Book
Mending The Fracturing Church: How to Navigate Conflict and Build Trust for Thriving Communities
Churches across the United States are navigating a season of disruption and strain. Declining attendance, generational divides, and deep cultural polarization have created fractures within congregations that many leaders and members feel but lack the tools to address.
In Mending the Fracturing Church: How to Navigate Conflict and Build Trust for Thriving Communities, Rev. Dr. Andrew Hale offers a hopeful and practical path forward for churches seeking renewed connection, purpose, and shared life together.
Drawing on organizational psychology, Scriptural foundation, theological reflection, and stories from real congregational contexts, Hale invites churches to confront the issues that divide them—not with fear, defensiveness, or avoidance, but with curiosity, courage, and a commitment to relationship. The book provides tools for identifying biases, communication patterns, emotional systems, and conflict dynamics that underlie the tension many churches are facing today.
This book is not solely for clergy but for entire congregations because leadership within a faith community must be a shared endeavor. A meta-analysis of studies has found that leadership development cannot be confined to those at the top. When leadership is concentrated solely on clergy, the church risks becoming dependent on a select few rather than empowering the collective body of Christ. By equipping the entire congregation with leadership skills—such as self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and the ability to foster inclusivity—the church strengthens its capacity to thrive in today’s complex and ever-changing environment. This approach ensures that the faith community as a whole takes ownership of its mission, fostering resilience and shared purpose.
“Drawing on decades of firsthand experience as a pastor, consultant, and denominational leader, Andrew R. Hale writes with the authority of someone who has lived the challenges he describes. Mending the Fracturing Church blends practical wisdom, theological depth, and insights from social and cognitive psychology to help congregations navigate conflict, rebuild trust, and rediscover their shared calling. With empathy and clarity, Hale offers a roadmap for leaders and laypeople alike who are weary of division yet still believe the church can be whole again.”
Ryan P. Burge, author of Graphs about Religion
Endoresments
“Too often I think churches hurt people because they think that the influences of society, group psychology, and institutional dynamics don’t apply to them. We should be thankful that teachers like Hale can astutely apply the expertise of sociologists, therapists, and scientists as a gift to the church! It may be God who puts that love in our hearts, but it’s books like this that help us put that love into practice when what comes naturally is disconnection.”
Bekah McNeel, author of Bringing Up Kids When Church Lets You Down
“Hale’s book provides a practical approach for individuals and congregations to articulate the fractures they feel while leaning into the hope that the Gospel offers to a world that feels like it is coming apart at the seams of toxic polarization. The hands-on activities for individual introspection and group work are key to a rich experience of conversations, community building, and hopefulness.”
Brian Foreman, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Coordinator of Congregational Ministries
“This book contains a wealth of wisdom that blends biblical teaching, theological reflection, social psychology, and leadership studies. It is designed to be read in small group settings, with each chapter offering discussion starters, leading questions, and prompts for personal reflections and analysis. If you have been searching for a resource to guide you through these difficult conversations in your church, this is the book you have been looking for.”
Curtis W. Freeman, Research Professor of Theology and Baptist Studies and Ruth D. Duncan Director of the Baptist House of Studies, Duke Divinity School
“The rampant polarization in our culture has infected far too many churches. Andy’s new book provides a much-needed alternative pathway. As Bible-believing Christ-followers, churches should be countercultural when it comes to this issue. I’m so grateful for Andy’s leadership and guidance in our fellowship and among our churches, and I commend this work to church leaders and all who love the church as a beacon of light and hope in a dark world.”
Larry Hovis, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, Executive Coordinator
“In Mending the Fracturing Church, Andy Hale offers hard-earned wisdom from the trenches of ministry, addressing conflict with both courage and compassion. His pastoral heart and practical insights equip leaders to navigate division without losing sight of grace or the gospel. This book is a timely and trustworthy guide for anyone longing to see the church flourish in unity again.”
Rev. Dr. Tammy Dunahoo, Executive Dean, George Fox University
“Andy is the perfect person to write a book like this. He’s a man with strong beliefs, but the one he holds most strongly is that the Church can only truly thrive if those within it, who represent a diversity of firmly held beliefs, can hold them with sincerity and humility. Our many parts [are] not a bug within Christ’s body, but its most unique and powerful feature.”
Paul Burgess, University Baptist Church of Chapel Hill, Senior Pastor & Thriving Guide