Resource Center for Ministry:

Thinking Systemically in Your Faith Community

“A healthy congregation is one that actively and responsibly addresses or heals its disturbances, not one with an absence of troubles.” (Peter L. Steinke, 1999)

This statement of conviction and hope forms the basis for an exciting, new class now being offered to congregations upon request. The two-hour class, entitled Thinking Systemically in your Faith Community*, is taught by Rev. Michael E. Rogers, LMFT, a therapist at Samaritan Center of Puget Sound.

The class is great for anyone or any group actively engaged in the life of a congregation, including elders, deacons, councils, vestries, boards, program staff, Sunday school teachers or other leaders of congregations. The material covered also helps pastors to empower lay leaders who, in turn, form a greater appreciation for their pastor’s role. It is fast-paced, highly interactive and ecumenical. In fact, several churches can take the class together, which makes it cost effective.

Anxious forces in the church can produce growth in discipleship or breakdown, depending on how they’re handled. The 12 most common triggers of anxiety in churches are:

  • Money
  • Type of worship
  • Issues involving sex/sexuality
  • Pastor’s leadership style Old
  • versus new Growth/survival
  • Staff conflicts/resignation of staff member
  • Internal or external focus
  • Major trauma, tension, or transition
  • Harm done to a child/death of a child
  • Property, building, space, territory
  • Distance between the ideal (what’s hoped for) and the real (actual experience).

The key to resilient growth amidst these triggers involves a new way to think about human relationships. Thinking systemically is a way of seeing:

  • The whole
  • How the parts mutually influence one another
  • How the circle of influence becomes patterned
  • How the pattern is maintained by the arrangement of the functioning parts

Thinking Systemically in Your Faith Community:

The Thinking Systemically in Your Faith Community class can be used as a stand alone training event, or as a prelude to a more intensive workshop entitled Healthy Congregations, taught by Rev. Mark Houglum, another therapist at Samaritan.

For more information about Thinking Systemically in your Faith Community, call Rev. Michael Rogers at 206-957-4706.

“We want participants to come away with an increased understanding and value of thinking systemically as a congregation. That means to have the eyes to see and the ears to hear and recognize relationship dynamics among them. This creates ongoing, resilient change, growth and maturity in Christ in response to an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world. They will see the larger scale themes in their congregation that may be impacting the individual or family being cared for.”
(Rev. Rogers)

Healing Congregations:

Healthy Congregations is a 6-Unit, 36-48 hour series of workshops comprising updated material from Peter L. Steinke, and is targeted strategically for all leaders and actively involved members in local congregations. It’s also very interactive and helps create a frame for leadership groups to acknowledge differences, be open to them, be able to deal with them, and use them constructively.

For more information, call Rev. Mark Houglum at 206-957-4703

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