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Long-tenured ministry and systems theory: Bowen systems theory as a resource for the long haul

Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST) has become a helpful resource for many clergy and congregational leaders. Since the groundbreaking volume Generation to Generation by Edwin Friedman in 1985, the theory continues to be an influential “theory of practice” for ministry. In this article, the authors explore to what extent BFST can be a resource to clergy for a long-tenured pastorate. First, the authors review selected key concepts of the theory that lend themselves to the issue of long-term pastorates. Second, the authors examine responses to a survey from a number of clergy who are in long-term pastorates and who have been working with the theory for several years. In the interviews, respondents affirmed that BFST is a useful construct for congregational leadership in long-tenured ministry contexts.