Communication and Conflict Management for the Sake of Mission

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Communication and Conflict Management for the
Sake of Mission
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(No Transcript)
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• Collaboration is the
• identification,
• release
• and union
• of all the gifts in ministry
• for the sake of mission.
• Sofield and Juliano

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Conversation

• Good conversation connects us at a deeper level.
  As we share our different human experiences, we
  rediscover a sense of unity. We remember we are
  part of a greater whole. And as an added joy, we
  also discover our collective wisdom. Suddenly we
  see how wise we can be together.
• Margaret Wheatley

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Reflection

• What are the hallmarks of a good conversation for
  you?
• What does a good conversation look like?
• What feelings do you experience when you have a
  good conversation?
• What does a good conversation feel like?
• What are some of the outcomes of a good
  conversation for you?

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Reflection

• Take a minute to think about a good conversation
  you have had recently that reflects some of
  Wheatleys ideas.
• What was it about your behavior and attitude that
  helped you connect?
• What was it about the other persons behavior and
  attitude that facilitated the ease of your
  conversation?

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Principles of ConversationMargaret Wheatley

• We acknowledge one another as equals
• We try to stay curious about each other
• We recognize that we need each others help to
  become better listeners

• We slow down so we have time to think and reflect
• We remember that conversation is the natural way
  humans think together
• We expect it to be messy at times.

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Conversation

• Conversation is a meeting of minds with different
  memories and dreams. When minds meet, they dont
  just exchange ideas, they transform them, reshape
  them, draw different implications from them,
  engage in new trains of thought. Conversation
  doesnt just reshuffle the cards, it creates new
  cards.
• Theodore Zeldin

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Are you willing to be influenced by the
conversations you have? Disturbed Excited
Surprised Curious Willing to receive what
the other says Willing to respect
diversity Willing to challenge in order to
understand and not to convert the other to our
way of thinking Willing to yield to new
ideas
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Reflection

• What helps you to keep an open mind as you
  converse with someone?
• What keeps you willing to be influenced by what
  another person is saying?

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One of the ways in which we build a human
society is by recovering a reverence for words
and their potency to form and sustain
community. Timothy Radcliffe, OP
Speaking is not just about words
Speaking is a moral act, demanding the
deepest responsibility. Timothy Radcliffe, OP
We have lost St. Augustines sense of awe when he
says, Words, those precious cups of
meaning. Timothy Radcliffe, OP
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Reflection

• Think about some conversations you have had
  recently.
• Have there been times when words created problems
  for you?
• What happened?

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Conversation Art Discipline

• Art
• Creative side birth of relationship
• Nourishing
• Enlighten decision-making
• Connect people at the center of energy

• Discipline
• Learning
• Understanding
• Desire to know more
• Application of what we learn

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Reflection

• How do you foster the artistic dimension of
  conversation?
• How do you foster the discipline side of
  conversations as you engage with others?

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Government Structure
Governance
Interrelationships within levels of governance
Spirituality
Operating Principles
Mission
Ongoing Spiritual formation
Resources
Local Communities
Committees
Ministry
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• Each of us is a word of God
• spoken only once.
• Each member of a community
• is unique.
• Sofield, Hammett, Juliano

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Reflection

• What strikes you as you reflect on this
  statement?
• What are the implications of this statement for
  us as we relate with others?
• What do your congregations documents say about
  the uniqueness or importance of each person?
• How does this influence the manner in which you
  engage with others?