This summer, a well-known ministry organization in the Reformed evangelical world came apart in public. I won't rehash names or details. It's been covered plenty elsewhere, and that's not the point of this article. Here's the short version. A group of ministry leaders anonymously accused another pastor of wrongdoing. Months later, it came out that the accusers were leaders inside a respected ministry network, some of them board members of the very organization built to promote healthy, cooperative ministry. The network dissolved. Elders resigned. A public apology went out. Trust, in a lot of places, took a hit.
I've sat across the table from enough boards, staffs, and denominational leaders over thirty years to tell you this story isn't really about one ministry. It's about what happens when conflict goes underground instead of into the light.
Two roads, same conflict
Every ministry conflict sits at a fork. One road is destructive. It hides behind anonymity, protects reputation instead of truth, and settles for being "right" instead of being reconciled. It feels safer in the short run because nobody has to have the hard conversation face to face. But it always costs more later. Trust doesn't erode quietly. It collapses all at once, usually in public, usually taking good people down with it.
The other road is redemptive. It's slower. It's more uncomfortable. It requires people to sit in a room, or on a call, and actually deal with each other honestly, under the authority of Christ rather than the cover of anonymity. I wrote Sacred Conflict because I believe this second road isn't just the "nicer" option. It's the only one that actually glorifies God and honors the people involved, win or lose. Scripture doesn't leave us much wiggle room here. Matthew 18 gives us a process, and it starts with going to your brother directly, not with a letter mailed to thirty people who weren't in the room.
Why boards feel this one
If you serve on a governing board or oversee ministry staff, this story probably landed a little close to home. Consider the underlying question. If conflict showed up in your leadership tomorrow, do you have a healthy way to handle it, or would you default to silence, sides, and self-protection?
Most boards have never actually pressure tested that question. They find out the hard way, in the moment, when it's most expensive to learn.
A standing offer
Because this is front of mind right now for a lot of boards and denominational staff, I want to make something simple available. A free 20 minute Board Health call. No pitch, no pressure, just a conversation about where your board or leadership team might be vulnerable to the kind of conflict that goes underground, and what a redemptive process could look like if it ever surfaces. If it's useful, Reclaim Leadership's Conflict Facilitation service is there for the deeper work. If it's just a helpful gut check, that's fine too.
Conflict is coming to every ministry eventually. It's not a matter of if. The only real choice is which road you take when it arrives.
Comment or Reach out at eric@reclaimleadership.org to grab a Board Health call.
Grace and peace,
Eric