CERG

These resources are provided by Rev. Renee Ruchotzke, CERG Leadership Development Consultant. We also recommend you visit the UUA Resources Pages for additional resources listings. Of particular note is the Top Picks for Conflict Management on the UUA website.

You may also want to look at the resource pages on Leadership Development, Governance, Healthy Congregations, and Stewardship/Annual Canvass.

Web-based Resources: Articles

• Changing Emotional Systems by Peter Steinke
• Twenty Observations about Troubled Congregations by Peter Steinke
• The Sabotage of Rumors by Arthur Paul Boers
• Levels of Conflict by Speed Leas

Web-based Resources: Videos

• Video on Emotional Triangles (2:17) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhiipKE4dyw&feature=related

Web-based Resources: Other

• Alban Institute resources http://www.alban.org/learningdetail.aspx?id=6952

Books:

• Moving Your Church through Conflict by Speed B. Leas - With this how-to manual written for clergy and lay leaders, learn exactly what to do when conflict arises. Leas' highly acclaimed theory of conflict levels spells out appropriate responses. Easily applicable concepts and practical strategies.
• Conflict Management in Congregations by David B. Lott - Divided into three sections that explore the dynamics of conflict, conflict management techniques, and dealing with conflict in specific contexts, this book serves as a comprehensive primer. Includes the collected wisdom of many of the key thinkers on this topic, including such past and present Alban consultants as Speed Leas, George Parsons, Margaret Bruehl, Gil Rendle, Alice Mann, and Roy Pneumann.
• Church Conflict: The Hidden Systems Behind the Fights by Charles H Cosgrove - By using stories and examples of real problems at actual churches, Cosgrove and Hatfield have applied family-systems theory to help us identify the hidden structural boundaries in any group relationship.
• The Little Book Of Conflict Transformation by John Paul Lederach - Conflict Transformation is an idea with a deep reach. Its practice, requires "both solutions and social change." It asks not simply "How do we end something not desired?", but "How do we end something destructive and build something desired?"
• The Joy of Conflict Resolution: Transforming Victims, Villains and Heroes in the Workplace and at Home by Gary Harper - Helps readers understand conflict and why it arises through the lens of the "drama triangle" of victims, villains and heroes. In an accessible, engaging and lighthearted style that uses stories and humor to explore potentially emotionally charged situations, it provides proven and practical skills to move beyond confrontation to resolve conflicts collaboratively.
• Antagonists in the Church: How to Identify and Deal with Destructive Conflict by Kenneth C. Haugk - Congregational leaders can prevent or reduce much of the pain and suffering caused by antagonism in the church. Haugk distinguishes between healthy conflict and destructive antagonism and shows how to cope productively with disruption.
• Never Call Them Jerks: Healthy Responses to Difficult Behavior by Arthur Paul Boers - No church is immune to the problems that can arise when parishioners behave in difficult ways. Responding to such situations with self-awareness and in a manner true to one's faith tradition makes the difference between peace and disaster.