A review by domskeac
How Your Church Family Works: Understanding Congregations as Emotional Systems by Peter L. Steinke

3.0

Really fast read. Recommend for church workers. I found it helpful for my context. His psychology is a little dated/armchair-y but systems theory is an vital lens to place on church structures, especially ones experiencing transition, which is most.

I would skip the case examples he offers if you work in a church and suggest only reading the analysis: you have your own cases to work off of and he offers a very limited lens on church ministry (little to no woman and queer leadership reflected in his examples of institutional heads. Very little reflection on how systems theory affects intersectional identities differently.)