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What does it mean for a congregational system to be healthy? How might you assess the overall health of your congregational system? Discover ways that your congregation can maintain systemic balances and your congregational leaders can both affect change and deal with anxiety.
CONGREGATIONAL VITALITY : Systems Theory
  The Balancing Act: The Congregation as Emotional System (Media)
Produced by Seraphim Communications, Inc.. Distributed by Seraphim Communications, Inc.. Duration: 90.
Consultant and presenter Peter Steinke draws on systems theory to explain how congregations function, how dysfunction can develop, and how leaders can promote healthy emotional systems in congregations.
 A Door Set Open: Grounding Change in Mission and Hope (Book)
Peter L. Steinke, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2010.
Drawing on a firm knowledge of systems theory and a firm belief in the centrality of mission, Peter Steinke helps leaders understand change, the factors that sabotage it, and the value of approaching mission with faith and hope.
Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue (Book)
Edwin H. Friedman, Author.
New York, NY: Guilford Publications, 1985.
Friedman—for twenty-five years a congregational rabbi, family therapist, and counselor to clergy of numerous faiths—applies the prism of family systems theory to describe in detail how congregational families do and don’t work.
How Your Church Family Works: Understanding Congregations as Emotional Systems (Book)
Peter L. Steinke, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2006.
Applying family systems thinking, the author articulates our interrelatedness and its potential to produce anxiety in situations of congregational struggle. He urges healthy responses that emphasize strength.
The Systems Thinking Playbook: Exercises to Stretch and Build Learning and Systems Thinking Capabilities (Book)
Linda Booth Sweeney, Author.
Durham, NH: The Institute for Policy and Social Science Research, 1995.
The experiential activities in this appropriately-named "playbook" help to translate complex systems theories into understandable, applicable learning modules.
Understanding Organizations: Applications of Bowen Family Systems Theory (Book)
Ruth Riley Sagar , Kathleen Klaus Wiseman, Editors.
Washington, DC: The Georgetown University Family Center, 1982.
Through eleven different papers presented at a symposium on applying Bowen Family Systems Theory to organizations, the various writers discuss the basic concepts of family systems thinking and how one might use the theory to improve the health of an orga
Understanding Your Congregation as a System: The Manual (Book)
George Parsons, Speed B. Leas, Authors.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 1993.
This manual explains systems theory, its relevance to congregations, how a separately sold evaluative instrument can reveal the organizational systems within which a congregation operates, and how this information can be used to effect positive change.
 Alligators in the Swamp: Power, Ministry, and Leadership (Book)
George B. Thompson, Editor.
Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2005.
This collection of essays is a helpful resource for enabling pastors and churches to reframe their understanding of the nature of power and its responsible use in the life of the church.
Congregations as Learning Communities: Tools for Shaping Your Future (Book)
Dennis G. Campbell, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2000.
Dennis Campbell leads the reader through an introduction to the "Learning Congregation"—a congregation that never stops learning and changing, but engages and responds to new information and opportunities.
The Corporate Culture Survival Guide (Book)
Edgar H. Schein, Author.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1999.
This primer on the dynamics of corporate culture and change explains how culture forms, why it’s difficult to change, and what must be considered when attempting to change it. Case studies, questions, and practical suggestions are included.
Creating a Healthier Church: Family Systems Theory, Leadership, and Congregational Life (Book)
Ronald W. Richardson, Author.
Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1996.
The family systems analysis in this book shows how relationships are never simply one-to-one, because each person brings along the ins and outs of all of his or her other relationships.
The Dance of Change: The Challenges to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations (Book)
Peter M. Senge, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, Richard Ross, George Roth, Bryan Smith, Authors.
New York, NY: Doubleday, 1999.
Peter Senge and others develop and apply systems theory to the leadership task of starting and sustaining productive, developmental life in organizations.
Family Process and Process Theology: Basic New Concepts (Media)
Produced by Rabbi Edwin H. Friedman. Distributed by Alban Institute.
Rabbi and family therapist Edwin Friedman has discovered rich connections between the concepts of process theology and the concepts of family process. He explores these connections relative to issues of theodicy, ethics, and idolatry.
The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies & Tools for Building a Learning Organization (Book)
Peter M. Senge, Author.
New York, NY: Doubleday, 1994.
As the "how to do it" companion to The Fifth Discipline, the Fieldbook is Peter Senge's compendium of nuts-and-bolts applications for building a "learning organization."
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization (Book)
Peter M. Senge, Author.
New York, NY: Doubleday, 1994.
Although written for the corporate world, this book's systems approach is also for congregational leadership open to building a faith community fully dedicated to the growth and development of its members.
From Stuck to Unstuck: Overcoming Congregational Impasse (Book)
Kenneth A. Halstead, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 1998.
Drawing on his experience as a pastor and counselor, author Kenneth Halstead suggests that systems theory concepts and brief therapy interventions may help to resolve congregational impasses.
Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach (Book)
Peter L. Steinke, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2006.
This text explores the congregation as an emotional system, underscoring the significant role that spiritually and emotionally healthy leaders can play in influencing a church's emotional health.
 The Illusion of Congregational "Happiness" (Article)
Gilbert R. Rendle, Author.
Congregations. May/June 1997. Vol. XXIII, No. 3, pp. 15-17.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute.
This article argues that focusing on complaints in the hope of increasing congregational happiness leads only to additional and competing complaints rather than to increased happiness for a congregation and its leaders.
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