Amazon.com: Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue: Edwin H. Friedman: Books

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

Bravo! This superb book is essential reading for anyone who takes his or her participation in relationships seriously, particularly in the context of religious systems....I have found a book I can use in classroom teaching! It provides the best introduction to family systems and systems thinking that I have encountered -- Rev. Steven Preister, Executive Director, The National Center for Family Studies, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC

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

Review

"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

"Bravo! This superb book is essential reading for anyone who takes his or her participation in relationships seriously, particularly in the context of religious systems....I have found a book I can use in classroom teaching! It provides the best introduction to family systems and systems thinking that I have encountered." --Reverend Steven Preister, former director, National Center for Family Studies, Catholic University of America

"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

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

"An important contribution to...family systems thinking and pastoral care."

--Journal of Pastoral Care

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Hardcover: 319 pages
Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (July 19, 1985)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0898620597
ISBN-13: 978-0898620597
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,219 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

#4 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Theology > Pastoral Theology
#12 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Christian Living > Counseling
#20 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Ministry & Church Leadership > Pastoral Counseling

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Several weeks before her wedding, a bride (1) came in to see her minister. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
emotional interlock, multigenerational forces, differentiating partner, extended family field, congregational family, congregational partner, nonanxious presence, reacting relative, family emotional process, homeostatic resistance, leadership triangles, emotional interdependency, congregational families, family emotional system, emotional triangle, family systems view, homeostatic changes, symptomatic member, nodal events, physical patient, family symptom, clergy families, family systems model, sibling position, interlocking triangles

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Father Frank, Rabbi Levy, Rabbi Baruch, Sister Mary, Henry Marvin, Ruth Miller, United States

New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats

Citations (learn more)

This book cites 21 books:

Family Life Cycle by Elizabeth A. Carter on page 44, and Back Matter
Ethnicity and Family Therapy, Third Edition by Monica McGoldrick LCSW PhD in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Lord of the Flies by William Golding on page 246
Family Therapy and Family Medicine: Toward the Primary Care of Families by William J. Doherty Phd in Front Matter
Family Therapy in Schizophrenia (Guilford Family Therapy Series) by William R. McFarlane in Front Matter

See all 21 books this book cites

75 books cite this book:

When Children Suffer by Andrew D. Lester on 4 pages
The Hidden Lives of Congregations: Discerning Church Dynamics by Israel Galindo in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems: Scapegoating, Family Secrets, and the Abuse of Power (Haworth Pastoral Press) by Candace R. Benyei in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
When A Congregation Is Betrayed: Responding to Clergy Misconduct by Beth Ann Gaede (editor) in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
Recalling Our Own Stories: Spiritual Renewal for Religious Caregivers (The Jossey-Bass Religion-in-Practice Series) by Edward P. Wimberly on page 61, and Back Matter

See all 75 books citing this book

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Genograms by Monica McGoldrick

Discusses:

Extraordinary Relationships by Roberta M. Gilbert

Discusses:

Family Evaluation by Michael E. Kerr

Discusses:

The Leader's Journey by Jim Herrington

Discusses:

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	84% buy the item featured on this page: Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue 4.6 out of 5 stars (16) $36.00
	7% buy A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix 4.6 out of 5 stars (18) $18.48
	5% buy Friedman's Fables 4.9 out of 5 stars (9) $18.45
	2% buy The Eight Concepts of Bowen Theory 4.6 out of 5 stars (12) $12.50

Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

religion(3)

systems theory(3)

counseling(2)

leadership(2)

pastoral counseling(1)

See all 15 tags...

Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search

No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 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 (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews

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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

18 of 18 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 "peacemover" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

"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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

17 of 17 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

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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 16 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Very prompt service. Received book in timely fashion.
I have never been disappointed with any purchase from Amazon. I am a completely satisfied customer and I highly reccomend them to others.

Rev Jerry Mabb

Published 3 months ago by J. Mabb Jr.

3.0 out of 5 stars Do you still want to have a family?
Dry as saw-dust and complicated to follow at times. BUT: once you get your head around what it is he is saying - your disfunctional family starts making sense and you understand... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Bookworm

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Full of Wisdom for Leaders
Edwin Friedman is a rabbi, consultant, and scholar who is a pioneer in applying Bowen Family Systems Theory toward leadership in congregational (church and synagogue) settings... Read more

Published 11 months ago by Matthew Gunia

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good
This book is a eye-opener. Very good and so helpful to understand family dynamics and workplace- or congregational-dynamics. Read more

Published 16 months ago by S. Magnusdottir

5.0 out of 5 stars Systems Theory and Religious Institutions

Edwin Friedman's Generation to Generation is a classic work that examines how family systems therapy can be applied to religious systems. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Dazoo

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are a leader in a congregation, you simply have to absorb the concepts in this book
This is a book to be absorbed slowly.

I don't think I can summarize this book any better than Friedman himself does on page 1: "It is the thesis of this book that all... Read more

Published on August 12, 2006 by William Pinches

5.0 out of 5 stars Read, and Your Ministry Will Never Be the Same
This book has a reputation of revolutionizing the way its readers view congregational life. Based on his experience as a rabbi and marriage and family therapist, the late Ed... Read more

Published on February 14, 2002 by Dr. Carlus Gupton

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Saving
I must have read this book twenty times since I was assigned to to read it in 1992, and it has grown on me. Read more

Published on August 27, 2001 by Gerard Sparaco

5.0 out of 5 stars A modern classic
Friedman's seminal work in the application of Bowen Family Systems Theory to congregational life (Jewish and Protestant) has become a modern classic. Read more

Published on June 22, 2000 by Israel Galindo

1.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
An interesting theory-but I'd say it's strictly a theory...contrived

Published on January 10, 2000

› See all 16 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; }

Customer Discussions

Beta (What's this?)

New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.

This product's forum (0 discussions)

	Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
	No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Receive e-mail when new posts are made

Prompts for sign-in

[Cancel]

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
judaism Why Jews CAN NEVER Believe in Jesus/Yeshua	4039	8 seconds ago
christianity W/out being judgmental, please answer why JESUS never addressed bisexuality/homosexuality if it is so 'wrong' according to Christianity?	476	1 minute ago
christianity Are Catholics saved?	1167	1 minute ago
health divorce how long must one travel, before deciding on that path	13	1 minute ago
religion Can consciousness and mind be wholly accounted for within the materialist paradigm?	734	2 minutes ago
religion If you don't believe in Jesus you go to hell. Whats so hard to understand? Get with the program or go to hell. Thats that. Deal with it.	46	2 minutes ago
health Should we have free healthcare in the U.S.?(and is it possible?)	2830	3 minutes ago