Loving Disagreement: The Problem is the Solution [9781803760124]

Every church has its disagreements. But why do they so easily turn toxic?

Loving disagreement is the problem – Christians have become too relaxed about the way disagreements destroy unity and undermine mission.

Loving disagreement is also the solution – because if Christians can learn to love even their neighbour in Christ with whom they disagree, situations of conflict are transformed.

Reflecting on his experiences first as a BBC religion correspondent and then as an ordained Anglican, Christopher Landau offers practical solutions to the facing of inevitable disagreements among Christians, rooted in a dual call to love our neighbour and seek the fruit of the Spirit.

Also included is a five-session small group resource, The Unity Course, that unpacks the New Testament principles, and equips followers of Jesus to disagree in authentically Christian ways.

Formerly a BBC journalist, the Revd Dr Christopher Landau is the director of ReSource, a charity supporting spiritual renewal in local churches.

“Christopher Landau, more than anyone else, has taught me the need to listen, to learn from and to love those with whom I may profoundly disagree.” - Simon Ponsonby

“This book is uncomfortable to read because it calls us to do what is both unnatural and counter-cultural: to love and disagree well. In a calm and measured way, it appeals to Christians to love radically, taking examples from the Bible and presenting us with practical ways to do this well. A challenge to us all.” - Chine McDonald is an author, broadcaster and director of Theos think tank

“The Christian message is that Truth is found in a Person, Jesus Christ, which should alert us to the fact that truth can never be reduced to mere content, but includes tone and character. Sadly, the Church often apes the ways of the fractious, divided and contentious world in which we live. Christopher’s book is a powerful and timely call to return to Christlike love in the way that we handle differences, both within the Church and as we engage with wider society” - Paul Harcourt, National Leader, New Wine England

Includes The Unity Course for small groups. www.theunitycourse.co.uk

AUTHOR: Revd Dr Christopher Landau is the Director of ReSource, a charity supporting spiritual renewal in local churches. A former BBC religious affairs correspondent, he studied Theology at Cambridge University before gaining a BBC News traineeship in 2002. He worked as a television news producer and as a reporter for Sunday, World at One and PM on Radio 4 before being appointed World Service religious affairs correspondent in 2008. In 2010 he left the BBC to train for ministry in the Church of England, while completing a doctorate in Christian Ethics at the University of Oxford, focussing on disagreement among Christians in the New Testament. After parish ministry in London, and student chaplaincy in Oxford, he was appointed Director of ReSource in 2021.