Conflict in church shouldn't be seen in a negative way only - Evangelist Akeredolu

Evangelist E.T. Akeredolu

By 'Gbenga Bankole


The DCC Superintendent of Christ Apostolic Church, Ilorin Districts' Coordinating Council (DCC), Evangelist E.T. Akeredolu has said that conflict in the church should not be seen in a negative way only, but it should be viewed as an opportunity to help people grow in faith and make them know what they are ignorant about, rather than dwelling on the negative aspects alone.




He said every church has her own peculiarities, and these at times may result to conflict between the Pastors and Elders if such peculiarities are so strange to Pastors, also if not managed properly.




Evangelist Akeredolu stated this on Saturday November 2, 2019 at a refresher course programme organised for Ministers, Wives, Elders and Deaconesses by Ilorin DCC.




According to him, money, time management, preaching roster, personal traditions of each church, power tussle or church administration, departmental ego and finance are issues of conflict in the church.




He said causes of conflict between Pastors and Elders are greed and hatred, indiscipline about use of time, ignorance of individual responsibility and duty, ignorance of church constitution and order, rivalry or unhealthy competition, lack of information and communication gap or breakdown, spiritual immaturity of some members, inexperienced in the part of some Pastors and lack of understanding about what Church should be.



While emphasizing  ignorance of church constitution and order, Evangelist Akeredolu urged Pastors, Elders and Deaconesses to get CAC Constitution, study it and understand it rightly.



He said for conflict to be resolved there must be brotherly love in the church, self discipline and self-control,  adherence to the church constitution and church beliefs, tenets and practices.



"Let there be sincerity of purpose and integrity in the part of Pastors and Elders. The use of church (assembly) for personal tradition and policies should be discouraged. Ministers of God should follow biblical standards in putting people in position in the church. They should train before appointing and commissioning them. If they fail to train them, they should not blame them," he said.




The former DCC Superintendent of Somolu DCC concluded that "conflict is a fact of life, even in the church of Christ and it will never be completely eliminated. As leaders, we live in an imperfect world which contains different types of people. Even Churches are often less than ideal environments. Yet such has always been the case for God's leaders throughout history. Pastors need to review what God says about the people, their capabilities and gifts. In so doing, Pastors will be convinced that apart from the Spirit of God working in every person's heart, dealing with people would be nearly impossible. Thus, Pastors need to wholeheartedly depend upon the Lord in fulfilling their leadership role."