The process of negotiation takes time and commitment. But negotiation can always be weighed against what Fisher calls BATNA ("Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement"). In any non-negotiated situation, what are my options? What is the cost of not dealing with a conflict in a relationship or a congregation? What are the global options if we do not reach some sort of negotiated agreement? What is the alternative if we choose not to attempt to love our enemies?

What Fisher calls the moment of "getting to yes" is that point at which the parties feel that they have negotiated a workable agreement and in fact have reached a win-win solution.

"Conflict resolution" might better be called "conflict management." Realistically, we never totally resolve or "fix" conflict so that it goes away. It is more like a dance, where we learn not to step on each other's feet. We never totally resolve the issues, but we learn to dance more gracefully.