Conflict is inevitable in any relationship. Unfortunately, most Christians are ill prepared to handle conflict in a Christ-like manner.
Russell Dilday provides an insightful option to how conflict can be addressed. He uses his personal experience in the Southern Baptist Convention controversy of the 1980s to call Christians to a higher ground during times of conflict.
The conflict and methods of conflict that occurred in the convention easily could have names changed and possible tactics changed, but the results and motives would remain the same as the conflicts that occur within local congregations. This book is a somber reminder that by taking the name of Christ as our own, we are called to a different standard.
Conflict cannot be avoided in life. This reality is faced, but the ways in which Christians engage in conflict will determine both the outcome of the conflict and the witness of Christ. It is against this standard that we are called neither to win the war at all costs nor to ask whether "the end justify the means"; instead, we are called to seek a resolution for our conflict based upon biblical standards and Christ's example.
This great book is a must read that will challenge any reader in the standard of conflict that has been perpetuated in most Baptist churches. The reality is that we must take the words of Dilday and not ony seek to comprehend them but seek to go to the "higher ground" ouselves through the application of the principles in this book.
