How Your 21st-Century Church Family Works

Author: Peter L. Steinke
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538149141
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 157

Book Description
The first edition of How Your Church Family Works was written nearly thirty years ago, and the reach and velocity of change in the last three decades poses a new challenge for churches. Thirty years ago, churches functioned in a fairly stable environment and focused on growth an expansion. The tide has turned now, though, and supplanted increase with decline. Bowen family systems theory—on which How Your Church Family Works is based—has not changed, but its application has to be revised for the twenty-first century. How Your 21st-Century Church Family Works, the second edition of Peter Steinke’s landmark book, addresses the radically altered landscape of church sustainability with new introductory and concluding chapters bookending updates throughout the now-classic text. Core chapters of the book feature fresh examples of emotional process that are more exemplary of the current scene. One key addition is a new trigger of anxiety for churches—the change process. Change threatens the familiar and stable and suffers from negative connotations of endangering tradition. Where gradual change has been the norm for so long, churches now see a blistering pace of disruptions, some of which have forced change too early or too late, or sometimes in unproductive directions. How Your 21st-Century Church family works embraces the anxiety caused by change, transforming it from a source of anguish to a font of opportunity.

How Your Church Family Works

Author: Peter L. Steinke
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566995515
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 170

Book Description
Drawing on the work of Bowen and Friedman, and on his own many years of counseling experience, Peter Steinke shows how to recognize and deal with the emotional roots of such issues as church conflict, leadership roles, congregational change, irresponsible behavior, and the effects of family of origin on current relationships.

Healthy Congregations

Author: Peter L. Steinke
Publisher: Alban Books
ISBN: 9781566993302
Category : Church controversies
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Steinke takes readers into a deeper exploration of congregations as emotional systems. He outlines the factors that put congregations at risk for anxiety and conflict, ten principles of health, how congregations can adopt new ways of dealing with stress and anxiety, and how spiritually and emotionally healthy leaders influence the emotional system. (Back cover).

Uproar

Author: Peter L. Steinke
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538116545
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
If “these are the times that test men’s souls,” never more than for the leader’s ability to think clearly, to be present calmly, and to challenge effectively. It’s a time when leaders cannot be as anxious as those they serve; otherwise, the system is leaderless. Anxiety flows down like water from a leaky pipe. To lead effectively we must understand the impact of powerful emotional forces on people’s behavior, especially in anxious times. Uproar: Calm Leadership in Anxious Times helps leaders understand the powerful impact that emotional processes have on the people they lead. Peter Steinke, bestselling author of CongregationalLeadership in Anxious Times draws on decades of work on system conflict and personal experiences to share real stories of challenges leaders have faced and how understanding the power of emotions has dramatically influenced their success. In this book, readers will observe important leadership characteristics such as separating oneself from the surrounding anxiety, making decisions based on principle and not instinct, taking responsibility for one’s own emotional being, staying connected to others including those who disagree with you, being a non-anxious presence, focusing on emotional processes rather than the symptoms they produce, knowing people naturally influence one another, and recognizing leader and follower as complements. At the end of each chapter, there is a Leader’s Notebook, a short section to illustrate, enrich or engage your thinking about leadership. As Steinke suggests, being anxious causes you to lose perspective, and leaders do their best thinking when they are not overly stressed and can think about options, doing their best work when they work on themselves. So where are you in your leadership journey? No matter where you are—beginning, middle or end— this book will be one the most significant leadership books you’ll read.

When the Church was a Family

Author: Joseph H. Hellerman
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
ISBN: 0805447792
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
A study of the early Christian church in the Mediterranean region and its emphasis on collective good over individual desire clarifies much about what is wrong with the American church today.

Can Our Church Live?

Author: Alice Mann
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566994810
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 179

Book Description
Nothing on earth lives forever—not even congregations. Alban Institute senior consultant Alice Mann explains how the natural life cycle of a congregation, as well as other internal and external factors, can produce a congregation that is in real trouble. She then offers hope for congregations that want to change. Practical options for congregations, leadership challenges for laity and clergy, and ways to work with denominations are detailed and engaging discussion questions provide a basis for congregational planning

Generation to Generation

Author: Edwin Friedman
Publisher: Guilford Press
ISBN: 1609182367
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 335

Book Description
An acclaimed, influential work now available in paper for the first time, this bestselling book applies the concepts of systemic family therapy to the emotional life of congregations. Edwin H. Friedman shows how the same understanding of family process that can aid clergy in their pastoral role also has important ramifications for negotiating congregational dynamics and functioning as an effective leader. Clergy from diverse denominations, as well as family therapists and counselors, have found that this book directly addresses the dilemmas and crises they encounter daily. It is widely used as a text in courses on pastoral care, leadership, and family systems.

Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times

Author: Peter L. Steinke
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 9781566993289
Category : Christian leadership
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Anxious times call for steady leadership. When tensions emerge in a congregation, its leaders cannot be as anxious as the people they serve. To remain effective, congregational leaders must control their own uneasiness. This takes self-awareness and confidence to manage relationships and influence behaviors. Knowing how to deal with anxiety and how to work throug complex challenges can lead a congregation to new insights, growth, and vitality. Anxious times hold not only the potential for loss but also for creation, important lernings, and changes that will strengthen the congregation. With this new book, internationally respected consultant Peter Steinke goes deeper into the requirements of effective congregational leadership. Born from the wisdom of Steinke's distinguished career, this new volume will both enlighten and embolden leaders. Steinke inspires courage in leaders to maintain the course, unearth secrets, resist sabotage, withstand fury, and overcome timidity or doubts. His insights, illustrations, and provocations will carry leaders through rough times, provide clarity during confusing times, and uplift them in joyous times.

Becoming a Healthier Pastor

Author: Ronald W. Richardson
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 9781451417753
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Book Description
- Authoritative resource for addressing clergy wellness- Popular and illuminating method for aiding congregational leadership- Helps professionals in ministry assess and improve their effectiveness

Unbinding Your Church

Author: Martha Grace Reese
Publisher: Chalice Press
ISBN: 9780827238060
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Book Description
Pastors are busy. This collection of fully integrated resources will help your church work and pray through the Unbinding the Gospel Series. Included are step-by-step planning tools as well as worship resources to allow you--the pastor--to spend time on prayer, teaching, and working directly with others in your church. The planning tools include calendars, checklists for church staff, weekly scripture tie-ins, sample church newsletter campaigns, diagrams, simple to elaborate E-vent planning suggestions, web site ideas, specific lesson plans, and much much more. Worship resources include sermons, prayers, and forms that have been placed on the Web for FREE with easy access and downloads. Change Habits, Not Just Minds. From the Unbinding the Gospel Series.