Biblical Conflict Resolution

[n david]

Most of us know Paul's instruction on how to handle conflict within the church. But Reader brought up a good question as to what options a saint has to handling conflict against a Pastor.

I've italicized Reader's scenarios below:


Situation: Pastor of an independent church slanders a member or former member. The board is a group of 'yes men' for the pastor, with no real authority to take any action. What options remain for the injured party? They are told they may not sue. At the same time, the board will not or cannot intervene.

Situation: Pastor of an affiliated church slanders a member or former member. The organization has a policy of dealing with charges against a minister but also affords liberty to each district overseer. In this case, that person has been a long-time friend of the pastor in question and dismisses the accusation against his friend. No action is taken. What options remain for the injured party? They are told they may not sue. At the same time, they are unable to pursue the situation through the established rules.

I have deliberately chosen two hypothetical situations where what would be considered the proper steps to take cannot be accomplished. It is something important to address since incidents such as these do indeed occur. How do we, as Christians, address them? Do we wave goodbye to the individual who was harmed and tell them tough luck?