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Category Archives: bowen family systems theory
Winter issue of Leadership in Ministry Workshops newsletter
The winter 2009 issue of the Leadership in Ministry Workshops (LIM) newsletter is now available. You can download a copy of the newsletter by visiting the LIM website and selecting the link to the newsletters from the main menu. The … Continue reading
Posted in bowen family systems theory, leadership, personal growth
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Book review: Leaders Who Last, by Marcuson
Margaret Marcuson touches all the right bases in her first book for congregational leaders, Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry (Seabury Press, 2009). It is a primer on effective ministerial leadership based on perennial principals and much influenced … Continue reading
Posted in books, bowen family systems theory, congregational life, leadership
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Pondering the imponderables
Some of my students in my philosophy course are starting to get annoyed that the professor doesn’t answer their questions. More often than not, when a student asks a question, the professor will respond, “That’s a good question,” or, “What … Continue reading
Homeostasis finds a way
One interesting phenomena of the power of homeostasis is that whenever a leader attempts to bring about change he or she will most certainly encounter sabotage. And while we can find some comfort in the notion that reactivity is unimaginative, … Continue reading
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What will they say about you?
Leaders who are shortsighted worry too much about what people say about them. Whether it’s because of insecurity, a need for affirmation, issues related to competence or image, many leaders measure success in the metrics of immediate change. More often … Continue reading
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Nattering Nabobs of Negativity
One of the most important qualities for leaders is the capacity for vision. Extraordinary leaders, however, are visionaries. The dilemma for visionaries is that they often are ahead of their time. Leaders with vision see the horizons and lead people … Continue reading
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Homeostatic perpetuation
We can all appreciate that homeostatic forces are powerful dynamics in systems, from family to governments. Homeostatic force has at least two characteristics: (1) its force comes as a multigenerational tidal wave, and therefore difficult to resist, and (2) like … Continue reading
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So what’s it good for?
I recently heard again the pragmatist question “So what’s it good for?” related to systems theory. It’s a natural question whenever matters of theory arise. The best answer, of course, is that it’s a theory and therefore not really good … Continue reading
Self care and self-definition
For ministers, and aspiring ministers, who embrace that part of their calling involves service to others, self-denial, and self-sacrifice, investing in self-care can be a challenge. Whatever its source, feelings of obligation, guilt, or shame; or a lacking sense of … Continue reading
A classic pastoral triangle
I’ve experienced the third instance in recent months of a classic pastoral triangle. It’s “classic” in the sense that it has all of the components of an “elegant” emotional process triangle: (1) it is generated by anxiety, (2) its source … Continue reading
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