Every once in a while I get a request for a basic reading list for studying Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST). The good news is that I find I need to update that basic list as more good resources become available. Here is the current book list I pass along to persons who ask for it.
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Most of us carry a little tape in our heads of things our mothers said repeatedly. And sometimes we repeat those things, often unintentionally mimicking mom’s voice. One of those things your mother probably said, especially if you had siblings, or, when little friends came over to play was, “Play fair!” But you likely remember what your mother also said on those occasions you protested “It’s not fair!” She likely quipped, as countless mothers have through the ages, “Life’s not fair.” (And, if your mother was like mine, she may have added, “Get over it.”).
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I had an interesting conversation with a local church minister who expressed frustration about his congregation’s failure to live fully into its possibility. That’s not an uncommon frustration for pastors and local church leaders. But I’ve found it helpful to make a distinction between possibility and potential, between what is theoretically possible and what is potentially viable.
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A reader on Margaret Marcuson’s blog, The Leadership Circle blog, asked a good question that comes up every now and again. He asked about the difference between having a will and willfulness. It’s a point of misunderstanding I hear now and again, namely, that having a will is equivalent to willfulness, or, that because “willfulness is bad” then “will,” or exhibiting that one has a will, is bad.
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I was gratified to read a fine article by Margaret “Meg” Hess in the current issue of the Christian Century magazine. Meg is a participant in the Leadership in Ministry Workshops (LIM) and has written a couple of articles for our LIM newsletter.
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A colleague is making a change in his church staff position. He’s struggling with coming up with a new ministry job title. He says, “While I realize the main thing is how one functions, job titles are suggestive and important.”
He’s moving from a generalist position as Minister of Christian Formation, to a more focused ministry with adults. Here are some titles he’s considering.
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I discovered the book, Becoming A Community of Salt and Light, by Peggy Prevoznik Heins (Ava Maria Press, Notre Dame, Indiana) while I was researching our (Galindo and Canaday) soon-to-be-published book, Organizing for Christian Education Formation: A Faith Community Approach. The author makes the point that leadership is an issue of skill development, and that leaders not only need to be able to address the functions they are called to, but must possess certain leadership qualities. She calls attention to eleven leadership qualities in a chart in her book. These eleven qualities are listed with slight modification below.
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I recently heard a speaker say that “…everything and everywhere is a classroom and therefore an educational setting….” While the hyperbole makes its point, the use of the term “classroom” posits a danger for misunderstanding. My concern is that, while I agree with the sentiment, there is risk in using a classroom as a metaphor for anything other than . . . well, a classroom.
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Over the past several months I’ve talked with various church staff about some money issues. One interesting aspect of these conversations is how they parallel. All of them involved a variation on: (1) a church member wanting to give money to, or fund, the staff person’s ministry area, (2) the offer of a personal gift of money to the staff member in appreciation, and (3) observations or questions about how different staff persons in the same church handle these situations.
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There has been a resurgence in clergy peer learning groups of late. A significant contribution to this has been the funding from the Lilly Foundation that has challenged and enabled denominations to bring about external impetus to the creation of clergy support groups. I’ve been a member of a peer learning support group for fifteen years. In fact, this GRACE (Greater Richmond Area Christian Educators) blog is one dimension of it.
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