Managing Conflict Creatively (30th Anniversary Edition)

Nobody likes conflict, especially when both parties are “part of the same team.” Unresolved conflict can lead to missionary attrition, but healthy conflict-resolution can be a wonderful growth opportunity, leading to problem-solving and team-building.

In Managing Conflict Creatively, Dr. Palmer first introduces the dynamics of conflict and the common styles of conflict management. After providing a Biblical background, he then identifies types of conflict and how to develop conflict management skills, specifically in cross-cultural situations. Lose your fear of conflict as you walk through case studies, engage in discussion questions, and learn to:

• Identify the stages of conflict and steps of healthy problem solving
• Encourage healthy conflict resolution in its early stages
• Identify your personal conflict style and the characteristics of an effective moderator
• Overreact less amid conflict
• Consciously choose a conflict-resolution style tailored to each situation
• Disagree well and resolve conflicts and misunderstandings without harming your witness
• Manage conflict in positive ways that foster growth and collaboration

This manual is intended to serve as a teaching tool and a study guide for cross-cultural conflict management courses in Bible colleges, mission organizations, and churches. Thirty years after its original publication, this practical, Bible-centered approach to the dynamics of conflict and conflict management in cross-cultural situations remains relevant, both abroad and in today’s hybrid cities.