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Causes and effect of leadership conflicts in the Kenyan Church and potential approaches for

addressing the conflicts

Isaiah Githinji,

15th March 2021.

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Causes and Effects of Conflict in Kenyan Churches and Potential Approaches for Addressing

the conflict

Churches in Kenya have different organizational structures. Ikenye, (2010) observed that

they have designed their leadership structures in various forms. As a case in point, the Anglican and

Presbyterian Churches of Kenya structures comprises:

The council, parish council, Diocesan synod, and the Provincial Synod, Elders Council, a Kirk

session Council, Presbytery Council, and the General Assembly. All these councils are comprised of

lay church elders. {also}, these church leadership councils discuss spiritual, financial, and

administrative matters of the Church (p.168).

It is an example of how some churches have designed various management structures to

enhance effective leadership and management. Despite the seemingly elaborate structures, churches

have found themselves in protracted conflicts caused by several factors. Ross, Asamoah-Gyadu and

Johnson, (2018) pointed out that, {in some churches}, “there is a distinct lack of the kind of leadership

that opens up democratic space and allows the creativity and energy of citizens to flourish” (p. 403).

Even where churches have elaborate, leadership and management staff with requisite structures,

they have often experienced leadership conflicts that have contributed to a set of positive and

negative impacts. On the negative side, the conflicts have often degenerated from a purely internal

matter into the open, engulfing and leaving bruised churches. The leadership conflict has taken

various forms such as “claims of deep-seated corruption and plunder of members' resources,

negative ethnicity and manipulation of elections by church officials” (Special Correspondent 2019)

fights, heated exchanges between leaders or their followers, court battles, ejection of leaders from

office, withholding of salaries and other benefits, major divisions and disunity. The leadership conflict

challenges are widespread as Thompson, (2014) observed:

Many churches face similar difficult situations: spiritual maturity levels of leadership, finances,

physical resources, leadership styles, resistance to change, worship-style preferences, and more.

While these present common problems, the truth is, every fellowship of believers faces them in a

different environment, in a different culture, and with a different history (p.39).

Biblical leadership and Management Science Approach

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This research paper will explore the causes and effects of leadership conflicts in Kenyan

churches and suggest some potential approaches for addressing the issues. Ikenye, (2010) noted

that “there are two views on church leadership. Biblical leadership approach and skills of

management science” (p.65). The paper will embark on conflict and suggest solutions using biblical

and management science principles. Management science is one of the ideal approaches for

investigating the courses of conflicts. Management science and other similar approaches do not

negate the importance of biblical principles of leadership or imply that biblical principles of leadership

are somehow deficient in providing the desired leadership for the church in the contemporary setting.

The dual approaches could be appropriate in addressing the issues from two different viewpoints and

perspectives. The management science approach is a complementary perspective that a leader in a

conflicted situation could draw insights from, alongside biblical principles. A leader could also draw

valuable leadership principles and insights from the scriptures. Moses obtained valuable insights into

management from Jethro, his father-in-law. Jethro advised Moses to delegate duties to other people

below him, creating a hierarchy (Exod 18:13-24). It is a classic example where biblical principles are

ideal for the people of God in diverse leadership and management situations.

I. According to Mayer (as cited in the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, 2017), one

must understand a conflict before offering a solution. Centre of Human Dialogue, (2017) explained

that conflicts are "natural, inevitable, necessary, and normal and that the problem is not the existence

of conflict but how we handle it. . . How we view conflict will largely determine our attitude and

approach in dealing with it" (p.19). Thompson, (2014) agreed with this view and suggested that one

has an option of responding appropriately by demonstrating a Christlike attitude. According to

Thompson, a “conflict can be anything that distracts equilibrium, throwing off the harmony {that} we

sincerely seek as the people of faith” (p.15). This is a helpful working definition since the conflicts

addressed here involve the people of faith in leadership positions. Although conflicts are undesirable,

painful occurrences, they could also be positive. Dr Charles Perabeau, professor of sociology at

Olivet Nazarene University and a bi-vocational pastor (as cited in Thompson, 2014) vouched for the

importance of a conflict. He argued that a "Conflict may be viewed as an opportunity. It does not have

to be a bad thing; it can be something from which good can come" (p.21). As discussed in the

introduction of this paper, management science and other secular approaches could help create an

understanding of the nature of leadership conflicts and their impact and also evoke likely approaches
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to addressing the conflicts. After defining a conflict, this paper will consequently, create an

understanding of the nature, aspects and dynamics of a conflict and discuss the skills required for

parties in the conflict to enter into successful negotiations and where the need arises seek mediation

to the conflict. This paper will also cover negotiation and mediation skills as some of the approaches

to address leadership conflicts in the Kenyan churches.

II. Dimensions, Aspects, Styles, Types and Levels of Conflict

A. Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, (2017) suggested that “Conflicts have three

dimensions: Cognitive, emotional and behavioural dimensions. Every person handling a conflict must

identify in which dimension/s the conflict first manifests itself” (p.18). The three dimensions are:

1) “The cognitive dimension-(perception). Conflict as a perception occurs when one has

an objective or subjective belief or understanding that their interest, wants, need or desires are

incompatible with someone’s else” (p.24). Here is a basic illustration of how these three dimensions of

conflict could play out in a budget making scenario: A youth pastor and a finance director in the same

church organization had differing views on budget allocation. The youth pastor insisted that the youth

ministry budget be increased in the current financial year while the finance director argued that due to

constrained finances the youth budget would not be increased in the current financial year. The youth

pastor at this point was already aware that the annual budget for the mission's department handled by

another pastor had gone up by 20%. At this point, the pastor perceived that there was a difference of

opinion between him and the finance manager.

2) The emotional dimension (feeling). Conflict as a feeling involves emotions of some

kind such as anger, fear, sadness, anguish, bitterness, hopelessness. The person feels that they

conflict with the other parties. The feelings may or may not be reciprocated by the other party in a

conflict. In some cases, the other party(s) may not be aware of the conflict or the prevailing feelings of

the others (Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, 2017, p.25). In the developing conflict scenario

introduced earlier, the finance director wielded considerable resources and expertise power. The

youth pastor refrained from confronting the finance director but sought the intervention of the senior

pastor and argued his case before him. After further discussions, the manager explained to the senior

pastor why it would not be feasible to increase the youth budget in that financial year. The senior

pastor agreed with this proposition and called the youth pastor for a briefing in the presence of the
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finance manager. He explained that the budget would remain the same. After the meeting, the youth

pastor felt disappointed and sad. Due to the emotions, that were now at play.

3) The behavioural dimension (action). Conflict action occurs when a party or parties in

conflict takes a step to express feelings and articulate their perception to get their needs met in a way

that potentially can interfere with the other party(s) ability to have the needs met. This conflict

behaviour may be destructive or violent or maybe conciliatory, constructive, and friendly” (Centre for

Humanitarian Dialogue, 2017, p.26).

At the behavioural (action) dimension of conflict, the outcome could be positive or negative.

Concluding the scenario of conflict situation highlighted earlier, the youth pastor disagreed with the

proposition that his ministry’s budget remains the same. He became impassioned by terming the

denial as a form of favouritism and discrimination and lack of appreciation for the youth by agenda.

The senior pastor tried to calm him. The youth pastor feeling frustrated and unsupported, banged the

door on his way out. At this level, the conflict has escalated from a perception dimension to a feeling

dimension and an action dimension. At the action dimension, the conflict is more heated and requires

more effort and skills to resolve than at perception and emotional dimensions. Mayer, (as cited in

Centre of Human Dialogue, 2017) pointed out that the nature of conflict in one dimension affects the

other dimensions in the following way:

When people or groups conflict, they are dealing with different and sometimes contradictory

dynamics in these different dimensions which make people in conflict appear to behave irrationally.

Stopping the behavioural aspect of conflict does not necessarily mean the conflict is resolved. Dealing

with all dimensions of the conflict will bring more lasting solutions (p.28).

B. According to Mayer, (as cited in Centre of Human Dialogue, 2017) “the two basic

aspects of the conflict are expression and outcome. The aspects are what the disputants want to

happen or how they want the conflict to be dealt with” (p.46).

1) The outcome or solution aspect of conflict means that one party or the other parties in

a conflict are seeking the desired outcome. In the outcome aspect of a conflict, the disputants prefer

that the conflict negotiations or mediation result in a clear solution or outcome (p.46). Decook, (2020)

asserted that “at the conflict wildfire, the primary motivation is to and pursue the desired outcome"

(p.2). In a conflict, people often pursue a win, win-win win-lose, or lose-lose orientation. In most

conflict situations presented in this paper, most of the conflicted parties were oriented in a win-lose
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mentality where their position, needs, and interests mattered most than the parties they conflict with.

Christians leaders should heed the words of Decook, (2020) who advocated that the conflicted parties

should "pursue Jesus Christ in response to a conflict rather than pursue the desired outcome

{because} we pursue Jesus Christ to serve as His ambassador and pursue His desired outcome"

(p.6). This advice from Decook does not imply that seeking an outcome is inappropriate but what he

means is that one should subject their intended outcome to what pleases God in a given situation.

2) The expression aspect of conflict involves one party or other parties voicing their

various emotions during a conflict. The primary desire of pursuing or not pursuing a desired outcome

at this level is to get an emotional release or relief from the weight of burdening emotion at play. The

expression aspect of conflict means that one party or the other parties put a premium on voicing their

hurt through emotions. (p.46).

C. Moore, (as cited in Centre of Human Dialogue, 2017) suggested that “parties involved in a conflict,

display engaging or avoiding conflict style” (p.53).

1) Moore, (as cited in Centre of Human Dialogue, 2017) advanced his argument by

explaining that “In engaging conflict style, the parties in a conflict have some form of interaction trying

to get the desired outcome or they are just there to express themselves” (p.53).

2) In avoiding conflict style, Moore, 2003 (as cited in Centre of Human Dialogue, 2017)

noted that the disputants try as much to avoid getting involved in conflict either out of principle, fear or

understanding of the heavy emotional burden that accrued in some of the unmanaged conflicts in

their past.

D. Decook, (2020) classified and described conflict into “Peacefire and Wildfire”. He pointed out that that

one has the option of choosing the kind of conflict to engage in. Decook asserted that:

Every conflict presents an opportunity to make a choice that will impact how we respond to

the conflict. This choice is like a seed that we plant. It will eventually bear fruit in the conflict. Our

choices have consequences (Gal. 6:7). The choice you have in every conflict in which fire will ignite

your response to conflict- what is happening at the Wildfire or what is happening at the Peacefire

(p.7).

It is apparent from Decook, (2020) that disputants in a conflict have two choices to make. Whether

they will engage in a conflict that would result in a positive, God honouring and people blessing
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outcome or the desired outcome which most of the time is self-serving, selfish and does not consider

the interests of the other party in a conflict.

1) Conflict Wildfire: This type of conflict “represents the dynamic nature of the conflict. It

encompasses all of the factors that contribute to a conflict - the people, relationships, history,

motivations, desires, actions, material objects/property, legal issues” (Decook, 2020, p.5). When a fire

breaks out in the wild, it engulfs everything in its path and most fires require tremendous resources to

extinguish. Just as a fire starts as an ember to a wildfire, small conflicts could also degenerate into

destructive, conflicts. Many church leaders in Kenya have been caught up in conflicts that have

engulfed their ministry and even caused some to secede or drop out of the ministry altogether. The

intensity of the unmanaged conflict lifecycle starts from an “ember, a campfire, bonfire, brushfire to a

raging fire (Decook, 2020, p.6). At each level of intensity, the conflict becomes more heated,

destructive and requires more effort, resources and expertise to resolve.

2) Peacefire: This is “a fire that ignites when someone makes a faith choice to pursue

Jesus Christ in response to a conflict rather than pursue the desired outcome. The Peacefire is a

place where Jesus Christ provides a transforming peace to those who relentlessly rely on him”

(Decook, 2020, p.6).

III. Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, (2017) illustrated the sources of conflicts through a “Wheel

of Conflict” diagram indicating the forces that motivate conflict behaviour. This paper will

present the sources of leadership conflict and filter them through the Wheel of Conflict diagram tool

presented below. Mayer (as cited in Centre of Human Dialogue, 2017) had observed that at the

centre of conflicts are the competing “human needs for survival, interests and identity”. They are

being impacted by other “forces like communication, emotions, values, structure and History. These

forces motivate conflict behaviour" and that is why one needs to be aware of them to know how to

address conflict situations appropriately (pp. 30-46).

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Fig 1. Wheel of Conflict. From Mayer (as cited in Centre of Human Dialogue, 2017)

A. There are several causes or sources of leadership conflict in Kenyan churches.

The sources are filtered and analyzed through the Wheel of Conflict diagram tool.

1) The Kenyan Church often experiences conflicts related to governance: leadership,

management and change. (Cole, 2004; Onchari, 2020; Murima, 2019).

a) A Conflict could occur when a church has non-existence or ill-defined organization

structure. At the centre of this conflict is the need for the party(s) in the church to adopt a certain kind

of organization structure. The parties involved may disagree on the form of organization structure to

be employed and therefore stoke unintended conflict. In a conflict fuelled by disagreements about the

lack of enabling organizational structures, Njau, (2020) highlighted a conflict between three

archbishops and their followers. The main disagreement was about the structure of the church. The

disputants wanted a structure that could allow each of the three bishops to have a stake. “In the

flopped conflict resolution process, {the three archbishops} had agreed to have the church divided into

three main archdioceses headed by each of them. They would also have one of them as the national

leader”. Kamau, (2019) in a news article, cited a case of two groups, each lead by an archdeacon.

The parties physically fought in the church premises because of disagreements about the preacher of

the day. This incident demonstrates that the basic structure that impacts communication and planning

in many churches is absent. It also shows the depth of the leadership crisis in some of the churches

and the need to have basic planning of services and dispute resolution mechanism to forestall

conflict. Moywaywa, (2018) pointed out a weakness in some of the organization structures:
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In non-mainstream churches, the founder leader is regarded as the prophet or apostle and

therefore has the right to govern over the group according to his standard and regulations. Members

are educated on the key regulations of the group and by continued stay, the assumption is made that

such members are in approval of those rules. The problem with this kind of structure, however, is that

it does not accommodate a variety of opinion and thus, when members start expressing displeasure

in the manner in which they are governed, the outcome is suspension, expulsion to be slapped on any

such antagonistic member (p.6).

A cross-section of churches in Kenya is often embroiled in wrangles emanating from an

interpretation of the church constitution which also provides for many rights including voting of office

bearers and leadership succession. The main disputants in these conflicts are the elected clergy

against a section of other clergy members of the laity or a section of disgruntled parishioners. Murima,

(2019) documented a situation where a few church parishioners had taken their bishop to court for

flouting a valid court order which had halted a scheduled church election. In their court submissions,

the parishioners had petitioned the court to stop the election because their church constitution was

inconsistent with supreme law of the land. "According to them, women and youths were segregated

and cannot vie for the positions of General Superintendent, General Secretary and General

Treasurer" and that's why they had sought the court's intervention to stop the election. It was clear

from this case the church constitution had unfair provisions that barred a section of church

membership from seeking elected positions in the church. Moywaywa, (2018) observed that the

Kenyan Church has critical leadership and governance challenges with weak or no structures and

causing over-concentration of power and influence in the church founder of the current charismatic

leader or a group of select few.

b) Conflict is inevitable when a church leader embraces an inappropriate and incoherent

leadership style. Churches alongside other organizations have had their fair share of leadership

challenges. Church members have often disagreed about church leaders’ leadership styles and which

had inadvertently led to conflicts. Many have been debating whether there is an ideal style of

leadership. According to Cole, (2004), “leadership is a dynamic process and there is no one best way

of leading. {He asserted that} leadership is essentially about striking the right balance between the

needs of people, task and goals in a given situation” (p.53). It signifies that every leader has at least

one or multiple leadership styles (p.53). According to Agosto, (2005) "leadership style can be
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described as "…the behaviour pattern that a person exhibits when attempting to influence the

activities of others." (p.6).

c) Whenever a leader employs an inappropriate leadership style a conflict situation

might occur. One of the sources of church leadership conflict is the misapplication of leadership style.

Murima, (2020) documented an issue where some parishioners had petitioned the court to halt the

elections of a bishop and other officials. In their petition, they had accused the current church leaders

of arrogating themselves the power of the church administration and leading the church affairs in an

authoritarian manner. One of the sources of church leadership conflict is the misapplication of

leadership style. Effective church leaders have the right balance between the concern for people, task

and goals as Cole, (2004, p.53) affirmed. Authoritarianism is one of the sources of conflicts in

churches. (Moywaywa, 2018; Murima, 2019). Cole, 2004 (described the two types of authoritarian

leadership style within a continuum of leadership styles by explaining a system of:

Rensis Likert’s Four Management systems provide a continuum of leadership styles from

authoritarian to democratic leadership (authoritarian leadership styles fall into system 1 and 2 of the

scale. In system 1, the leader in the exploitative-authoritarian whereas in system 2 the leader is

described as the benevolent-authoritarian. (p.55). According to Cole, (2004) in the exploitative-

authoritarian style of leadership, direction and communication flow from the top without the leader

having a fruitful form of engagement with subordinates. The leader makes all the decisions and

announces them. The subordinates have no role in decision making and not work well leading to a

depressed output. Cole described the benevolent-authoritarian leadership style as authoritarianism

with a human face. The leader exercises an authoritarian leadership style but allows some level of

decision making and upward communication by subordinates. It might appear progressive on the

surface but it is still a problematic style.

Moywaywa, (2018) pointed out an exploitative leadership style in churches where:

The leader is viewed as the sole decision-maker and whatever he or she says carries the day.

Members do not have the right to question, and if they do, they are branded as rebels and ‘agents of

the devil’, bent on sowing seeds of discord among the faithful believers.

d) Mismanagement and lack of accountability in running of church affairs by leaders

Churches lead to perennial conflicts. Onchari, (2020) penned an article about a church conflict pitting

a group of elders and their senior pastor. One of the accusations levelled against the senior pastor
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was about his mismanagement and lack of accountability for church funds. “They further accused the

pastor of failing to account millions of shillings the members have fund-raised for various projects

among them the construction of a church plaza”. The disgruntled parishioners accused the pastor of

not involving the church in decision making but engaging a technical committee instead. Ikenye,

(2010) observed the same problems in Church leadership. He pointed out that:

In some communities, the church leader takes the stance of a tribal chief or king where he is

treated with immense respect. If unchecked, this type of leadership may lead to abuse of office

including financial mismanagement and oppression of the clergy and the laity by the person at the top

(p. x).

From the observations above, it is clear that one of the elements lacking is for leaders to embrace

values laden, principles. Cole, (2004) described principle-centred leadership as based on the idea

that effectiveness in a social role, such as management, depends on how far a person keeps to

certain principles of behaviour. Cole argued that the extent to which leaders recognize, and keep to

principles such as fairness, justice, integrity and trust, determine their progress towards survival and

stability, or to disintegration and destruction" (p.59). Even at the heart of organizational change, the

importance of inculcating timeless, principles are captured in this statement: “There has to be

something at the soul of an organization that does not change but that will enable people to live with

change. This unchanging core is natural principles” (Greenleaf, Senge, Covey, & Spears, 2002, p.14).

e) Power, influence and position struggles within a church are some of the causes of

church conflicts.

At the centre of many disputes and conflicts is the desire to gain power, influence and prestige in the

church organization. Osanjo, (2017) wrote an article highlighting the conflict challenges of a Kenyan

mainstream church. This church had been facing leadership conflicts for decades. He documented

the various leadership wrangles over the years with many labelling it as a political church. From his

observations, every election of the archbishop in the Anglican church had experienced some level of

discontent and conflict. Osanjo, saw first-hand the vested interests, the underhand schemes,

manipulations, threats and accusations from the conflicted quarters within the church. At the centre of

these unfortunate incidences in the body of Christ has been the fight for control of leadership reigns

which entitles the leader immense political power and wealth. Osanjo recorded Jesse Masai a
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communication specialist and observer of the Kenyan religious scene. Jesse voiced his concerns

about the direction of the church:

For a Church that blazed the trail in the ordination of female priests and other renewal efforts,

the tensions within it point to the unfinished task before us all in St Paul’s words: How then, shall we

live? It should concern us that other mainstream and fringe Christian communities similarly struggle to

resolve entrenched clan, ethnic, political and material interests that seem to be thicker than the blood

of Jesus Christ.

Moywaywa, (2018), agreed with this view and noted that even though one could view

churches as non-profit organizations which confer no special benefits to their parishioners, this may

not be the case since the churches command a substantial amount of material wealth and resources

which bestows the leaders and parishioner’s immediate gratification of their human needs for jobs,

benevolent assistance, medical care among others. The quest for control of these resources in the

church in the backdrop of ethnic and cultural differences of church membership is one of the factors

that breed conflict in the Church.

f) Conflicts often arise when a church is going through organizational change (Cole,

2004). At the heart of the conflict lies the need to change the way things are done within the church.

Some also want to maintain the status quo in the current organizational operations or vision and

mission. Many churches experience an internal need for change within the organization as a result of

various macro factors such as political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal

factors in a country. Micro factors within the church itself also trigger the need for change. Cole,

(2004) described two types of organizational change. He suggested that some “organizations change

mainly in response to external circumstances (reactive change) or others have decided to change

(proactive change). Change does not always imply innovation. It can be caused by external or internal

factors of the organization” (pp.204. WalkMe Team. (2020) pointed out 5 types of change as

"organization-wide change" which involves holistic change within the organization touching on all the

structures and systems, secondly, “transformational change” {which specifically targets a company’s

organizational strategy. Thirdly, “personnel change” which is a positive or negative staff numerical

strength. The organization could employ more staff or create redundancy in employment. Fourthly,

“unplanned change” happens when unintended developments hits and an organization necessitating

a change in direction or plan and fifthly, “remedial change” which occurs when an organization
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addresses a shortcoming in one of its identified weak areas and sets a new course. A church could

employ remedial change if it observes a weakness, in many areas of its operations. One area could

be in the way it conducts its worship services. The quality of performance could be unsatisfactory and

therefore trigger a remedial measure. The church could opt to hire professional musicians rather than

rely on volunteers who may not be performing at the desired professional level. This could

inadvertently contribute to an unintended conflict where the worship pastor and volunteers could

disagree about remedial change advanced by the church. Ikenye, (2010) documented a situation

where church leaders “were also said to be introducing cultural patterns of worship in churches

intending to make an African blend of the church, commonly referred to as made in Africa" (p.171).

The concept of change in churches especially the remedial and unplanned change is also

exacerbated by demographic factors. Most often, the older parishioners are change- conscious,

conservative and status, quo advocates. The youth on the other hand are more likely to seek and

embrace change especially in worship and preaching as propelled by global intercultural forces. This

is a potential melting point of conflict that could romp in the pastor and other leaders and hence,

create conflicted sides. Kale & McCullough, (2003) also agreed with this sentiment and noted that "the

congregational battles fought most frequently are not over theology but change" (p.15).

g) Kenyan churches have experienced conflict resulting from historical and economic

factors within the establishment of Christianity and the planting of churches in Kenya.

There are several sources of conflicts emanating from historical and economic factors. In

colonial times, some of the churches in Kenya seceded from their missionary led churches to form

nationalist and spirit churches (Park, 2013, p.119). Some of these independent churches did not start

from a solid background of concrete leadership but rather their history time been bogged down with

sad stories of leadership conflict leading to further secessions, open conflicts and hurling one another

to courts. Some of the churches such as the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa

(AIPCA) has faced waves of leadership conflicts, especially at the bishopric and archbishopric level.

Conflicts are driven by the scramble for access to church resources and social-economic

empowerment programs conducted by churches. Moywaywa, (2018) noted that due to the nature of

Kenya’s Christian history, some churches are viewed as ethnically aligned and only people from the

dominant community are accepted or embraced to take leadership positions Moywaywa, (2018, p.5).

Church leaders have also been embroiled in wrangles pitying one camp against another or between
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one leader or another for control of church resources. At the centre of this scramble according to

Mayer, (2000) are the “survival needs, interests and identity-based needs” (p.40.) Survival needs

such as food, shelter, health and security are central because some of the reasons why some leaders

seek to retain leadership positions are because of the derived economic benefits from church

resources such as tithes and offerings and other donations from parishioners.

2) Differences in values and spiritual problems are some of the causes of church conflicts in Kenya.

a) Differences in values system precipitate leadership conflict. Ikenye, (2010). Centre for

Humanitarian Dialogue, (2017) defines values as “beliefs we have about what is important, what

distinguishes right from wrong, and which principles should govern how we lead our lives” (p.32). It is

appropriate for one to know when their values are incongruent with someone's else.

b) Church conflicts also happen due to various spiritual problems- (New International

Version, 1978/2011) observed that at the centre of many challenging conflicts is the level in which

different parties or camps interpret and hold on to their behaviours leading to and protracted conflicts.

Spiritual warfare and works of the flesh are some of the causes of conflict between brethren. Some

leaders become proud as they rise to the positions of leadership and consequently precipitate a

conflict. Some leaders are involved in corrupt activities which crystalize into conflict. The Bible records

many instances of conflict and one of the earliest conflicts is recorded in Genesis when Cain and Abel

were involved and ever since conflicts have been among people. The Bible indicates that the conflicts

we face are a result of the several factors emanating from the fall of Adam. Conflicts are caused by a

scramble over scarce resources (Gen 13:8-9), meddling with other people's affairs, (Num 12:1-2),

hatred (Prov 10:12), work of the flesh (Gal 5:20), sensuality and sinfulness (James 4:1).

3) Communication: Problems in communication is one of the sources for leadership and

church conflict in Kenya.

a) Problems in Interpersonal Communication are some of the causes of church conflicts

in Kenya. Some of the factors that contribute to communication problems are the culture and ethnicity,

age of the disputants, level of literacy, poor communication skills, the gender of disputants, economic

class and the environment where the conflict is happening.

4) Emotions: Emotions plays a big part as the energy that fuels conflict between parties

as Centre of Human Dialogue, (2017) observed. When two people are in a conflict and the “emotional
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dimension” kicks in. If one party is angry, the other party may also react negatively by showing anger

as well. This fuels the embers of conflict even further.

5) History: The Kenyan Church faces Conflicts caused by political, historical and cultural

issues: imperialism, denominationalism and colonialism as noted by Park, (2013) and Galgalo,

(2012). Leadership conflicts in Kenyan Church has a historical background and some of the issues

recorded many years ago are still recurring. In 1984, Ngw’eno, as cited in Ikenye, (2010) reported

that:

Cheating in elections of church officials (leaders) has become a major accusation to church

leaders. One leader was accused in a court of law of trying to impose a particular candidate upon the

people to protect his position and interests.

The subject of church conflict has been lingering for so long and many of the issues keep

repeating themselves with almost a similar script. (Murima, 2019; Ombima, 2020; Onchari, 2020)

wrote newspaper articles showing the extent of the leadership crisis in some of the Kenyan churches.

The church and leadership conflicts have taken the form of plain accusations, court battles, riots,

physical fights and threats of secessions. The common denominator in all these issues is the failure of

churches to manage conflicts appropriately.

IV. Leadership conflicts have a significant impact on the Kenyan Church.

A. Positive impact: There are positive impacts are resulting from conflict in churches.

1. Kale & McCullough, (2003) argued that:

A conflict is not a sign of a weak church, weak leadership or even a need for spiritual

renewal. And conflict isn't necessarily a sign that a church has spiritual problems. It can be a sign that

normal, healthy growth-including spiritual growth-is taking place (p.29).

From this argument, there inherent benefits of churches to be in one form of conflict of another. This

demonstrates that the people of the organization are utilizing freedom in airing their views or asserting

their needs in a healthy manner. Unlike the authoritarian system which only allows one dominant

view, voice or perspective, a healthy democratic system allows for different voices and perspectives

to be heard. Healthy churches allow the members to air their views, challenge decisions or make

suggestions during the annual general meeting. The key to the church to derive benefits from a

conflict solution is to address it effectively.

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2. Conflict helps leaders to come up with problem-solving skills. According to

Halverstadt, (as cited in Kale & McCullough, 2003) asserted that "conflicts are problems to be solved,

not contests to be won" (p.65). In a conflict situation, the parties enter into different conflict

dimensions, aspects, types and levels which help the players to understand the conflict and employ

various approaches in dealing with conflict. The advantage of this is that parties can solve problems

thus bringing closer cooperation, understanding and an overall better outcome. The church as an

organization becomes richer by having leaders who can explore a range of options to address an

issue or a conflict situation.

3. A conflict is an opportunity for one to seek the Lord. It should be the time where one

bathes in prayer and self-examination. Decook, (2020) explained that During a conflict, one can

delight in "the Peacefire{which} is a fire that ignites when someone makes a faith choice to pursue

Jesus Christ in response to a conflict rather than pursue the desired outcome". Many are times where

leaders pursue a selfish interest during a conflict. The desired outcome falls short of the will of God

(many fights within you, Bible verse) and that is why pursuing Jesus Christ during a conflict

guarantees one to know the will of God. The will of God could also mean a losing outcome (Bible

verse (let yourself be robed, we are crushed but…)

B. Negative Impact: The Kenyan Church experiences some negative impacts due to

leadership conflict.

1) Church conflicts often lead to broken relationships between leaders and members.

During a conflict, the relationship is affected. The disputants are not able to relate well. What was a

good functioning relationship is affected and the disputants are no longer in talking terms. The

collaboration between the disputants is affected leading to other unintended consequences within the

church.

2) The effects of church conflicts could be emotional and physical hurts. Some

leadership disputes often degenerate into physical fights even to the extent of shedding blood and

lives being lost. There are recorded conflicts incidences where church leaders and their followers

entered into physical combat within the church premises causing havoc and leading to bruises and

even lives lost. (example of physical fights)

3) Church conflicts could lead to spiritual decline and diminished church membership.
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4) Whenever a church is experiencing a conflict, there is a danger of it facing

reputational damage within the community.

5) Conflicts spill over to the larger society: families, institutions, politics and government.

V. There are several potential approaches for addressing the causes of leadership

conflicts in the Kenyan Church.

A. Conflict Mitigation

1) The church leadership should be diligent in managing organization change as

highlighted by WalkMe Team, (2020).

2) Kenyan Church leadership should embrace transformational leadership. According to

Mwambazambi and Banza, (2014) “developing efficacious transformational leadership for Africa

requires that the causes of poor leadership be removed” (p.1). A transformational leader adds value

to the relationship with their followers by addressing the current needs in a way that transforms the

followers and organization. Mathafena (as cited in Mwambazambi and Banza, 2014) argued that

“transformational leaders transform followers by creating changes in their goals, values, beliefs and

aspirations” (p.75) It is through the enhanced changes that both the leader and follower derive mutual

benefits and satisfaction. Kenyan church leaders should embrace transformational leadership since a

leader employing this type of leader is selfless, looks at the interest of others, has a concrete vision

and is willing to demonstrate a high degree of responsibility, and values while challenging and

motivating their followers to aim for higher productivity and create challenging goals. Transformational

leaders do not shy away from creating more leaders. Their job as super leaders is to create more

leaders and fewer followers. Church leaders should change their leadership style which as highlighted

previously is largely authoritarian and at best transactional. De Beer and Venter (as cited

Mwambazambi and Banza, 2014) asserted that: “the missionary, minister or Christian worker must be

transformed as well as the church or organisation and as these individuals and groups experience

transformation, they will also be able to facilitate the transformation of their communities” (p. 33).

Transformational leadership helps to minimize conflicts since the leaders create an environment

where the followers get support to be leaders themselves and hence derive satisfaction in the

process.

3) The Kenyan church leadership should employ servant leadership as advocated by

Ikenye, (2010). Servant leadership is a self-suggesting description of a leadership style where the
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leader is a servant. Ikenye, (2010) likewise described “leadership as servanthood” he explained that

“the leader must serve the interests of Christ. Who gave him to the Church. Ikenye asserted that “the

leader must be a servant of Christ and a servant of the people he or she is leading” (p.146).

According to Sipe & Frick, (2009),

A servant-leader is a servant first. In "The Servant as Leader" he wrote, "It begins with the

natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to

lead. The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant—first to make sure that other

people's highest priority needs are being served. The best test is: do those served to grow as

persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely

themselves to become servants? (p.18).

Servant leadership is one of the most admired leadership styles even though practically very few

organizations have a servant leadership organization structure. According to Greenleaf, Spears,

Beggs, & Beazley, (2003),

Servant-leaders are functionally superior because they are closer to the ground—they hear

things, see things, know things, and their intuitive insight is exceptional. Because of this, they are

dependable and trusted. They know the meaning of that line from Shakespeare's sonnet, "They that

have the power to hurt and will do none (p.57).

As discussed earlier, some of the conflicts experienced in Kenyan churches stem from the

leadership arena. By embracing servant leadership, leaders and organizations can minimize

instances of conflicts. Servant leadership pillars help the leader to be more grounded and have the

required qualities. According to Sipe & Frick, (2009), a servant leader is “a person of character, puts

people first, listens earnestly and speaks effectively, compassionate collaborator, a person of

foresight, a system thinker and has moral authority” (p.21). By adapting the pillars of servant

leadership, a leader will be able to address the various competing interests within an organization.

Where conflicts are caused by unethical behaviour by the leader, the character pillar will help the

leader to maintain a good character, where conflict is caused by problems within the organization's

system, the leader will be able to use foresight and address challenges even before they arise on the

surface. Another example of a leader is to employ a system thinking approach. A leader should factor

in the various aspects of an organization when making decisions. Thompson, (2014) pointed out that:
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“For a leader to truly manage, conflict, he or she must think about how the situation or issue

is affecting the whole organization. This is thinking in systems. A change, alteration, or adjustment to

one part of the organization can have a ripple effect through the entire organization” (p.40).

It is therefore apparent that by embracing the various pillars of servant leadership a leader

would have a balanced skillset and tools to help manage various sources and forms of conflict when

they occur and mitigating them.

4) The Bible provides solid principles of addressing conflicts related to spiritual

problems- (Bible-New International Version, 1978/2011). When conflicts occur in churches, leaders,

and church members are affected. The Bible addresses the concept of conflict by advocating that

people of God should mitigate conflicts and when they occur especially between leaders, the church

should seek a solution. Paul, writing to Timothy advised him that “a servant of the Lord must not

quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people” (2 Tim

2:24). To address conflicts, one should put off the old man (Eph 4:17-24) and clothe themselves with

the new man (Eph 4:25-32) while walking in the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

5) The Kenyan Church should Address Conflicts related to access to resources and

social-economic issues. Moywaywa, (2018) observed that “at the heart of most church conflicts is the

scramble for access to resources” (p.3). Many church leaders involved in conflict tend to fight for

control of tithes and offering, property and other tangible benefits from the church. Churches should

ensure that management of church resources is not controlled by an individual and where a group is

involved, churches should adopt management systems that minimize corruption and abuse of office

and which promote good governance.

B. Conflict resolution: There are several approaches for resolving and managing

conflicts available for church leaders.

1) To resolve a conflict, parties involved have the option of embracing direct negotiation

or seek mediation.

a) Negotiation- As human beings, we constantly have needs and sometimes those

needs are unreachable. One party could find that the other might be standing in the way; preventing

them from getting what they want and that is where negotiating is an important skill for defusing a

conflict. Negotiation is ideal when the parties in a conflict are able and willing to explore solutions to a

conflict on their own. According to Thompson, (2012) “Negotiation is an interpersonal decision-

 Page 20 of 25

making process necessary whenever we cannot achieve our objectives single-handedly. When

negotiating it is imperative to employ various negotiation skills and to be aware of what they want to

achieve. Thompson argued that a person in a conflict should employ the skills of negotiation to

"create value, claim value and build trust" (p.23). In a conflict situation, a party should guard against

various shortcoming such as "leaving money on the table, settling for too little, walking away from the

table and settling for terms that are worse than your best alternative” (Thompson, 2012, p.26). Some

elements in negotiation may seem to open a window for people to pursue selfish goals. This is one of

the risks that disputants may face. It is therefore prudent for disputants in leadership conflict to

approach the process of negotiation in good faith.

b) Mediation- Often in a conflict, the disputants are unable to address the conflict by

themselves. In a church setup, whenever parties in a conflict fail in negotiating a settlement, they

should alternatively consider mediation as an option. A mediator is an impartial party who helps the

disputants to come to a settlement. Mediation can be a useful tool to bring together warring factions

within a church or between people to explore a solution to the conflicts with the help of a trained and

experienced mediator. Thompson, (2014) argued that one should note that {first} “there are the

personal relationships of those involved. Second, it is important to remember the goals and objectives

of those involved in the conflict.” A well-managed conflict resolution process brings about healing and

“conflict transformation” to the parties (Thompson 2014, p.53).

2) There are several principles for managing conflicts (Thompson, 2014). Church

leaders should ensure that conflicts are well managed to forestall the negative consequences that

might occur. Thompson, (2014) highlighted six principles for managing interpersonal conflict:

“Managing conflict with complacency, managing conflict with confrontation, managing conflict with

communication, managing conflict with cooperation, managing conflict with coordination, managing

conflict with collaboration” (pp 7-8).

a) Managing conflict with complacency

Managing conflict with complacency according to Thompson, (2014) means that the leader

chooses to abstain from the conflict. This is deliberately avoiding the conflict and choosing one’s

battles wisely. Avoiding a conflict can also have its benefits to a leader. Choosing to keep off may

help the leader focus on the big picture while leaving others to solve it. For one to choose
 Page 21 of 25

complacency as a conflict management tool, the conflict should be minor and within the abilities of the

followers or subordinates to handle.

b) Managing conflict with confrontation

If the level of conflict is substantial and damages likely to be catastrophic, a leader can choose

confrontation to preserve the unity and integrity of the church. In this case, the leader confronts others

and demands accountability or explanation. Thompson, (2014) pointed out that:

Confrontation is a risky conflict management technique. There are times when it is

appropriate and necessary. Sometimes confronting a person directly is the best way to address the

situation and look for a way to manage or resolve the conflict. On the other hand, it always comes

with risk; something could potentially be misinterpreted, misstated, or misused, and the situation

grows bleaker. Even with the best of intentions, confrontation can lead to more confrontation (p.75).

Decook, (2020) agreed with Thompson’s approach by suggesting that a leader should

“lovingly confront (p.33).

c) Managing conflict with communication. To manage a conflict church leaders or

disputant should know how to use communication effectively. Most conflicts are caused by a lack of

proper communication between people. One may misrepresent or misunderstand the position of

another and consequently stoking a conflict. Thompson, (2014) pointed out that “managing a conflict

calls for an honest, open dialogue where the disputants employ active listening, reframing statements

in a presence of clear and open lines of communication” (p.86).

d) Managing conflict with cooperation. In a conflict situation, the church leader should

be willing to sit down and dialogue with their disputants. The goal of the cooperation is for the parties

to seek and explore amicable solutions to the conflict. Cooperation should be sought when the parties

can communicate among themselves. Cooperation helps the church by instilling a culture of dialogue

and solution-seeking without protracted conflicts involving others outside the church. Thompson,

(2014) argued that “cooperation involves those who have a vested interest in the conflict and leads

them through the process of working together toward a reasonable and peaceful solution” (p.106).

e) Managing conflict with coordination. Church leaders should be able to forestall most

conflicts through making concerted efforts in arranging strategic meetings to clarify issues and secure

commitments. When leaders coordinate their affairs appropriately, there are fewer chances that

conflicts will blow out. Thompson, (2014) explained that “Coordination is a choice made to orchestrate
 Page 22 of 25

desired outcomes. Once a leader assesses the conflict, he or she chooses coordination as a way to

manage the conflict while seeking specific results” (p.101).

f) Managing conflict with collaboration. Managing conflict with collaboration means that

the disputants join hands to seek a mutual solution to the conflict. Centre of Human dialogue, (2017)

explained that collaboration "involves efforts to solve both sets of interests. {It): Seeks a solution that

meets all needs, preserves the relationship, educates the parties about each other’s needs and

explores a variety of solutions” (p.51).

3) The body of Christ is not immune to conflicts. There are many times when conflicts

tend to engulf believers causing painful hurts and other negative consequences. Decook, (2020)

suggested 3 principles for equipping the believers to respond to conflict as an ambassador of Jesus

Christ.

a) Principle #1 Seek God’s presence: Seeking God’s presence changes your

perspective. Decook, (2020) argued that it "is impossible to handle a conflict as an ambassador of

Jesus Christ without spending time in His presence" (p.10). Decook asserted that one should follow 4

attributes provided by Jesus Christ when one is in his presence. One should embrace humility, desire

to please God, faith and love

b) Principle #2: Pursue God. Pursuing God’s purpose changes your priorities. In a

conflict situation, people should pursue God to know how to handle and respond to a conflict.

Knowledge is important to have at this point. Decook, (2020) declared that there are “3 things every

conflict firefighter must know” (p.15-16).

1) “The Lord is always at work. (Psa 121:4; John 5:17)”

2) “Pursue As ambassadors of Jesus Christ, we are called to pursue peace with all

people (Rom.12: 14, 18, 19)”.

3) “Giving thanks- Giving thanks brings you into the Lord’s presence - the place where

He can accomplish His purpose in and through you. It is God’s will that you give him thanks in all

circumstances” (1 Thess 5:18)”

c) Principle #3: Rely on God “Relying on God’s power changes your possibilities”.

Decook, (2020) argued that “the flesh does not want to respond to conflict with God’s power but wants

to engage in Strange Fire {which} is an attempt to do the Lord’s will in a manner that He has not

approved authorized (Gen. 4:3-7; Lev. 10:1-2; Acts 5; 8)”(p.28). Decook explained that “Strange Fire
 Page 23 of 25

is coming to the Peacefire with your agenda and asking the Lord to bless it rather than humbling

yourself, seeking the Lord, and asking that He use you to fulfil His agenda” (p.28).
 Page 24 of 25

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