Adrian Turner presents the concluding message in the series “Life is About Relationships,” focusing on the practical application of conflict management strategies.
Conflict is defined as an unavoidable reality of the human condition, existing because we are creatures—not infinite or all-knowing like God—and it happened even in the Garden of Eden before sin entered the world. While conflict itself is not sinful, the way we handle it determines whether it becomes a sinful experience.
This message provides foundational ground rules for managing conflicts, including:
• Establishing agreed discussion rules (e.g., one speaker, one issue at a time).
• Hearing all issues and identifying the main points of concern.
• Deemotionalizing the situation where necessary.
• Testing potential resolutions against scriptural principles.
The core of the discussion explores Augsberger’s Conflict Management Matrix, which plots high/low regard for relationship against high/low regard for personal values. The goal is to move past the ‘My Way’ (win/lose) and ‘Your Way’ approaches toward the ultimate solution: ‘Our Way’ (the win-win or God’s way). This “third alternative” requires creative thinking, open dialogue, and a genuine willingness to search for a solution better than either party initially proposed.