The ministry can be messy; one of the messy aspects of ministry is conflict. It existed in the first-century church and it also exists in the contemporary church. I don’t think that most Christians enjoy it because it creates stress. Conflict can result from a number of situations, a person can experience it when they are in the midst of distressing circumstances or in a relationship with another person. Sometimes believers experience conflict with those who are supposed to be on their side, people who are members of their own team. One example of this type of conflict is when Christian leaders clash with one another. In this article I would like to focus on this kind of conflict. There are biblical examples of this. We will look at three cases, all of which come from the New Testament and all of which in some way involve the apostle Paul. 

Paul & Peter

Before we proceed it is important to say that just because a person is involved in conflict, even on a number of occasions, it does not mean that he or she is a bad person. No doubt there are some contentious people, but not everyone is. Being involved in a conflict can mean that an individual has convictions, principles they stand for and will not compromise. With that in mind let’s turn our attention to Paul’s experiences in the biblical texts.

The first example comes from Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia. In an autobiographical section of the letter (Gal. 2:11-21) Paul shares some history with us. He writes about opposing the apostle Peter to his face when he came to Antioch. This is the only biblical record we have of this incident. Paul took Peter to task because he had been eating with the Gentiles but then ceased to do so when some Jewish people came from James. Peter’s actions influenced some of the other Jews who were there, including Paul’s ministry companion, Barnabas. These Jews, along with Peter, withdrew from table fellowship with the Gentiles. Paul saw this not as a preference or a cultural norm, but as an affront to the gospel; Peter’s actions contradicted the truth of the gospel. Peter’s withdrawal from dining with the Gentiles was a step backward, reverting to the old division of Jews and Gentiles.

This confrontation must have been a rather awkward situation. Peter and Paul were both apostles, recognized spiritual leaders, and yet here they were not in agreement. On top of that Peter had been an apostle longer than Paul; Peter was one of the original twelve chosen by Jesus (Mark 3:14-19), but Paul did not become an apostle until after Jesus’ ascension (Acts 9; 22; 26; Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:1). Who did Paul think he was that he dared to speak against Peter’s actions publically (Gal. 2:14-21)! A doctrinal issue was at stack here. Though they were not having a theological discussion Peter’s actions had theological implications. This prompted Paul to give some theological teaching (Gal. 2:14-21). He witnessed some hypocrisy and he was not content to let it go uncontested. Paul could be flexible about some matters (see Rom. 14) but this was not an area in which being flexible was acceptable. Peter’s behavior was not consistent with the gospel’s message. So the incident recorded in Galatians 2 has implications for the doctrine of salvation.

There are a number of lessons that we can learn from this incident. First, we see that it is possible for a spiritual leader to be in error. It does not matter how long they have been a Christian, what position or ministry they have in the church, or how long they have had that ministry, they are not above error; none of us is perfect. Second, we learn that being influenced by what others may think can be hazardous to our spiritual life. Peter experienced “peer pressure,” not from fellow apostles but from fellow Jews. His concern about how they would respond to his eating with Gentiles caused him to withdraw from eating with them. Third, we learn that our behavior impacts others. Peter’s actions influenced others to follow his example. This is a truth that leaders in the church need to keep in mind. Leaders are watched. Christians typically look to their leaders as knowledgeable people who provide a living example of how one should live in order to please the Lord. If leaders are wrong, they may lead others into error as well. Fourth, we learn the importance of standing up for biblical truth no matter who we have to address. Paul was a man of conviction who stood up for the truth no matter what. Leaders today need to do that as well (remember Paul’s words in 2 Tim. 4:2-5). A Christian leader’s primary responsibility is first and foremost to God, to whom they will give an account (Heb. 13:17). The encounter in Antioch must have been uncomfortable but it does not seem to have hurt the relationship of the two men. In his second letter Peter refers to Paul as “our dear brother Paul” (2 Pet. 3:15 NIV).

Paul & Barnabas

The second case we are considering is perhaps the best known of the three conflicts that we are looking at. I am referring to the conflict between Paul and Barnabas that we find in Acts 15. These two men had worked together in Antioch for a year teaching the church there (Acts 11:25-26) and gone on one missionary journey together (Acts 13 & 14), but in Acts 15 they had a serious disagreement and parted ways (Acts 15:39-41).

This situation must also have been an awkward one. Barnabas had been a Christian longer than Paul had and he had done much to help him. He helped Paul to be accepted by the church in Jerusalem (Acts 11:26-27), and as I mentioned above sought him out to help instruct the new believers in Antioch (Acts 11:39-41). There could be no doubt that God had paired them together to work because they were specifically called by name to work together (Acts 13:2). Here again we find two apostles (see Acts 14:14 where Barnabas is also called an apostle) disagreeing. And once again Barnabas had been a Christian longer than Paul.

So what was the issue here? What would cause these two men, who had labored together for a significant period of time, to part company? It must have been something significant. Unlike our first case, which was doctrinal in nature, the issue here was not doctrinal but rather personal. The contention here concerned John Mark. John Mark had accompanied Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey. However, he had left them before the journey was over (Acts 13:13). Barnabas wanted John Mark to join them on their return visit to the believers in the cities they had visited on their first missionary journey. Paul did not want him included. 

In order to understand the personal nature of this conflict we need to keep in mind that John Mark was the cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10). This adds another dynamic to the story, family is involved. Not only were Barnabas and John Mark related by the blood of the Lamb they were also related by their family blood line. In addition to the family dynamic, Barnabas was an encourager (Acts 4:36) so even if John Mark left the first missionary journey under less than admirable circumstances Barnabas may have been willing to give his relative another chance.

Paul’s rejection of John Mark seems to have changed over time. Later in his life Paul wrote and told Timothy to get Mark (John Mark) and bring him to Paul because “he is helpful to me in my ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11 NIV). One thing we can learn from this experience of Paul and Barnabas is that Christian workers can, and do, at times have disagreements, even strong disagreements. I am not in a position to say who was right and who was wrong in this situation, as it does not appear to have been a moral issue. This situation is not one we like to talk about, it is uncomfortable. One positive thing we can take away from this text is that both Paul and Barnabas continued on in ministry after their disagreement (Acts 15:39-41). Another lesson we can learn is that a person who we think has failed may one day prove to be profitable in ministry, even to us! Thank God for second chances.

Euodia & Syntyche

This last case is a bit different than the other two. In the previous two cases Paul was directly involved in the conflict, he was a participant. In this one he is involved, but only in a secondary way. The conflict here involves two women, Euodia & Syntyche (Phil. 4:2); this is the only mention of them in Scripture. Other than their names, the only things we know about them is that they were coworkers of Paul, and that their relationship was strained at the time Paul wrote the letter. We do not know the nature of their conflict because that information is not given to us. Paul, who was not in Philippi at the time, was so concerned about this situation that he called upon someone he calls “loyal yokefellow” (Col. 4:3 NIV 1984) to get involved and help these women to reconcile. In view of the fact that the letter to the church at Philippi would be read publically to the congregation others in the church might also try to help bring these two women together.

The experience of these two women can teach us a number of valuable lessons. First, women may be involved in ministry just as much as men are, Paul refers to them as those who contended at his side for the gospel (Col. 4:3). Second, just like men, women can have broken relationships. Third, sometimes people require a third party, a mediator or counselor, in order to help them patch up their relationship. Fourth, reconciliation is a good course of action and Paul worked to move things in this direction for these two women. Unfortunately we do not told what happened in this case.

Conclusion

This brief sampling of texts demonstrates that spiritual leaders can, at times, be in conflict with their companions in ministry. Scripture tells us that some of the people we have studied, such as Peter, Paul, and Barnabas were filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:4) and subsequently on two other occasions as well (Acts 4:8, 31). Paul was filled with the Spirit shortly after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:17) and Barnabas is identified as Spirit-filled in Acts 11:24. Since the fullness of the Spirit was the normal Christian experience in the first century church I would venture to guess that the two women mentioned in Philippians 4 were Spirit-filled as well (especially if they worked with Paul!). However, their experience with God did not exempt them from conflict. 

The biblical texts have relevance to us today, they instruct us and may, in some ways, comfort us. Conflicts between ministers are unfortunate, and stressful, situations. Sometimes we must take personal responsibility for the conflict because we have made bad choices, sometimes it is just a matter of a difference of opinion with another, but whatever the circumstances the enemy will frequently seek to use them to his own advantage. Perhaps as you are reading this article you are currently in a situation of conflict with another leader. Know this: you are not alone. This brief article demonstrates that some of the people we admire most in Scripture had to deal with conflict. And church history, both past and present, shows that many others have also had to work through it. As painful as it can be there is life after conflict, there is ministry after conflict. In at least two of the cases we studied above it does not seem that the conflicts lasted a long time. That is they did not drag on for weeks or months. As much as is possible a leader should seek to bring conflict to a swift end so that it does not drain them or prove detrimental to their ministry. Leaders should seek to honor the Lord and be patient and purposeful in their dealings with others (as they would want others to be toward them), these things will go a long way in minimizing conflict with ministry colleagues.  Let us seek to be at peace with others (Rom. 12:18) and fight our real enemy, the devil (1 Pet. 5:8).

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John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including: the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and  Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.