Church systems automatically resist change even when transformation is desperately needed, creating a tension between healthy spirit-led renewal and our natural tendency to maintain familiar patterns. Recognizing how this dynamic plays out in congregations requires understanding both family systems theory and biblical principles for healthy church life.

• Churches function as systems that naturally seek homeostasis (stability)
• Systems theory originated in production studies before being applied to human organizations
• Healthy systems maintain an appropriate set point, while unhealthy ones stabilize around dysfunction
• Jesus' letters in Revelation show His desire for churches to change when their set points are misaligned
• "All change is loss" - people experience even positive changes as something to grieve
• Leaders must focus on emotional processes, not just biblical content
• Process vs. content is crucial - people resist change emotionally even when they agree intellectually
• Triangulation occurs when anxiety enters relationships and a third party is brought in
• Sabotage happens when systems resist leadership-initiated change
• Strategic patience is essential for leaders guiding congregations through necessary transitions

Resources & Materials from CRP S4E3

• Frederick Winslow Taylor – The Principles of Scientific Management (1911)
  Foundational work in systems/production theory that influenced organizational and later family systems thinking.
  Read free online (Project Gutenberg)
• Edwin H. Friedman
   
  • Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue
    Amazon link
•  
  • A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix
    Amazon link
•  
• Jack Shitama
   
  • Anxious Church, Anxious People: How to Lead Change in an Age of Anxiety
    Amazon link
•  
  • If You Met My Family, You’d Understand: A Guide to Family Systems Theory for Clergy and Church Leaders
    Amazon link
•  
  • The Non-Anxious Leader Podcast (Jack reads the book in episodes ~50–60)
    Podcast site
•  
• Roberta M. Gilbert – Extraordinary Relationships: A New Way of Thinking About Human Interactions
  Introduction to Bowen Family Systems Theory’s eight core concepts.
  Amazon link
• Peter Block – Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used
  Includes key chapters on understanding and navi

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