Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue [Hardcover]

Edwin H. Friedman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 1985 | ISBN-10: 0898620597 | ISBN-13: 978-0898620597 | Edition: 1

This bestselling book 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 directly addresses the dilemmas and crises they encounter daily. It is widely used as a text in courses on pastoral care, leadership, and family systems.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"When [this book] was originally written, learning about the emotional side of congregations was not part of the curriculum in most seminaries. Now it is the gold standard in this area, and Generation to Generation is a text many clergy carry with them each day....Just as the book’s title suggests, Friedman’s ideas continue to be passed down to today’s generation of leaders."--from the Foreword to the Paperback Edition by Gary Emanuel, PhD, and Mickie Crimone, MS, APRN

"Well written and lively...required reading for pastoral counselors of every persuasion....Any therapist will find here new techniques for bringing about changes and will enlarge his or her conceptual framework of the human dilemma." --Jay Haley

"A feature throughout the book is the heavy use of story and narrative to m (Journal for the Study of Marriage and Spirituality 20110304)

"I was shocked, surprised and disillusioned when I began to realize that hard work, sincerity and prayer weren't enough to guarantee success in pastoral ministry. I kept getting myself into tangles that I didn't understand until I read this book by a storytelling rabbi with uncommon wisdom. Friedman helped me see that the best way to engage with the factors I can't control—like the opinions and behavior of others—was to focus on the factors that I can control: my own presence, identity and behavior in the social system of the local congregation."--The Christian Century

(The Christian Century 20110304)

"An important contribution to...family systems thinking and pastoral care....One of the most creative aspects of this volume is the way the book is laid out. The chapters are organized around interrelated concepts that feed back on and amplify one another—a design that itself helps the reader begin to think systemically."--Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling

(Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling 20110304)

"A groundbreaking book in the use of family therapy....The key is not expertise, but self-definition and self-understanding."--Behavioral Studies of Religion

(Behavioral Studies of Religion 20110304)

"A must read for persons of the cloth, for it points to significant issues and considerations on the experience of living in families and working with a congregation as a family."--Review and Expositor

(Review and Expositor 20050103)

About the Author

Edwin H. Friedman, a family therapist and ordained rabbi, was born in New York City and worked for more than 35 years in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, until his death in 1996. Well known in the fields of mental health and pastoral education, Dr. Friedman brought his unique blend of systems thinking and common sense to his highly regarded work as a consultant and leadership trainer with diverse professional and government organizations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 319 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press; 1 edition (July 19, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898620597
• ISBN-13: 978-0898620597
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #347,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The late Edwin Friedman was an ordained rabbi and practicing family therapist. His ground-breaking work, Generation to Generation, exposed the emotional connections between home and work in religious, educational, therapeutic, and business systems, and has become a modern classic. A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, is an acclaimed work on leadership. Friedman died in 1996.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on leadership I've found February 3, 2000

By Erik Buss

Format:Hardcover

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.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ for all persons in positions of leadership September 26, 2001

By J VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

"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 leader

2. the organization itself as a system with both functional and dysfunctional elements

3. 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.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most relevant books available on systems theory May 19, 2000

By A Customer VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

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.