The Apostle Paul desires to go back to the cities he and Barnabas have preached in to see how those churches are doing. Barnabas is determined to take John Mark with them on this journey. John Mark had gone with Paul and Barnabas on the first journey but returned to Jerusalem early in the trip (Acts 13:13). It is Barnabas’ expectation to take John Mark on the journey with them again. But Paul insisted that they should not take John Mark with them because he had left them before. Verse 39 tells us that the dispute became a sharp disagreement. The disagreement ends in Paul and Barnabas deciding to part ways. It may shock us that leaders in the early church were in conflict with each other, but conflict and disagreements should never surprise us. Wisdom is knowing that conflict will eventually happen, and that we should prepare ourselves to do conflict well. So how do we do conflict well? What are some tools and practices that can equip us to work through conflict? And how can we work towards reconciliation when conflict has driven us apart?