The Intrapersonal Root

“When church leaders and members are willing to honestly accept, openly confess, and intentionally address the underlying causes of church conflict, God will repair and restore the church.*” Jim Van Yperen

In my experience, one of the most common mistakes people make in attempting to resolve conflict is reacting and responding to presenting issues instead of seeking to discover the root causes. In our last newsletter, we discussed the five levels of conflict: 1) Intrapersonal 2) Interpersonal 3) Intragroup 4) Intergroup and 5) Structural. Because root causes are found in different levels, different interventions are needed at each level to realize sustainable solutions. Let’s start this journey by thinking about resolving conflict in the first level, Intrapersonal.

Intrapersonal-level Intervention

Intrapersonal root causes are when the root cause is found inside one or more people. Examples are spiritual immaturity, unresolved sin, psychological/medical issues, etc. It takes knowledge and discernment to identify intrapersonal root causes, because the presenting (initial or most visible) issues can be observed on multiple conflict levels. In one instance, the presenting issue was initially revealed in church committee meetings (Intragroup); however, the actual root cause was a medical issue requiring proper diagnosis and treatment in the life of the committee chair. Some brief examples of effective intervention strategies are:

Root cause – Unsaved or Spiritual Immaturity
Strategies – Evangelism and/or discipleship training, counseling, mentoring, etc.

Root cause – Unresolved Sin
Strategies – Confrontation (Matthew 18) and repentance or, if unrepentant, Matthew 18 confrontation and/or church discipline process (if initial steps are unsuccessful).

Root Cause – Psychological/Medical Issue
Strategies – Counseling/discipleship training/mentoring, medical treatment if required (e.g. chemical imbalances or physiological/mental issues).