(November) In One Peace: A Unit on Resolving Conflict

A 4-Week Spiritual Growth Series on Resolving Conflict with Friends and Family (Part of our Crossroads 7th-12th Grade Curriculum) Suggested Calendar: November 3-27 No matter how happy and healthy your relationships are with your family and friends, conflict is a fact of life. When that happens, sometimes we forget that the relationship is more important than "winning" the argument or proving our point. Sometimes we focus on what makes us feel vindicated in the moment even if it tramples all over those we care about the most. In other words, "fighting fair" is not really a skill people tend to have naturally. Genuine encouragement generally gets thrown to the wayside because of envy, pride, jealousy. The Bible has a lot to say about how we resolve conflicts, when they happen, with those we care about the most. This month we will explore some of the most important relationships in a teen's life: their parents, their siblings, those put in authority over them, and close friends. Analyzing Biblical examples of such relationships, we will see that keeping the peace doesn't mean we have no opinion or that we can never disagree - it simply means showing our care more for people than for opinions. “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Romans 12:18.