Way Forward Detailed Framework was released in July this year, it was the result of the most consultative, collaborative project in the LCANZ’s history, with feedback from across the church shaping the resolution put to GPC ahead of Synod.

The bishops of the church have reaffirmed a commitment to work through pastoral and relational matters following the ordination decision, including providing care and support for those in their districts who did not vote in favour of the change.

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LCANZ elects mission leader as Assistant Bishop

The LCANZ’s General Synod has elected Pastor Stephen Schultz as Assistant Bishop of the church.

He was installed to the role during the closing service of Convention on 7 October at Concordia College in suburban Adelaide.

Assistant Bishop Stephen has been serving the SA-NT District in the role of Assistant Bishop for Mission since 2018. Prior to that, he served as pastor of two South Australian parishes: St Michael’s Hahndorf (2002–2017) and Bethlehem, Adelaide (1997–2002).

He has broad governance and leadership experience, having served throughout his pastoral ministry on numerous boards, councils and committees, including District Church Council and General Church Council, Australian Lutheran College Board and General Pastors Conference Planning Committee. His service on various district committees covers Aboriginal, tertiary, children, youth and family ministries.

As the role of Assistant Bishop is a volunteer one, he will continue to serve in his current role with the SA-NT District.

Former Assistant Bishop Neville Otto, who served in the post for one term, did not stand for re-election.

One of two pastors nominated by the LCANZ’s General Pastors Conference to Synod for election to the role along with Pastor Fraser Pearce, Assistant Bishop Stephen said he had ‘wrestled with accepting the nomination’ because of the time-consuming nature of his district position.

‘But I also recognise our Lutheran Church is at a critical time in its history’, he said after his election. ‘I love our Lutheran Church and feel so blessed to be part of it. I want to serve her to the best of my ability, and I was encouraged by many of my fellow pastors, who I respect deeply, to allow my name to stand.

‘The role has a huge commitment and responsibility, and I feel a bit overwhelmed by it. I’m looking forward to discovering why God has called me into this role and how I can grow and serve through it.’

LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith was elected for two synodical terms in 2021 and so the role was not up for election in 2024.

 

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New home purchased for churchwide bodies

A five-level building in the Adelaide CBD will become the new home for Australian Lutheran College (ALC) and the Churchwide Office.

The building is located at 139 Frome Street, Adelaide, in close proximity to Bethlehem and St Stephen’s Lutheran churches. Ample parking for visitors and staff is available onsite and within 200 metres.

The acquisition of this property follows the sale of the LCANZ’s properties in North Adelaide for a net price of approximately $52.5 million, which was above market valuations.

The purchase of the building is expected to provide benefits in working more closely on mission and ministry and sharing common facilities, as well as streamlining some back-of-office operations. The new premises are also expected to provide the opportunity for other church entities to co-locate.

Parts of the building are currently tenanted, and this is expected to continue, providing an ongoing income stream for the church.

Settlement on the property is due at the end of November when work will commence to fit out the floors to be occupied by LCANZ bodies. MPH Architects has been retained as the firm to design the workspaces in consultation with representatives of ALC and the Churchwide Office. The project is being overseen by Tony Materne, a director of MPH and member of St John’s congregation, Unley.

The purchase has been funded through LCANZ reserves and deposit monies from the sale of the North Adelaide properties. The majority of the proceeds of the sale are payable in July 2026.

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‘It’s the Father’s ministry’

When Ros O’Donohoe from Good Shepherd Para Vista in suburban Adelaide explains the story of the inspirational ‘Meet and Eat’ ministry, there’s a phrase that comes up again and again. ‘It’s the Father’s ministry.’

These words are a testament to the faith Ros draws on as she and a team of helpers prepare and serve dinner for 80 to 90 people at the church hall every Monday apart from public holidays. Congregation members also eat with the guests and gauge prayer needs.

Some who come for the food, friendship and singalongs have been sleeping rough. ‘All who come are a joy to have’, Ros says. ‘The addicted ones or the broken souls who didn’t want to be in this position, those who didn’t have a basic education; those are the dear ones I will protect.’ A collaboration with the homeless charity Orange Sky means guests can have clothes washed and dried while they eat and use shower facilities.

Much of the food served at ‘Meet and Eat’ comes from Pathway Community Centre at nearby Modbury North. The congregation contributes about $150 each month. ‘The church has been enormously supportive’, Ros says. ‘Basically, we don’t need more money … it’s the Father’s ministry. The church put in a new kitchen, which is such a blessing. And one day a Good Shepherd member asked to help, indicating that he loved to cook – praise God!’

But things don’t always go to plan. ‘When the freezer stopped working, all the food had to be trashed’, Ros recalls. ‘But I believed the Father would supply what we needed. And, by the end of the week, Pathway had an abundance of food, so God kept the food flowing.’

Meet and Eat had its origins in a smaller, simpler ministry, the seed of which was planted in 2008. Ros and her late husband Barry, who died in 2013, received a prophecy that God would start a new ministry through them.

It began with morning teas for several of Ros and Barry’s neighbours who had lost spouses to cancer. Some of them were hostile towards the church. ‘Eventually, we asked if they would come to “a hall”, for me to cook them soup and toast’, she says. ‘They agreed but there was to be “no church talk”.

‘We called it “Soup night” at first. Yet, whatever it’s called, it’s always the Father’s ministry. When the Father starts a ministry, he has all the resources.’

The food, friendship and faith on offer change lives. By 2011, 12 ‘grumpy neighbours’ were being welcomed by six Good Shepherd members, sharing soup and laughter. ‘All of my original grumpy neighbours later asked for Jesus’, Ros says. ‘They experienced love and acceptance.’

Ros explains, too, that, as a small child, her back neighbour saw a picture of Jesus with the words, “Suffer the little children to come unto me”. ‘Her fear was that the man in the picture would make her suffer. I couldn’t change that, despite being her neighbour for 35 years – yet soup and love changed her heart at 93 years of age! She needed what we had. Praise God!

‘So, the greatest blessing is to see others finding salvation over a bowl of soup. That energises me to work with joy.’

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LCANZ properties under contract

The LCANZ’s entire 1.9-hectare property at North Adelaide is under multiple contracts, with the total purchase price exceeding the various market evaluations.

The property was listed for sale in late March, with expressions of interest (EOI) closing on 15 May. All successful EOI applicants were assessed on predetermined selection criteria and have agreed to all LCANZ terms and conditions of sale.

Settlement conditions have been negotiated, with settlements for differing lots occurring over the next 48 months. Vacant possession will be provided over various sections of the site between July 2025 and July 2026.

Brett Hausler, Executive Officer of the Church, said that purchase contracts ‘will support the LCANZ in potentially purchasing a new building for the Churchwide Office and ALC but also provide the opportunity for other Lutheran entities interested in co-locating’.

Potential locations for the new workplace for ALC and the Churchwide Office are being investigated. It is hoped that the new location will provide opportunities to actively streamline operations, create a collaborative and supportive workplace environment, and foster a living missional culture.

‘God has blessed the LCANZ with the outcome of this sale, which has exceeded our expectations’, Mr Hausler said.

‘We look forward to where God leads us next, as we explore options for the new home for ALC and the Churchwide Office, as well as investing the balance of the proceeds to support the operations of the ALC as well as supporting mission and ministry.’

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To God be the glory

by Helen Brinkman

Whether it’s a home-baked cupcake, a home-grown pumpkin, or a handmade bracelet, giving glory to God comes in many forms for retired teacher Anne Kotzur. Life is a whirl of baking, gardening and volunteering for the mother of four and grandmother of eight.

Despite celebrating her 80th birthday this past month, she’s as busy as ever supporting her family, her local Our Saviour Lutheran family in Rochedale, Brisbane, and even families as far flung as Ukraine and Ethiopia.

Her dance card is full with giving – everything from weekly cupcake bake-offs for Our Saviour Sunday school children, to distributing the 40 pumpkins grown in her own backyard.

It’s also in receiving that Anne gives thanks to God. She is thankful for the handmade ‘Swifty’ bracelet made for her birthday by a student at the local school where she volunteers, as much as she’s thankful for the $500 birthday donation she’s sending off to the Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS) to support Ethiopian families. It was just what she wanted for her birthday!

The donation came from the high tea celebration her church friends hosted to honour her coming of age – becoming an octogenarian, that is. She didn’t want presents but suggested that people could instead donate to the latest ALWS campaign supporting Ethiopia.

Supporting ALWS has been a lifelong effort for Anne.

‘Ever since I was a little girl, my grandparents always had a bowl on their Christmas and Easter tables for gifts to support Australian Lutheran World Service’, she recalls.

‘So, I grew up under the banner of ALWS and I always have had a heart for this organisation.’

In May this year, Anne was among the volunteers at the registration desk checking in almost 900 walkers taking part in Brisbane’s Walk My Way Ukraine which supported Ukrainian families displaced by conflict. About $190,000 was raised. ‘It was such a joy for me to see so many young families with little children, strollers and scooters, as well as older people too’, she says.

‘It brought joy to my heart seeing people come to walk to support families in Ukraine. The reason I wanted to support it was so children could get back to homes and schools, so schools could be repaired and school bomb shelters built. That was my motivation. I love the way ALWS partners with different agencies to help in these situations.’

The Rochedale community remains the hub of Anne’s world. It’s where she was born in 1944, the eldest of three, to mum Pearl and dad Colin Francis, who were local farmers, cultivating paw paws, potatoes, tomatoes and more.

As an adult, she’s still in the same family home in Rochedale that she and husband Elmore moved into 54 years ago. Elmore died four years ago after 52 years of marriage. ‘I give thanks as we had a wonderful life together and I am very grateful for those years’, Anne says.

The only time she moved away was when, as a 21-year-old graduate teacher, Anne answered a church call for teachers at the Hope Vale mission school in northern Queensland.

‘I always had a heart for mission and for Aboriginal people. I loved teaching and loved the children, so when there was a call out for teachers at Hope Vale, I went, she says.

It was at Hope Vale that Anne met farm manager Elmore Kotzur. Two years later they married and moved to nearby Wujal Wujal, where they had their first two sons. They returned to Rochedale in 1970 and were later blessed with two more sons.

Anne went back to teaching when the boys were at school, retiring about 16 years ago. Retirement has allowed Anne to put more time back into her home and community. She still gardens, cooks and visits. She also volunteers every Wednesday for the breakfast club at the local state school, organised through the school’s Scripture Union chaplain.

Anne is inspired by her favourite text: ‘And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8).

‘I thank God that he helps me each day. And I can still walk, garden, mow, and help at church and be involved with my church family’, she says.

She comes away from her weekly hospital visits to the sick giving thanks, and grateful for the beautiful attitudes of those she visits.

And every day she gives thanks, having experienced breast cancer twice, five heart bypasses, open heart surgery and a stroke. She’s grateful for God’s wonderful healing hand which has made her well and grateful for his goodness daily. ‘To God be the glory – that’s the main thing I would say, just to give thanks to God for his goodness every day’, she reflects. ‘Wake up each day and thank God for his goodness. He is good all the time and his mercies are ever new each day.’

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Disagreeing well

As well as serving a Lutheran school community as its pastor, Chris Mann helps workplaces deal with conflict. Recently, he shared his thoughts with Lutheran Media’s Messages of hope about how to ‘disagree well’ with others. This is an excerpt adapted from that podcast interview.

Conflict is a values clash. When a conflict happens, it’s always around something valuable to us and therefore has some emotions attached to it.

However, if we’re in a conflict and we don’t see the other person’s perspective, even if we win, we lose. So, we might win an argument, but we lose our relationship with them, and we lose something within ourselves. We lose compassion, we lose wisdom and we lose humility.

So, instead of thinking, ‘How am I going to beat that person? How am I going to win in this situation?’, from a faith perspective it is: ‘How would Jesus have me deal with that situation?’ Sometimes that is turning the other cheek. Sometimes that is going the extra mile, but sometimes it’s having appropriate boundaries.

And, before talking about a difficult topic, I check my motives. Am I just trying to fix a problem, or am I trying to love a person? If I truly care about this person, I’ll find a way to speak the truth, even if it’s going to be difficult for both of us.

Ultimately, being able to admit that we’re wrong can be the most important skill we have when it comes to conflict.

Another thing that makes a big difference is pausing and taking a breath so that we can think clearly and not take all our conflicts personally.

Of course, being a Christian is an amazing help. We know that part of the Old Testament is about people being in conflict with God; people not wanting to do things the way that God wants them to do it. But, in Jesus, God chooses to enter our shoes in our conflict, and experiences as a human what it is to be in conflict with others.

So, Jesus knows what it is to enter a disagreement as a human being and knows how to respond well. But we see especially in Jesus going to the cross, that sometimes in a conflict we actually have to just suffer and suffer well.

Sometimes suffering well results in the life that we were trying to fight for in the first place. And God’s wanting to provide life for everyone on the other side of a conflict. We don’t always get to experience that, unfortunately – our world is broken.

But that is God’s best for us: life on the other side of a conflict.

You can listen to the full interview at www.messagesofhope.org.au/disagreeing-well

School pastor at Endeavour College Mawson Lakes in South Australia, Chris Mann is also a leadership coach specialising in communication under the banner of Lifelong Leaders. Photo by Amy Dahlenburg

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