Never simply give in to contentious or complaining congregants for the sake of peace. One of the biggest mistakes that pastors make is to give in to the demands of discontent or contentious congregants simply to keep them happy. By doing so, they inadvertently empower sinful congregants. If pastors give in on one thing for which sinfully discontent congregants contend, be assured that there will be another and another and yet another.

Most of the New Testament was written with a view to dealing with sin and controversy in the church. I have often taken comfort from the fact that the churches planted by the Apostles were fraught with contentions and controversy–it is a reminder that such challenges and controversies are not necessarily on account of poor leadership. We can be sure of one thing–if controversies, unjust complaints and contentions happened in the apostolic churches, they will most certainly happen in our churches. So, what are we to do when controversy strikes? How are pastors to navigate the challenges and trials that make them feel their own insufficiencies as they seek to shepherd God’s people to glory? Here are eight things for pastors to keep in mind while seeking to navigate the trials and controversies that local congregations often face:

1. Take all matters to the Lord in prayer. When the king of Assyria sent a letter to King Hezekiah, threatening to attack and oppress Israel, Hezekiah took the letter and spread it before the Lord–thus symbolizing what it means to bring the challenges and trials that we face to the Lord in prayer:

Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord.And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “OLord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib… (2 Kings 19:14-16).

Pastors must call on the Lord and bring controversies and contentions to Him for resolution. A good under-shepherd loves the purity of the church and longs for the peace and unity of its members and pastors alike. It is the great burden of his heart because the Great Shepherd of the church is called the “God of peace” (Rom. 15:33; 16:20; Phil. 4:9; 1 Thess. 5:23 and Heb. 13:20). The God of peace loves to answer the prayers of His ministers for peace in His church. While He may not–and often, does not–grant the petition as quickly as we desire, we are to continue calling on Him to bring controversy and contentions to an end.

2. Bring the Gospel to bear in every situation. Every controversy or trial is a platform for the Gospel. The Apostles modeled this for us throughout the New Testament epistles. The message of Christ crucified was the remedy for the schism and division among party factions in the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:10-25). When there was a sinful division between two women in the church in Philippi, the Apostle Paul brought forth the deepest truths about the incarnation and the servant-like humility of the Lord Jesus Christ–servant-like humility to the point of death on the cross (see Philippians 4:2 in light of 2:1-11). The solution to the sinful division between these two women in the church would only be cured by them adopting the mind of Christ–a posture of humility and self-emptying that resulted in the good of others. When the Apostle Paul dealt with marriage issues, he did so by teaching those in the church in Ephesus that husbands were to learn how to love their wives by considering the sacrificial death of Jesus and wives were to learn how to respect their husbands from the submission of the church to the Savior (Eph. 5:22-33). When dealing with the controversy between those with strong consciences and those with weak consciences in the church, the Apostle wrote, “welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Rom. 15:7). While there are many other examples and cases set out in the epistles in every case, the death and resurrection of Christ was the solution to all the problems that arose in the church.

3. Seek much counsel.

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