Ecclesial Fragmentation and Corporate Unity: An Investigation into the Sources of Intra-Church Conflict within the South East Kenya Field of the Seventh Day Adventists

Intra-ecclesial conflict is one that exists within religious institutions and organizations and is ongoing and prevalent which is highly threatening to the unity of the community and unity and integrity of the institution. Conflict is a natural aspect of human social systems, but it has to be studied in the context of faith communities because it can have a significant impact on the theological belief system and unity within the church. This study investigates the nature, causes and consequences of intra-ecclesial conflicts in order to preserve the unity of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church in the South East Kenya Field (SEKEF). This research is informed by a conflict transformation framework, as articulated by Väyrynen (1991) and Lederach (1995), and uses a phenomenological design to immerse oneself in the experiences of church members' conflict and to discover individual and collective processes for constructive conflict transformation. The population consisted of 280 people, such as church leaders, union leaders, church elders, deaconesses and members of the church. The sampling technique was the Krejcie and Morgan sampling table, and the number of samples was 162, the data were obtained through documentation analysis and semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The findings show that there is a high prevalence of intra-ecclesial conflicts in SEKEF with corruption, religious intolerance and factional politics as cited by 92.8% of the respondents as the main causes of such conflicts. Such conflicts emerge in leadership and lay sectors, and can result in a loss of trust, unity and missional effectiveness. The study suggests that to achieve sustainable unity in the SEKEF, a proactive and systemic process of conflict transformation is needed and that the development of leadership in the reconciliatory way and the institutionalisation of participatory governance is a prerequisite. It suggests specific interventions aimed at capacity-building church leaders in the areas of conflict mediation and restorative practices, and larger structural changes to tackle underlying issues of conflict.