Noel Santiago

My first encounter with the field of conflict came in the early 1980s. I was working at Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pennsylvania. Ron Kraybill had been invited to lead a workshop for office staff on managing conflicts. How odd, I thought! Could conflicts be managed? What was this about? Would there be any practical application?

This turned out to be a tremendous stretching time for me. Ron talked about using “I-messages,-” “paraphrasing” as a way to ensure that true understanding had taken place, and more.

I remember several responses, especially one that went something like this: “Ron, this is all well and good, but I don’t see the value for daily living. It’s too mechanical and will come across to people as unreal.”

Ron responded along these lines: “If I hear your concern correctly, you believe using these ‘methods’ might appear to others like we’re not being genuine in our relationships with them. And it just doesn’t feel quite right to you. Did I hear you right?”

The questioner nodded and sat down, satisfied to have made the point. Then that person and all of us realized what had just happened. We broke into laughter. Ron pointed out that he had been practicing these skills the entire time he had been with us. He noted that yes, they might at first feel mechanical or uncomfortable. But as we practiced using them, they would become second nature.

I was hooked. There was something about this conflict management that had a ring of truth. Since then I’ve found what Ron said to be true. It hasn’t always been easy, and being Hispanic I’ve had to work at expressing the principles in a variety of forms shaped by diverse cultural contexts. Nevertheless, the basic skills I learned that day have held up in “real” life.

Carolyn Schrock-Shenk and Lawrence Ressler have done us a great service by pulling together this book. The many contributors bring to the subject depth and breadth that is biblically grounded, practical, and sensitive to a wide range of perspectives. Whether this is the first time you’re encountering these concepts or you’re a seasoned veteran, Making Peace with Conflict offers something for everyone.

Readers will discover that although skills are crucial, they’re not enough. As believers, we need to call on the transforming power of God’s Spirit in working with people, processes, and problems involved in conflict.

The contributors cover a range of topics: from basic skills in conflict transformation to power issues; from identity and race issues to global conflict. In true analytical form, the authors break down the parts and put them back together so we can better understand them. Their analyses and definitions convey a framework for understanding conflict even as they allow for openness in methods and forms. They will also stimulate discussion among holders of diverse views of conflict.

Making Peace with Conflict is virtually a conflict manual providing basic steps for addressing issues. Small groups, Sunday school classes, and cell/home groups will find it valuable both as a study tool and as a guide for addressing conflicts in their own settings. The book will help those uncomfortable with conflict as well as persons who have worked in difficult situations. Also acknowledged, however, is the likelihood that in many situations more skilled facilitators will be needed.

The book is easy to read—yet deep. Each chapter opens with a brief biography of the contributing author(s). Next comes a personal story or illustration, packed with power and insight, which introduces the concepts to follow. Helpful questions at the end of each chapter promote dialogue. There are also action steps and tables.

I encourage all of us to read reflectively, mining not only the many practical how-to’s but also being stirred to reflect on our past experiences with conflict situations. As we do, we’ll recall times we handled conflict well—and times we certainly didn’t!

Readers will be affirmed, provoked, challenged, stretched. May God multiply the impact of this work so many persons will come to a deeper understanding of and commitment to God’s call to peacemaking in a broken world.

Noel Santiago
Mennonite Board of Missions Evangelism and Church Development
Franconia Mennonite Conference Consultant for Missions
Souderton, Pennsylvania

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