Whole Church - by Kenneth Reeves (Paperback)

About the Book

The Whole Church is an authoritative view of how clergy leadership can greatly benefit from understanding how systems theory is an essential learning tool to becoming an effective leader.

Book Synopsis

The Whole Church is an authoritative view of how clergy leadership can greatly benefit from understanding how systems theory is an essential learning tool to becoming an effective leader.

Review Quotes

[R]eaders interested in learning more about systems thinking will find in this book a helpful primer by which they can begin to play with systems ideas in their work and, if interested, start to explore them in more depth by reading the works of Bowen or Rabbi Edwin Friedman. The practical tips, real-life examples and ability of Reeves to get outside of his own systems enough to provide clear thinking about them can be a very useful tool in helping any reader of his book to do the same.

Lots of clergy and lay leaders find systems theory attractive; too few understand it in their bones. In his gentle, storytelling style, Ken Reeves unpacks key concepts like multiple causality, triangles, homeostasis, anxiety, reactivity, resistance, and systemic health. Wise leaders will look to The Whole Church for help as they wade through the troubled waters of congregational life.

Many find it difficult to grasp the idea that we are not just individuals operating out of free will, but we are all part of emotional systems that shape who we are. Lacking this subtle and nuanced understanding of how people interact, we find ourselves at a disadvantage in reading and functioning in the enmeshed systems in which we are called to lead. This book provides guidance for self-examination and leadership development in equal measure on the topic of emotional systems, rendering understandable some counterintuitive ways of thinking about individuals and communities.

Reeves's book The Whole Church leads to wise and healthy leadership. It matters what lens a leader uses to understand their setting, since what we see and understand determines our actions. This health-oriented systems approach is not only reason based--it supports a courageous leadership deeply needed in our congregations at this critical time.

About the Author

The Rev. Ken Reeves, Ph.D., is an ordained minister and clinical psychologist. He has served congregations as senior pastor, taught courses on leadership and conflict resolution as an adjunct professor at Andover Newton Theological School, offered leadership training workshops for clergy across denominations, conducted psychotherapy, and provided psychological assessment and career counseling for clergy candidates.