Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue

by Edwin H. Friedman

Book Overview

This acclaimed, influential work applies the concepts of systemic family therapy to the emotional life of congregations. Edwin H. Friedman shows how the same understanding of family process that can aid clergy in their pastoral role also has important ramifications for negotiating congregational dynamics and functioning as an effective leader. Clergy from diverse denominations, as well as family therapists and counselors, have found that this book...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898620597
• ISBN13: 9780898620597
• Release Date: July 1985
• Publisher: Guilford Publications
• Length: 319 Pages
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Read, and Your Ministry Will Never Be the Same

This book has a reputation of revolutionizing the way its readers view congregational life. Based on his experience as a rabbi and marriage and family therapist, the late Ed Friedman gives the most comprehensive and practical understanding of congregations as emotional systems. Conflicts are explained not from a linear standpoint, i.e. "A causes B," but from a systemic perspective where all participants are contributors. Each part of the system is connected to, or has its own effect upon, every other part. This helps to explain why many "issues" that arise within a congregation cannot be settled on the level of content, but must be viewed as representations of how the persons surrounding the issues are participating in the relational system. "Issues" may seem settled, but if the relational system continues to function the same way, the same or other "issues" will reappear later, because they were merely symptomatic of the emotional dynamics among the people involved. This book begins by explaining the major concepts of family systems theory, and applies them to organizational life, leadership, and the leader's family. It is full of examples, which makes these complex ideas easier to grasp. Few books are as insightful and helpful in equipping church leaders to understand congregations. It is the standard in applying family systems theory to congregations.

A MUST READ for all persons in positions of leadership

"Generation to Generation" by Edwin Friedman is a groundbreaking book on the dynamics of organizational and religious leadership as seen through the lens of the multi-generational family systems model. In the book, Friedman uses case studies and examples drawn from his own leadership experience and uses them to illustrate how leadership can be understood and transformed by having an awareness of three major systems that directly affect organizational leadership:1. the personal multi-generational family system of the leader2. the organization itself as a system with both functional and dysfunctional elements3. the family systems of those person within the organization- for a religious congregation this would be the families within the congregation; for a company it would be that of the employees; for a hospital, it would be that of the employees, volunteers and patients who comprise that organization, etc.Friedman brilliantly shows how these three sets of systems intertwine with one another to make an organization function in a certain way. He asserts that by better understanding the dynamics of these systems and how they affect one another, leaders can move from a transactional style of leadership to one that is more transformational in the way it functions.In addition, Friedman's book is a tremendously helpful resource in seeking to gain a better understanding of one's own family of origin issues and how these dynamics manifest themselves in our relationships throughout the life cycle.In this sense, this book will be greatly beneficial, not only for leaders, but also for lay people as well as caregivers.The book is challenging reading in spots, but well worth the effort- get this book of you have not done so already- it will change your perspective on leadership and life.

Life Saving

I must have read this book twenty times since I was assigned to to read it in 1992, and it has grown on me. At first reading, the concepts that Friedman presents may seem contrived and counter-intuitive. However, after being in a leadership role in my church for some time now, this book is an absolute life saver. Leadership by self-definition is the most difficult, but the only honest and edifying way to leadership.

One of the most relevant books available on systems theory

Utilizing Murray Bowen's multi-generational family systems model as a framework, Friedman has crafted a book that offers tremendously practical insights in the area of organizational leadership, as well as personal development. The book significantly enhances one's understanding of the connection between one's role in their family of origin and role in organizational leadership. He rightly asserts that one's family of origin role interrelates to how one functions in an organization, in addition to how the organization functions as a whole. I highly recommend this book to anyone in a position of leadership; for those who want to gain further insight into their family of origin issues, or want to learn about Bowen's multi-generational approach to family systems theory.

The best book on leadership I've found

This should be essential reading for any thinking pastor who seeks to help his or her congregation grow spiritually and psychologically. It is filled with ways of thinking about relationships that challenge and expand our normal definitions of what works and what doesn't. It moves beyond addressing intellectual techniques and tools to showing a person how to lead the emotional process in a congregation or a family.I read Generation to Generation because I was looking for ways to become a better pastor. What I found was that it helped me as much or more in my own personal life and my marriage, which in turn made me a more effective pastor. It addresses leadership on every level.