Book Review #9: A Pastor's Guide to Understanding & Overcoming Church Conflict

 

A Pastor’s Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Church Conflict. Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2026.

This was a fantastic book through and through. Even though I do not believe in God myself, I felt that reading this book was a transformative experience. I specifically like how the author defines the term “antagonists” which framed the way I thought of conflict differently. I would recommend this book to everybody, even if you don’t agree with everything the author says, I still feel that everyone would gain from giving this book a read.

Davin Black

Book Review #8: A Pastor’s Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Church Conflict

A Pastor’s Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Church Conflict. Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2026.

As a pastor's wife of over 25 years, I have an appreciation for a book that deals with church conflict. God's heart is for unity within the body, and being able to deal with conflict in a healthy and loving way is essential for kingdom growth. Mr. Manby's book offers clear definitions, strategies, and Biblical evidence for ensuring conflict in the church is handled in a mature and God-honoring way. This is a reference book that a pastor is sure to visit again and again as antagonists, conflicts, and attacks arise in the church. I also truly appreciated his personal vulnerability, situational examples, and easy-to-read communication style. Every pastor should have a copy on hand!

Arrica 

Book Review #7: A Pastor's Guide to Understanding & Overcoming Church Conflict

 

First distinguish and discern the real origin of the threat to the pastor and the church

 Having been a lay church elder, I know of very few pastors who live through what Ted Manby highlights as targeted attacks on pastors within the church by “antagonists” and share their all too often-painful experiences and grieving. Even fewer do the in-depth research of what happened to them and why. Ted Manby takes the challenge further to extrapolate the biblical and practical principles for how to prepare for and handle such attacks.

As an executive change and conflict management consultant for over 50 years, I agree with Ted Manby as he hones in on the key here, which is too often missed. First distinguish and discern the real origin of the threat to the pastor and the church. Specifically, does the church conflict come from unhealthy “antagonists” or members with reasonable concerns or external challengers just trying to help. The biblical and practical responses to such church conflicts are quite different!

Ted Manby first defines and explains the relevant terms, like “antagonists,” shares his and others painful experiences, and notes relevant contemporary frameworks. He then analyzes the dramatic impacts and implications for both pastors and the local church. The heart of this book are extensive and powerful Biblical examples, imperatives, along with the positive perspective and courage needed to cope with and handle the requisite personal and corporate fear and discouragement. Finally, in the final chapters, the principles and advice for all those involved meaningfully tie this book together.

Reviewed by Dr. R. Kraft Bell, MBA, PhD

Book Review #6: A Pastor's Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Church Conflict

 

Helpful and Practical for Anyone Dealing With Church Conflict. Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2026. I really appreciated the approach this book takes to church conflict because this is something that can affect not only pastors and leaders, but the entire church body. What stood out to me was the importance of recognizing conflict early instead of allowing problems to grow and eventually cause division. I also liked that the book approaches conflict from a biblical and spiritual perspective while still dealing with the practical realities leaders face when working with different personalities and difficult situations. It gave me several things to think about concerning leadership, communication, unity, and how conflict should be handled within the church. I would recommend this to pastors, ministry leaders, and even church members who want a better understanding of how to respond when conflict arises.

Francis Jimenez

Book Review #5: A Pastor's Guide to Understanding & Overcoming Church Conflict

 Know and Deal With Thy Enemy.  Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2026

I chose this book, "A Pastor's Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Church Conflict," to gain some insight into how to deal with fellow members of a local political group. I have been both puzzled and dismayed at their actions, as they are dividing the group and greatly interfering with the positive impact we can have in the community. While the book obviously comes at the topic of antagonists within a religious framework, I firmly believe Rev. Manby's advice can be applied to many fields of employment. He stresses the importance of communication and finding "win-win" solutions, addressing personal attacks privately at first, being aware of antagonistic behavior (chapter 4) and addressing it quickly. He also offers excellent advice on overcoming this type of behavior, whether through your faith, with the assistance of others, with music and humor, and/or by giving yourself time to heal spiritually, mentally and/or physically. "A Pastor's Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Church Conflict" is very well-written and organized. Despite the heavy topic, it is an easy read. I especially appreciated the inclusion of the author's personal experiences as a pastor and was very dismayed to read that in the US in 2008, 1500 pastors left their positions EACH month and nearly half of those people left the ministry for another occupation. Sadly, this echoes the job-turnover in education, where 50% of new teachers have quit the profession by their fifth year. I speak from personal experience that adult-to-adult bullying is rampant in public education. Obviously, something needs to be done to quickly and effectively deal with antagonists. This book, "A Pastor's Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Church Conflict," offers a lot of very sage advice on how to accomplish that. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Robin Maloney 

Book Review #4: A Pastor's Guide to Understanding & Overcoming Church Conflict

 

A Pastor’s Guide to Understanding & Overcoming Church Conflict. Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2026

I am not a pastor, but I grew up as the daughter of a pastor and have seen first-hand many of the conflicts mentioned throughout this book. I did find that this book was very enlightening still about the struggles pastors and church leadership often go through shepherding their congregations. Rev. Manby manages to combine personal stories with biblical precedent on how to address a multitude of conflicts small and large churches alike face today. I do believe this particular guide is through the lens of a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) perspective; however, I still think pastors across denominations will find valuable biblical information throughout this guide. I highly encourage anyone in church leadership to give this guide a read-through. I received a complimentary copy of this book. This review is completely voluntary, and all opinions in this review are entirely my own.

Erin Webb

Book Review #3: A Pastor's Guide to Understanding & Overcoming Church Conflict

 

A Pastor’s Guide to Understanding & Overcoming Church Conflict. Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2026

Ted Manby first defines and explains the relevant terms, like “antagonists,” shares his and others' painful experiences, and notes relevant contemporary frameworks. He then analyzes the dramatic impacts and implications for both pastors and the local church. The heart of this book is extensive and powerful Biblical examples, imperatives, along with the positive perspective and courage needed to cope with and handle the requisite personal and corporate fear and discouragement. Finally, in the final chapters, the principles and advice for all those involved meaningfully tie this book together.

Kenzie Muertz