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Whenever conflicts occur within a church, people come up with questions such as: Why are there conflicts among believers? Where is the unity of the Church, which Jesus Christ prayed for? Where is love, preached by our preachers? Where is forgiveness among believers? For some church members, the occurrence of conflicts within the church means the absence of the Holy Spirit, and therefore the church, according to them, ceases to be the church. From the book, readers are reminded that conflict within the church is a reality and that a church without conflict is probably a dying church. The author´s assumption is that although people are uncomfortable when conflicts occur, they are not the real issue which matters. The issue rather, is whether the church responds to conflict in a way that honors God and whether the church can better use the conflicts, so that conflicts become an opportunity for growth. Therefore, writing a historical development of the church by focusing on conflicts, is not dishonoring God, for God is honored even through conflicts if they are transformed in a more Christian way.

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Rev. Dr. Ipyana A. Mwamugobole, is a Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), Konde Diocese. He has a PhD in Theology (Church History) from Augustana Seminary in Germany. He is working with the United Evangelical Mission at Training Centre Wuppertal as Tutor and also as part-time lecturer at Church University Wuppertal.

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