Effective conflict transformation in church leadership: Study of selected Pentecostal churches, Nairobi

Abstract

From the corridors of power, to the media, to the political arena, to the AU and UN summits, to academic institutions, to places of worship and documented writings, it can be correctly argued that conflicts have become a subject we cannot wish away. Initia lly, it was a vocabulary found in the politics of the day. However, of late, it has become a common word in the church circles. As such, there has been a growing concern among the Christian community with regard to the escalating rate of leadership conflicts in the churches. The local media has repeatedly featured incidents of nasty conflicts in churches with some turning violent and others ending up in court. This has been quite disturbing given that according to Jesus, the church is supposed to be “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14) and the role model for effective conflict transformation and peace-building. If the church doesn‟t lead by example, there may be no hope for the African continent which is currently plunged into a vicious cycle of armed conflicts. As such, the study sought to investigate the major factors that contribute to leadership conflicts in selected Pentecostal churches within Nairobi and explore effective approaches of transforming the leadership conflicts. The researcher explored in details the relevant scholarly sources in this area, established critical gaps and composed constructive criticism. Having identified the research problem and the significance of the study, the major causes of conflicts among Pentecostal church leaders were identified. The study also investigated the models of conflict approaches used by the said church leaders. The role of institutional structures in conflict transformation and peace-building was also investigated. The study further documented the conflict strategies used by the said churches that have proved to be successful and transformative. To integrate the study with biblical principles, an exegetical study was carried out on Galatians 2:6-9. The study focused on one area, Nairobi. It was mainly qualitative and employed both questionnaires and interviews. The data was analyzed using SPSS and the findings presented in frequency tables, percentages, pie-charts, graphs and descriptive statistics. This formed the basis of answering the four research questions. The study concluded from the findings that Pentecostal churches in Nairobi had weak and dysfunctional institutional structures that had loopholes for abuse of power and financial mismanagement. The absence of accountability structures also made it difficult for the bishops and pastors to be held accountable whenever they were implicated in either moral or doctrinal scandals. As such, the Pentecostal churches in Nairobi need to strengthen their institutional structures to seal off the loop holes. In addition, they need to embrace models of conflict approaches that transform the leadership conflicts. Putting the whole study together, the researcher shares the opinion that conflict transformation model, tied with the biblical principles and informed by the African cultural approach is perhaps the effective approach to transforming conflicts among the Pentecostal church leaders in Nairobi.