Shalom overcomes conflict

How do you handle conflict?

Justo Vasco da Gama knows how complicated some conflicts can be. He recently saw God use him to unravel a tough one in his church in Mozambique.

The situation involved marital infidelity which led to a man being marginalized from the church. Multiple people played a role in both the marriage problem and the church issue.

André Chitlango, director of More than a Mile Deep Global, and of MMD-Mozambique, picks up the story.

“da Gama took the [MMD] course Restoring God’s Shalom: Conflict, Resolution and Management. Applying principles from the course, da Gama sat down to understand the problem. What is the nature, the roots, of the conflict?”

da Gama approached the man who’d been marginalized from the church, seeking to understand why that had happened. Over time, he traveled to meet with each of the people involved. He sought to identify each person’s role and character. He invited two of them to a couple’s Bible study. Eventually, he sought legal and government help on certain issues. He made sure conversations were held in neutral environments where each person felt safe. Eventually, relationships and legalities were sorted out. The church granted one couple an official Christian wedding.

“God’s shalom has been restored,” André says, “for each of the people and marriages. And the church, also, because they had the burden … for 20 years, they did not know what to do.” The man who had been excommunicated was welcomed back into full fellowship with his church.

The story demonstrates the practical nature of MMD courses.

“In MMD, you are given practical lessons to implement what you are learning. [In this course] you start helping people to solve conflicts as a process of learning, so that by the time you finish, you have not only learned about how to solve problems, but you have already helped someone solve some conflicts. So, you have hands-on experience.”

MMD training is currently underway in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in addition to Mozambique.

People trained by MMD have facilitated courses including

• Restoring God’s Shalom

• Transforming Communities through Holistic Engagement

• Living Like Christ

• Nurturing Christian Families

• Leading and Administering God’s People and Resources

Christians are gaining practical skills from MMD training. On an even greater scale, André says, “we are changing the pedagogy in Mozambique. “When you see educators who are not theologians start appreciating and wanting to see how to implement [MMD learning principles] in overall education, then something is happening.”

Something is happening! All to the glory of God!