When serious conflict surfaces in a congregation, lay people are often
stunned. Many feel frightened, angry, and helpless. In Congregational
Fitness, published by the Alban Institute, Denise W. Goodman
explores the reasons congregations are prone to conflict and describes
healthy behaviors laypeople can practice to manage conflict
constructively. The author argues that since members of the congregation
remain, even as pastors come and go, it is important for members to know
and practice positive behaviors continually, rather than reacting out of
emotion and anxiety to an unexpected situation. The book is a tool for
individuals, study groups, and retreat participants.
In the foreword of Congregational Fitness, Hugh F. Halverstadt, author
of Managing Church Conflict and Professor of Ministry at McCormick
Theological Seminary in Chicago, writes: "Many books on dealing with
church conflict are addressed primarily to clergy and secondarily to lay
church leaders. Helpfully, a layperson has written this book with the
understanding that laity are the communal heart and mind of
congregations ... Not only does [Goodman] prescribe a healthy regimen
for congregational fitness in conflicts but she also describes a
faith-filled plan for recovering from conflicts in unfit
congregations ... The book is a manual for Spirit-based, communal sanity."
According to Rev. Susan J. Ingharn, Iowa Conference Minister United
Church of Christ, Congregational Fitness is a "practical book, easily accessible to members of any size congregation, that provides important
guidance for those who want to build a healthy community. Here is
training to help both individuals and faith communities develop fresh
insights for faithful participation in the life of the congregation.
Goodman's questions at the end of each chapter are springboards for
personal discovery and for conversation within groups . . . As a judicatory
leader, my fullest hope is that both lay people and clergy are healthy
and fit for faithful ministry. Denise Goodman's book will be of good
help to that end."
"Sooner or later conflict will visit your congregation. But you need not
collapse under the stress. Help is available," asserts Douglas A.
Walrath, author of Making It Work: Effective Administration in the Small
Church. "Read Denise Goodman's book on Congregational Fitness, and you will be fit. Know what conflict can do to a congregation. Follow the practical, step-by-step suggestions that Goodman offers, and build up
your capacity to deal with conflict before it is upon you. Be prepared."
"Denise Goodman's book offers congregational lay leaders the insights
and information they need to help their congregations become places of
joy, fruitfulness, and resiliency," notes Rt. Rev. Chilton Knudsen,
Episcopal Bishop of Maine. "She also openly shares her own strategies
for self-care, so vital for a lay leader caught in the midst of
congregational distress. Denise offers the gift of her wisdom in this
helpful, down-to-earth resource, which reads like a quiet chat with a
wise and seasoned companion."
Denise W. Goodman is a writer and congregational studies consultant. A
veteran journalist, she reported on religion, civil rights, and urban
issues in Ohio, and for 16 years was the Maine correspondent for the
Boston Globe. She grew up in a Disciples of Christ congregation; has
subsequently been a member of Presbyterian and United Church of Christ
congregations; and has served on boards of deacons and trustees,
missions and stewardship committees, and church councils. She currently
chairs the Commission for Spiritual Life of the Maine Conference of
the United Church of Christ and serves as clerk of her UCC congregation
in Belfast, Maine.
Congregational Fitness by Denise W. Goodman was published by the Alban Institute in August 2000.
Source: Alban Institute News.
Originally posted 10-23-00
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