A Volley from the Canon, #51

MOVE TOWARD THE FIRE

In a former life, my wife Linda was Director of Public Relations for a hospital in our home town. One of her duties had to do with emergency procedures, and I was intrigued to learn of some ways that hospitals respond differently from other institutions to an emergency such as a fire.

I was a teacher then, and our procedure was simple: get the kids out! In most instances, when an occupied structure catches fire, priority one is to evacuate, and priority two is to call the fire department (of course, that is done automatically in most cases). In the hospital, however, there are hundreds of patients, many of whose lives would be as threatened by being moved as by the emergency itself. In any case, there could never be staff enough or emergency personnel enough, quickly enough, to remove all patients safely. Evacuation itself poses serious risks. Therefore, the hospital maintains a cadre of staff who are trained to rush TO the source of the danger. Others are sealing off unaffected wings of the buildings, evacuating those who can most safely be evacuated, and taking up stations for further actions should they be called for. Still others continue to care for the seriously ill throughout the emergency. But the most crucial action required is to put out the fire and limit the damage immediately, not waiting for crews from outside to arrive.

What does this have to do with congregational life and health? The church is, after all, a hospital for sinners, a gathering place for people in all stages of spiritual and emotional treatment and recovery. What happens when there is a spiritual “fire,” (and not one of holy origin)? How can the local church deal most effectively with an outbreak of serious conflict that threatens its very survival?

We have all kinds of natural responses. Some people refuse to acknowledge that there is a fire, and they try to go about their business normally, hoping it will just go out on its own. Some of the stronger and abler people run from the fire, often abandoning weaker souls who are too frail, in whatever way, to get out of the way of the flames. Some just try to seal it off from affecting “their” particular wing of the congregation.

We also need to maintain teams of people who are prepared and equipped to rush TO the fire. We need to meet conflicts head on, address them honestly and directly, and bring them to resolution as quickly and expeditiously as possible. We need to excise the Body of dangerous, destructive behaviors, and we need to facilitate reconciliation and healing. Conflict Resolution may be the crash cart of wholesome congregational life.