One person's meat is another's poison: Conflict Management in the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe

One of the basic theories commonly believed in the secular world today is that one person’s meat is another  person’s poison which means that individuals and groups have needs, interests, dislikes, likes, partnerships,  values and preferences which are often not compatible. The purpose of this paper is to argue that in Christian circles there is need to deliberately develop a theology of conflict that reflect conflict as a positive  force that generates both growth, peace, justice and development of the church to counter the conventional  view in the majority of churches that conflict is devilish or a sign of the existence of Satan. In the Apostolic  Faith Mission in Zimbabwe, intra-church conflicts have negative impact on personal and group well-being  (the church) given that conflict breeds competition, animosity, divisions, hatred, breakaways amongst  others. This is so because a highly adversarial approach towards conflict of all kinds is embodied in the  church’s approach to conflict and some staff and pastors in particular, have responded with legal action  against the church’s disciplinary actions. Yet the This study recommends that the AFM in Zimbabwe must  appreciate the importance of conflict for positive growth and development and subscribes to the mantra: one  person’s meat is another’s poison as a good number of Christians today are still pessimistic about conflict.

Keywords: conflict management, church, Apostolic Faith Mission, Zimbabwe.