The Church in Transition: Three Talks on Bowen Family Systems Theory and Dealing with Change in the Church

We have all been in transit from the time of our birth. Life is one transition after another. We move from one way or form of life to another. There are a number of normal life cycle transitions that all individuals and families go through as they have children and raise them. Churches also go through certain predictable life cycle transitions as they grow and shrink and change. Sometimes, these changes goes smoothly, but at other times they can be very difficult and upsetting for those involved.

I gave the three lectures in this little book on the occasion of a Lutheran Synod dealing with the retirement of one bishop and the installation of a new one. Everyone involved knew there would be transition issues related to this change. They invited me to speak on transitions from a Bowen family systems theory perspective. That is the substance of this short book.

Bowen family systems theory offers concrete ideas around how to understand what makes transitions difficult and how to go through them in ways that are productive for all involved. In these lectures, I address specific examples in our own lives. I also relate how Bowen theory illuminates a significant transition in the life of the early church as de-scribed in the Book of Acts and in Galatians.