Getting to Amen: Eight Strategies for Managing Conflict in the African American Church (Book)
Lora-Ellen McKinney, Author.  Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2005.

This book acknowledges that conflicts have arisen in African American churches as their members have become increasingly diverse in their outlooks and experiences. In an effort to restore the sense of safety at church that parishioners once experienced when there was less diversity in their ranks, Lora-Ellen McKinney offers strategies to help African American churches deal with conflict in a healthy manner.

The title of her book is a reference to Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton, which outlines a method for negotiating disputes that has been effectively used in business and political settings. While McKinney builds on that methodology in Getting to Amen, she tailors it to religious communities and the particular needs of the African American church.

The book is divided into three sections. The first is a primer on managing conflict. The second section explores how conflict management strategies can be applied to particular issues, including women in church leadership, homosexuality, church migration, politics and preaching, and nondenominationalism. The third section invites African American Christians to look for ways in which to honor their common history and faith and to make or strengthen partnerships with other African American organizations, both faith-based and secular.

Anyone interested in learning how to cultivate more respectful and productive communication about the difficult issues being addressed in African American congregations would benefit from reading this book.

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See also these resources:

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (Book)
Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, Bruce Patton, Authors.  New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1991.
Getting to Yes is based on answering a common question: what is the best way for people to deal with their differences? It suggests a process of "principled negotiation, " or looking for mutual gains whenever possible.

Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation (Book)
William L. Ury, Author.  New York, NY: Bantam Doubleday, 1993.
Getting Past No is a guide to transforming relationships by negotiating one's relational problems from a posture of cooperation rather than confrontation.