Have you ever been in a ministry situation where you were doing more damage control with your leaders than you were doing ministry? If you haven’t you will be one day. It’s not a prophecy of doom, just a fact of life. People are flawed, all of us… and when flawed people get together, drama happens.

The important thing as a leader is to keep your eyes focused on what God sees in the situation. It’s not so much being able to see it, but allowing God to constantly adjusting your view while you go through. He will help you see the influences behind why people are the way they are rather than the attitude they have when expressing how they are.

While it’s important to stand your ground… it’s even more important to question your own influences and reasons. If you’ve found yourself on the wrong side of an argument, stop and fix it! It’s not a weak person who admits they were wrong… a weak person never admits any weaknesses at all.

When someone says something that gets our heart racing, and especially when they have made a point, it is so natural to want to lash back a smart reply, blast out a text message or spew a few quick emails. Take your time and think and pray about every step in this drama parade. You are not here to win an argument, you are here to train people to follow the plan of God for your ministry. God is patient with us and we are supposed to display that patience to them.

That being said, don’t procrastinate and don’t use text! Text messages and email do not convey tone. People will always, always, always misunderstand you through text. Call them or meet with them face to face when you are responding. Make sure you do so in a timely manner. Take as much time as necessary but as little as possible. Pray, think, act. Ignored drama does not, no, never go away.