THE ROLE OF TRANSFORMATIVE MEDIATION APPROACH IN MANAGING CONFLICTS AMONG STAFF MEMBERS OF THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH

Abstract Transformative mediation is all about managing and resolving conflicts among staff members of the contemporary Church to enhance the Church's spiritual and relational growth. Multi-staff congregations are very common nowadays due to the rapid growth of the Church, and such growth will always come with its challenges. One of the challenges is conflict, and if it is not well handled, the Church will suffer disintegration. This paper, therefore, postulated that transformative mediation plays a critical role in managing conflicts among contemporary church staff members by shifting the Focus from resolving a specific dispute to transforming the relationship between the conflicting parties. A qualitative method was used to identify the principles required for transformative mediation to be pragmatic in the context of conflicts among church staff. A biblical foundation was highlighted to integrate secular principles with scriptural values in bringing holistic transformation to conflicting parties. The researcher discovered that transformative mediation empowers conflicting individuals by respecting, recognizing and transforming them to develop lasting relationships after reconciliation and restoration. Conclusively, this paper focuses on mediators whose aim is not just to settle disputes but to foster lasting relationships among conflicting Church members after reconciliation. The principles in this paper can also be used to resolve family, societal, intertribal and political conflicts by bringing genuine relationships among the conflicting parties. Using scripture in transformative mediation can make the approach more holistic, fostering change for the parties involved.