Thursday 2/26 – People Campus vs. Church

Getting along with people; no matter where you are, this can be a difficult thing. For me, I try to get along with everyone, but sometimes I don’t do the best job. Much of my personal views and feelings get in the way of my relationships. In college it is easy to, after not getting along with someone, avoid people and just let the conflict go away and put time in between those periods of frustration. But in any case, it is not good to let conflict go without addressing that conflict and bringing resolution.

In relationships in college and relationships in the church shouldn’t look a whole lot different, but I know they will and do look different. One difference in getting along with people in college is that you can avoid them without too much awkwardness. In this situation, it is still possible to function in life and academically and not address the issue. But within the church, it is harder to avoid people and it not bringing about some issues that are recognizable that can bring down the ministry.

Another difference between college and church with getting along with people is it can be easier to build very close personal relationships in college. Most of the time in college, people are around the same people all the time. In the church, people have to be more intentional in order to build close, tight knit relationships. The church has to have a planned systematic approach to bringing people together.

A last difference is the choice. In the church, the people have to be accepting and welcoming to all people. In college a person can easily choose and pick their friends. But with the church, in order to be effective as ministers, people must feel included and loved.

Getting along with people in the church is a necessity, as to where in college it isn’t always necessary. So as ministers in the church, we need to be aware of people and how to interact with those people and work issues out and above all love and accept everyone.