Description
Book SynopsisChurch leaders live and work in complex systems, including their church, their staff, their congregation, their community, and society itself. How a leader navigates those systems, and how those systems operate, can have a huge impact on how church leaders achieve their goals. The Whole Church is an authoritative view of how clergy leadership can greatly benefit from understanding how systems theory is an essential learning tool to becoming an effective leader. The reader will learn how to diagnose symptoms of issue(s) that affect the church, how to overcome change and conflict, and ultimately emphasizes the significance of one’s own spirituality and faith in guiding the congregation's pilgrimage.
Trade ReviewMany find it difficult to grasp the idea that we are not just individuals operating out of free will, but we are all part of emotional systems that shape who we are. Lacking this subtle and nuanced understanding of how people interact, we find ourselves at a disadvantage in reading and functioning in the enmeshed systems in which we are called to lead. This book provides guidance for self-examination and leadership development in equal measure on the topic of emotional systems, rendering understandable some counterintuitive ways of thinking about individuals and communities. -- Sarah B. Drummond, dean of the faculty and vice president for academic affairs, Andover Newton Theological School
Lots of clergy and lay leaders find systems theory attractive; too few understand it in their bones. In his gentle, storytelling style, Ken Reeves unpacks key concepts like multiple causality, triangles, homeostasis, anxiety, reactivity, resistance, and systemic health. Wise leaders will look to The Whole Church for help as they wade through the troubled waters of congregational life. -- Dan Hotchkiss, author of Governance and Ministry: Rethinking Board Leadership
Reeves’s book The Whole Church leads to wise and healthy leadership. It matters what lens a leader uses to understand their setting, since what we see and understand determines our actions. This health-oriented systems approach is not only reason based—it supports a courageous leadership deeply needed in our congregations at this critical time. -- Gil Rendle, consultant and author of Quietly Courageous: Leading the Church in a Changing World
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Systems Theory Chapter 2: Diagnosis Chapter 3: The Healthy Church Chapter 4: Working on Yourself Chapter 5: Church Structure Chapter 6: Calming Them Chapter 7: Change Chapter 8: Conflict Chapter 9: Difficult Behavior Chapter 10: The Unconscious Chapter 11: Preaching Chapter 12: The Spirit Conclusion Appendix A: Situations Appendix B: Self-Definition Exercises Appendix C: History of Systems Theory
