By Jon Roberts – Denver, Colorado … “I have often said that the title PLAY NICE in Your Sandbox at Church has to be among the dumbest titles you have ever heard. Do we really need a book that tells Christians they ought to get along with each other?” Ron Price wrote in the introduction of his latest book.
Price, an RMC executive committee member from Farmington, New Mexico, and conflict resolution author, recently released his third book in the series Play Nice in Your Sandbox.
His latest book deals with conflict resolution at church and between one another as believers. This topic shows some believers running and hiding, pretending conflict doesn’t exist, while others use membership transfers to solve conflict instead of dealing with the root issue.
Ed Barnett, RMC President, in a forward to Price’s book, wrote, “As I read this book by Ron Price, I thought to myself, “It would be nice to buy a copy for every member. Ron has a great sense of humor and just the right mix of quotes, both from the Bible and other writers, to make the book interesting and enjoyable. He really gets to the bottom of the issues in getting along at church.”
As Price explains, this book is not typical as it is designed to be read in sections instead of all at once, very similar to other self-help books.
With sections titled: Pray, Pray, Pray; Love Yourself as You Love Your Neighbor; Choose to Remain Civil and Christlike; and Embrace Conflict as Opportunity, there is advice for resolution and healing of the majority of conflicts that exist in churches and between members, though it may not solve the debate between green and blue carpet. Each chapter concludes with a challenge, as well as advice on going deeper with the subject matter covered.
The need for this book was very clear for Price.
“As a mediator for over 30 years, I’ve seen my share of disputes and disagreements. In my humble opinion many of these situations were unresolvable, while many others I felt could be resolved or even prevented from ever having occurred. Disputes in workplaces and at home are understandable, but disputes in churches between children of the same God,” Price said.
It was not only addressing the issues at church, but also an offer to training church members in conflict resolution. “While most people say they dread conflict, most have never been trained or equipped to prevent or resolve differences they will have with others. That belief drove me to do my part to help people be more confident in their ability to address conflict in a mutually-satisfying manner. I like to say that while conflict is inevitable, damaged relationships are optional,” Price added.
PLAY NICE in Your Sandbox at Church can be found at many of your online retailers including Amazon.
–Jon Roberts is RMC media/communication assistant; Photo by Jon Roberts
