Systems Theory and Congregational Leadership: Leaves from an Alchemist's Journal

Abstract

Bowen Family Systems Theory is a beneficial lens through which the minister may see his or her own life, and how that life interfaces with the life of the congregation. In addition, upon seeing the layered landscape of family and congregation, the minister may better understand his or her role as a pastor and as a leader. The article supports this thesis through personal and parish examples of how the author attempts to “live the theory.” These “system snapshots” are explored within the four basic components of the theory: The Emotional Triangle, Self-Differentiation, The Emotional Field, and Multi-Generational Transmission. The article opens with the story of the healing of a cut-off in the author's own family. As this healing was taking place, a parallel process was occurring in the church he led as the congregation dealt with a cut-off regarding its founding minister. These interlocking stories of reconnection illustrate the power and beauty of Bowen Family Systems Theory in a parish setting. Thus, the author concludes: “The greatest laboratory in which to practice this type of alchemy is the local congregation. Amid its problems and possibilities, its exasperations and epiphanies, is the strange chemistry of grace.”