The church is not immune to nor is it shielded from conflicts. Conflicts abound daily among brethren in their businesses and relationships with the ripple effect on the larger community. Many believers find the court as the only means of settling disputes where they find it difficult, for some reason, to let the other party “have thy cloak also.” The rate of divorce in the church is comparable to that of the secular world. The courts have not helped matters as delayed justice continues to provide fertile soil for resentment to fester. Even those who finally receive judgment after years of bitterness are no better for it. There, therefore, exists a lacuna in our dispute resolution systems, which an alternative system, aptly adapted, would fill.
Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism in which a third party neutral assists disputing parties in reaching a mutually acceptable resolution. It is enforceable once the resolution has been reduced to writing and executed by the parties. Mediation provides for privacy of the parties, is voluntary and not as expensive as litigation or arbitration. Mediation, not being adversarial, preserves the parties’ relationships after the process. As assisted negotiation resulting in mutually acceptable resolutions, it becomes easier for each party to carry out their obligations as specified in their resolutions. Ultimately, peace is maintained in the lives of the parties, their associates, and the church.
A faith based mediation centre set up by any church will drive a worthy revolution in the Church in that nation. As more people train as mediators or go through the process of mediation, it would greatly improve relationships among believers. Such a centre would serve all who would want their disputes resolved in a faith-based establishment. It should be open to members of other churches who are likely to believe in the neutrality of members of a different church. However every trained mediator is trained to remain impartial and neutral.
Mediation fits well into the prescriptions of the Bible. The apostle, Paul, writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6:1-6 said, “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? No, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.” Matthew 5:9 says that peace makers would be blessed and called Children of God. A mediator is a peacemaker, more so a Christian mediator. Though we are not given any professional qualification for this peacemaker except that he should be wise, professional training would better equip the intervening person(s) in conflict resolution.
What would make a church Mediation Centre special would be the understanding of the mediators of the beliefs and profession of faith of the parties which understanding would also assist in the support that the mediator can provide to the parties. By its identity as a faith based mediation centre, it takes away the ridicule the Christian faith is put under when believers have to go through the public display of their disputes in court.
BridgewaysADR 