COMMUNICATION

IN THE CHURCH
A HANDBOOK FOR HEALTHIER RELATIONSHIPS
BY THOMAS G. KIRKPATRICK
 CHAPTER 1
GUIDELINES FOR BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

• Perception Check • Use Both Verbal and Nonverbal

• Create Meaning Communication
• Diminish Defensiveness and • Raise your listening IQ
Foster a Supportive Climate • Face and Handle Conflict

Kirkpatrick, 2016, pp. 2-30

 CHAPTER 2
LEADING MEETINGS

• How We View Ourselves as Group Leaders
Matters
• People Enter a Group with Two Primary
Questions: Why Are We Here? And How May I
Participate?
• Groups Usually Need a Balance of Task Work
and Teamwork
• Groups Need Leaders Who Are Flexible and
Adaptable
• Groups Must Lean How to Deal with
Members’ Dysfunctional Group Behavior
• Groups Function Properly When Everyone
Contributes
• Groups Can Profit from Collaborative
Leadership for Group Discussions and
Decision-Making
• A Simple Agenda and Sensible Structure
Can Create Lively Conversation and
Efficient Meetings
Kirkpatrick, 2016, pp. 33-53
 CHAPTER 3
EXPERIENCING TRUST
• Check Your Understanding of Trust Against
Reality
• Link Risk and Trust
• Good Intentions May Be Necessary but
Insufficient to Experience Trust - Competent
Behavior May Also Be Required
• Find the Optimum Level of Experiencing Trust
• Trust is Fragile – Easily Broken and
Requires Forgiveness to Restore
• Find Common Ground
• Experiencing Trust Creates an Openness,
Acceptance, Warmth, and Support in Our
Communication That Leads to Relational
Health
Kirkpatrick, 2016, pp. 55-79
 CHAPTER 4
PRACTICING FORGIVENESS
• Forgiveness is Multifaceted • Forgiveness, Confession, Repentance,
Conversion, and Reconciliation Are
• Forgiveness Is a Process Related
• Our Reactions to Wrongdoing in the Process • Forgiveness, Trust, and Faith Go Together
of Forgiveness and Reconciliation Matter
• Care Enough to Forgive and to Be Forgiven
• Cultural Context Matters
• Forgiveness Doesn’t Always Mean
• Forgiveness is Counterintuitive and Not a Forgetting
Common or Popular Behavior to Practice
• A Forgiving Spirit Leads Us to Be Patient
• Forgiveness Requires Grace – Neither with One Another, Ourselves, and God
Overlooking Sin Nor Sidestepping Justice
• Forgiveness Leads to Justice and Peace
Kirkpatrick, 2016, pp. 81-114
 CHAPTER 5
USING POWER

• Misuse of Power Creates Relational Havoc • Power Can Be Used to Restore Broken
• Relational Ethics Guide Relational Behavior Relationships
• Persuasive Communication is Pervasive and • Power and Privilege are Related
Effective – Properly Understood and • Gender Differences Affect the Power to
Practiced Communicate
• Power Can Be Used for Peaceful and Just • Power Differences Affect Group
Purposes Participation in Multicultural Situations
• Power Can Be Misused to Control Other • Prophets Are Powerful and Influential
People’s Lives
Kirkpatrick, 2016, pp. 117-157
 REFERENCE

Kirkpatrick, T. G. (2016). Communication in the church: A handbook for healthier

relationships. Lanham, Maryland: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing
Group, Inc.