Podcast appearances and mentions of edwin friedman

Leadership often rewards people who take ownership, but what happens when responsibility becomes over-responsibility?In this solo episode, Dr. McKinley explores The Paradox of Responsibility: the tension between owning what is yours while resisting the temptation to carry what belongs to others. Drawing from personal stories, leadership coaching, and insights from thinkers like Stephen Covey and Edwin Friedman, he examines why so many leaders become exhausted by taking on burdens they were never meant to carry.If you've ever struggled with burnout, over-functioning, or feeling responsible for everyone else's growth, this episode will help you lead with greater clarity, healthier boundaries, and the discernment to know what truly belongs to you.To Order Doug's Books: The Resiliency Quest, Mad About Us Visit Doug's Website: https://www.dougmckinley.com/ Receive a Free Leadership Resource: Leadership Guide 

In this episode, Ken continues to unpack the wisdom of Edwin Friedman in his book "A Failure of Nerve." This week he shared Friedman's list of ten characteristics of less-mature and troublesome people – who, Ken notes, always expect others to adapt to them rather than the other way around. Just to share a couple here, one of these characteristics is that these people "tend to idolize their leaders until their unrealistic expectations fail, then they are quick to attack and crucify those they once idolized." They also "have a total lack of ability to tolerate differences or dissent. All things are black/white, either/or, right/wrong." While sharing these tremendously insightful observations, Ken challenged the group to ask ourselves whether we might have a tendency toward any of these behaviors and whether we could be behaving in a way that is reacting out of anxiety.This episode was recorded on July 17th, 2026.

In this episode Ken shares wisdom about the consequences of a lack of self-regulation from Edwin Friedman and his book "A Failure of Nerve." Friedman writes about the impact not only on individual relationships but also on organizations, stating that organizations lacking self-regulation will be "perpetually invading the space of their neighbors." He says that organisms like this "cannot learn from their experiences," so they cannot be reasoned with. Ken shares wisdom about how to engage with people who can't self-regulate and explains why it is so important for leaders to prioritize their own growth and maturity.This episode was recorded on July 10th, 2026.

Margaret Marcuson is an ordained minister, author, coach and longtime family practitioner. In this episode she shares how she first got into family systems theory and what she learned when studying with Edwin Friedman.Show Notes:Home Page - Margaret MarcusonSustainable Ministry: How to Lead (and When to Nap)* by Margaret J. MarcusonLeaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry* by Margaret J. MarcusonMoney and Your Ministry: Balance the Books While Keeping Your Balance* by Margaret J. MarcusonCheck out The Non-Anxious Life, a FREE AI Family Systems Coach.Become a Patron for as little as $5/month.Subscribe to my weekly ⁠Two for Tuesday⁠ email newsletter.*These are affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you make a purchase.

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Edwin Friedman's last book, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, challenges us to lead differently. Here's how.Show Notes:A Failure of Nerve, Revised Edition: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin FriedmanBecome a Patron for as little as $5/month.Subscribe to my weekly ⁠Two for Tuesday⁠ emails.

What does it mean to lead faithfully when change is unavoidable—and grief is real? In this episode, Loren is joined by Rev. Dr. Josh Hayden for a deeply honest conversation about remissioning churches and navigating loss. Drawing from his work with congregations across denominations—and from his own experience of profound personal grief—Josh reflects on what it means to embrace change that is rooted in love, sacrifice, and hope. Rather than treating renewal as a technical fix, the conversation explores remissioning as a discipleship-centered process that requires dying to old versions of ourselves so new life can emerge. Together, Loren and Josh wrestle with fear, resistance to change, the pace of transformation, and why churches often avoid the very practices that form people to live faithfully through loss.   Josh Hayden is the cofounder and copresident of `Iwa Collaborative, which helps leaders fly high and and live low as they lead through change processes in their community. He runs remissioning trainings through `Iwa Collaborative across various denominational, non-denominational, and global networks. Hayden is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Ashland, Virginia. He has worked and led in nonprofit organizations, church plants, and established churches. He has a doctorate in leadership and organizational change from Duke Divinity School and is the author of Sacred Hope. He serves on the boards of numerous nonprofits, and he and his family live near Richmond, Virginia.   Mentioned Resources:

1. Tim started his sermon talking about Edwin Friedman & family systems theory, and the ways in which the systems and environments in which we are steeped seem “normal” to us, because we're deep inside of them. Outsiders, on the other hand, can come in and easily see things that we have never noticed.  In some instances, these outsiders can act as what Friedeman referred to as a “non-anxious presence.“ That is someone who is relationally connected to the system or environment, but is not emotionally entangled with it. Whether the system in question is your family, a workplace, a church, a neighborhood, or any other environment, what experiences do you have being someone who is a part of a system that seems “normal” to you until an outside voice starts pointing out its idiosyncrasies? Share about the context, the nature of the outside voice, and how that voice was responded to both by you and by others in the system. Was there a long-term impact on the system that resulted from the introduction of those outside perspectives?  Do you have any experiences being one of those outside voices? Share about the context of any of those experiences you may have. How did it feel to be the person raising your voice? How were you responded to? What did you make of that situation? What happened long-term? 2. Tim went on to draw a parallel between the Old Testament prophets and Friedeman's concept of a non-anxious presence. Take a moment to Think about the emotional and relational experiences of both the people in the system and the outside voice in some of the situations described in the first question. Whether you've had that experience or not, take a moment to imagine what it would be like to act as that non-anxious presence as a prophet in Ancient Israel. Take a moment to imagine what it might have been like to be a part of the ancient Israelite communities on which the prophets commented.  How does considering the prophets through this lens impact your understanding of who the prophets were, how they affected the systems they were connected to, and how their words were received by Israel & the subsequent generations of readers who've revered their words? How does it impact their words as you know or understand them today?  What do you make of the fact that so many important writings in the Christian tradition come from these Old Testament prophets , especially during Advent? What connections do you see  between the role of the prophets as “non anxious presences” and the role Jesus played in his own time and place on earth? What about the role of Jesus today in modern Christianity and in the world at large?  3. In what ways do you see yourself, as a part of the church, and/or the church as a whole acting as that non-anxious presence, reflecting the realities of systems back to themselves? Where do you see parallels in which you feel like this is happening? Where do you see parallels in which you feel like it could be happening or should be happening more? How do you feel when you consider the possibilities of stepping more into that space personally? What comes to mind?   What surfaces for you when you consider the moment in which today's church finds itself and the possibility of stepping more into the role of a non-anxious presence, reflecting the systems back to themselves - and living with the reactions and resistance? What would it look like for you to step more into that space?

1. Tim started his sermon talking about Edwin Friedman & family systems theory, and the ways in which the systems and environments in which we are steeped seem “normal” to us, because we're deep inside of them. Outsiders, on the other hand, can come in and easily see things that we have never noticed. In some instances, these outsiders can act as what Friedeman referred to as a “non-anxious presence.“ That is someone who is relationally connected to the system or environment, but is not emotionally entangled with it.Whether the system in question is your family, a workplace, a church, a neighborhood, or any other environment, what experiences do you have being someone who is a part of a system that seems “normal” to you until an outside voice starts pointing out its idiosyncrasies? Share about the context, the nature of the outside voice, and how that voice was responded to both by you and by others in the system. Was there a long-term impact on the system that resulted from the introduction of those outside perspectives? Do you have any experiences being one of those outside voices? Share about the context of any of those experiences you may have. How did it feel to be the person raising your voice? How were you responded to? What did you make of that situation? What happened long-term?2. Tim went on to draw a parallel between the Old Testament prophets and Friedeman's concept of a non-anxious presence.Take a moment to Think about the emotional and relational experiences of both the people in the system and the outside voice in some of the situations described in the first question. Whether you've had that experience or not, take a moment to imagine what it would be like to act as that non-anxious presence as a prophet in Ancient Israel. Take a moment to imagine what it might have been like to be a part of the ancient Israelite communities on which the prophets commented. How does considering the prophets through this lens impact your understanding of who the prophets were, how they affected the systems they were connected to, and how their words were received by Israel & the subsequent generations of readers who've revered their words? How does it impact their words as you know or understand them today? What do you make of the fact that so many important writings in the Christian tradition come from these Old Testament prophets , especially during Advent? What connections do you see between the role of the prophets as “non anxious presences” and the role Jesus played in his own time and place on earth? What about the role of Jesus today in modern Christianity and in the world at large? 3. In what ways do you see yourself, as a part of the church, and/or the church as a whole acting as that non-anxious presence, reflecting the realities of systems back to themselves?Where do you see parallels in which you feel like this is happening? Where do you see parallels in which you feel like it could be happening or should be happening more?How do you feel when you consider the possibilities of stepping more into that space personally? What comes to mind? What surfaces for you when you consider the moment in which today's church finds itself and the possibility of stepping more into the role of a non-anxious presence, reflecting the systems back to themselves - and living with the reactions and resistance? What would it look like for you to step more into that space?

In A Failure of Nerve, Dr Edwin Friedman reminds us that “in an anxious world, what is most needed are non-anxious leaders.” Pastor Kong Hee challenges us to walk in the way of Jesus by embracing His self-differentiation and non-anxious presence through five practices: 1) slow-down spirituality, 2) Sabbath rest, 3) silence and solitude, 4) devotional love, and 5) detachment.

In this episode, guest speaker, FW board member, and member of the Keep Calm community Lou Huesmann explains that self-differentiation requires clarity about what really matters to us. If we are not really clear on our values, we will be influenced and pressured by the values of everyone around us. According to Edwin Friedman, self-differentiation is the ability to claim your goals and values in the midst of surrounding togetherness pressure. To help make this concept more tangible, Lou wraps up by sharing some wonderful guiding principles - or values - from author Jenny Brown in her book Growing Yourself Up.This episode was recorded on September 12, 2025.

Psalms, birds, and Edwin Friedman.

According to Edwin Friedman, one of the characteristics of a chronically anxious society is the desire to seek safety instead of adventure. Non-anxious leaders seek adventure and learn to love it. Here's how.Show Notes:The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle ObamaA Failure of Nerve, Revised Edition: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin FriedmanBecome a Patron for as little as $5/month.Subscribe to my weekly ⁠Two for Tuesday⁠ email newsletter.

This example from Edwin Friedman's video on leadership through self-differentiation will help you manage anxiety in any relationship system.Show Notes:Leadership Through Self Differentiation A lecture by Edwin Friedman on YouTubeBecome a Patron for as little as $5/month.Subscribe to my weekly ⁠Two for Tuesday⁠ email newsletter.

In A Failure of Nerve, Edwin Friedman maintained that societal regression is counter evolutionary. In this episode, I unpack his five evolutionary principles of life as leadership principles.Show Notes:Become a Patron for as little as $5/month.Subscribe to my weekly ⁠Two for Tuesday⁠ email newsletter.

Joe Rigney's War on Empathy was inspired, in part, by Edwin Friedman. Here's where I agree and disagree with him.Show Notes:The Sin of Empathy — A Conversation with Joe Rigney - AlbertMohler.comThe Anatomy of a Steer by Joseph RigneyBecome a Patron for as little as $5/month.Subscribe to my weekly ⁠Two for Tuesday⁠ email newsletter.

Martha Beck's concept of the anxiety spiral and creativity spiral resonate with Edwin Friedman's definition of a non-anxious leader. Here's how.Show Notes:Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity and Finding Your Life's Purpose by Martha BeckA Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin FriedmanBecome a Patron for as little as $5/month.Subscribe to my weekly ⁠Two for Tuesday⁠ email newsletter.

How we respond to challenge and crisis is a big factor in whether we will survive and even thrive. These three factors come from a lecture that Edwin Friedman gave in 1985.Show Notes:Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and SynagogueThe Center for Family ProcessSubscribe to my weekly ⁠Two for Tuesday⁠ email newsletter.

The staff dive into one of the pivotal mindsets that has shifted culture at Kinwell: embracing the spirit of adventure instead of safety. When the school has embraced keeping things the same because of normalcy and consistency, students get stuck in rhythms and their perspectives cannot be shifted to see what's possible. Edwin Friedman calls this "imaginative gridlock" in his book, A Failure of Nerve. Instead, stepping into the unknown and taking risks, sometimes deeply personal, has led to a true change of culture in our school. Hear some of the great stories from school in this process!Support the showwww.kinwellacademy.orgSign up for newsletter

Our special guest today is Adelaide Garner. Adelaide is wife to Ben, and mother to four little treasures. They are Reformed Evangelical Christians. She was a pastor's wife for many years, but their family has moved into Ben owning a small business. Adelaide and Ben are second generation homeschoolers and use Charlotte Mason's principles. They live in a 120-year-old farmhouse on several acres outside of Houston, Texas. Six years ago, Adelaide, after many years of struggling with her own health. decided to become a certified health coach. When she learned to ask better questions, she found better answers for her health and the health of her family. She enjoys helping women find a grateful, sober-minded, and non-anxious approach to caring for the wellbeing of their families, to the Glory of God.  We had a few audio issues during this recording, so you'll have to forgive us for the handful of snags you hear along the way. With that said, today's conversation was fascinating because it combines a book we all read for last year's mentorship, A Failure of Nerve, by Edwin Friedman, with issues surrounding autism and other special needs. *** The live kickoff for our newest Scholé Sisters mentorship took place a couple weeks ago. Our mentorships are for Sophie-level Sistership members.  However, our kickoff was for everyone, even those of you on our free plan. If you are not yet in the Sistership but want to watch the replay of the live kickoff for the Mentorship (which we've named Stable and Steadfast: Standing on Your God-given Rights), go to scholesisters.com/join and sign up! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the FREE area of the Sistership.

In this episode, host John Terrill has a conversation with Michaela O'Donnell and Lisa Pratt Slayton about their new book, Life in Flux: Navigational Skills to Guide and Ground You in an Ever-Changing World. We explored how internal and external reactions are crucial in effective leadership and the importance of profound inner work. Here are three key takeaways:

Lantz and Tod Bolsinger discussed the role of leadership in facilitating transformation, with a focus on personal growth, adaptive leadership, and the importance of transformation. They also explored the differences and similarities between the marketplace and ministry worlds, the concept of sabotage in leadership, the importance of mentorship in personal and professional growth, and how if you don't have a mentor you are committing leadership malpractice. Additionally, they delved into the classic book by Edwin Friedman and Lantz's number one most recommended leadership book "Failure of Nerve" and its insights on family systems theory and adaptive leadership, and how these concepts can be applied in your leadership. Tod Bolsinger https://www.aesloanleadership.com Get your copy of the Practicing Change Leadership series. -- Lantz Howard is your trusted advisor and guide for solving complex leadership problems and reaching your next goal with your whole heart. www.lantzhoward.com

Listen in as a Joe Rigney and Michael Carlino join David Schrock to discuss Joe's book Leadership and Emotional Sabotage and to apply the lessons from this book to the Southern Baptist Convention. Timestamps Intro – 00:28 Joe Rigney's Time and Interest in the SBC - 03:26 The Genesis of Joe Rigney's Book and Edwin Friedman 05:45 Rigney's Influence on Michael Carlino - 10:18 How Do We See the Sin of Empathy Being Worked Out in the SBC Today? - 13:34 Friedman's Fable Regarding Empathy - 16:35 Neutralizing the SBC and the Progressive Gaze - 21:54 Being Fractured and Frustrated - 26:14 Sensing the Steering - 27:22 How Does the Law Amendment Help the SBC to Not Be Steered? - 29:43 Feminism and Femininity -33:21 Women Should Not Be the Barometer for the Church - 36:04 The Female Gaze - 38:21 Deborah, Barak, and Jael - 39:51 The Levites Being Able to Suppress Brotherly Affection - 41:49 Closing and Outro - 45:16  Resources to Click “The SBC Isn't Drifting, It's Being Steered: A Sober-Minded Response to Emotional Sabotage” – Michael Carlino “Of Empathy and Monsters” – Joe Rigney “With One Voice” – Joe Rigney Center For Baptist Leadership Podcast Learn about the Law Amendment at SBCAmendment.org The Sin of Empathy – Doug Wilson and Joe Rigney Donate to the SBC Giveaway of Leadership and Emotional Sabotage Register for SBC at a Crossroads Theme of the Month: Great Books Throughout the Ages Give to Support the Work  Books to Read Leadership and Emotional Sabotage – Joe Rigney The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts – Joe Rigney A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix – Edwin Friedman Friedman's Fables – Edwin Friedman

Support the show!! - https://www.patreon.com/chasedavishttps://emotionalsabotage.com/“Leadership and Emotional Sabotage” - https://amzn.to/3TdlIkCJoe Rigney Twitter - https://twitter.com/joe_rigneySummaryIn this conversation, Joe Rigney discusses his book on leadership and emotional sabotage. He explores the concept of institutions as shock absorbers and the importance of non-anxious presence in leadership. Rigney also delves into the role of passions in leadership and the dangers of highly empathetic communities. He emphasizes the need for boundaries and sober-mindedness in order to navigate emotional dynamics effectively. In this conversation, Joe Rigney discusses the importance of recognizing and resisting the steering wheel of slander. He emphasizes the need to be aware of when slander is being used to manipulate and steer others, and to have clarity on the purpose and mission of the institution. Joe also addresses the issue of cowardice and its contagious nature, highlighting the importance of courage in standing firm on God's Word. He encourages Christians to be winsome by being courageous and faithful in their speech and actions.TakeawaysInstitutions can serve as shock absorbers in times of crisis, providing stability and a sense of calm.Non-anxious presence is not about making others feel comfortable, but about being steady and steadfast in the face of turmoil.Passions, or instinctive and impulsive reactions, can either be a blessing or a destructive force when they run the show.Highly empathetic communities can be prone to enmeshment and lack of boundaries, leading to emotional volatility.Sober-mindedness is the ability to govern and shepherd one's own passions, avoiding being controlled by them or by the passions of others. Recognize when slander is being used to manipulate and steer others.Have clarity on the purpose and mission of the institution to resist being derailed by emotional pressures.Be willing to be slandered for the sake of faithfulness, but also ensure that the slander is false.Respond to slander with curiosity and clarity, seeking to understand the motivations behind it.Courage is contagious and can be a powerful witness to the world.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Book Discussion13:04 Institutions as Shock Absorbers18:13 Understanding Non-Anxious Presence25:30 The Role of Passions in Leadership29:39 The Dangers of Highly Empathetic Communities35:36 The Importance of Boundaries and Sober-Mindedness38:01 Recognizing and Resisting the Steering Wheel of Slander47:19 Dealing with Slander and False Accusations51:31 Responding to Accusations with Courage and Clarity59:42 The Pitfalls of Winsomeness and Cowardice01:07:09 The Contagious Nature of Cowardice and the Power of CourageSupport the showSign up for the Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/chasedavisFollow Full Proof Theology on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fullprooftheology/Follow Full Proof Theology on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/fullprooftheology/

Edwin Friedman's last book, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, challenges us to lead differently. Here's how. Show Notes: A Failure of Nerve, Revised Edition: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin Friedman Read the Full Transcript on The Non-Anxious Leader website. Subscribe to my weekly ⁠Two for Tuesday⁠ emails. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jack-shitama/message

“The Failure of Nerve” by Edwin Friedman is one of the best leadership books I've…Continue readingEp. 57 – The Sanctified Differentiated Leader The post Ep. 57 – The Sanctified Differentiated Leader first appeared on Business 300.

“The Failure of Nerve” by Edwin Friedman is one of the best leadership books I’ve…Continue readingEp. 57 – The Sanctified Differentiated Leader The post Ep. 57 – The Sanctified Differentiated Leader first appeared on Business 300.

Today's episode is the annual episode we recorded at the retreat when we were together in real life, which means we have to apologize to you for the sound. You'd think it'd be better in person, but the reality is that a single shared microphone is a questionable idea. With that said, we had so much fun discussing a portion of Edwin Friedman's excellent on leadership, A Failure of Nerve. You're going to love this conversation! *** Have you heard about our upcoming Sophie Mentorship? It starts very soon on October 23rd! If you like today's podcast discussion, you will love the mentorship because we'll be spending extended time immersed in ideas surrounding being an adult and becoming a strong leader. In fact, the mentorship is called Grow Up: Courage to Be the Adult in the Room. We'll be reading from four different books (including the classic Art of War by Sun Tzu) and having various types of rich discussions as we flesh out how to grow up so that we can better mother our children. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join as a Sophie to be a part of this fabulous four-month study. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Edwin Friedman's book Failure of Nerve is a hidden gem for personal and organizational leadership. In this episode, Cole and Terry discuss the key ideas and the ways Friedman's work compares and contrasts with Christian wisdom for leaders. 

According to Edwin Friedman, one of the characteristics of a chronically anxious society is the desire to seek safety instead of adventure. Non-anxious leaders seek adventure and learn to love it. Here's how. Show Notes: The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama A Failure of Nerve, Revised Edition: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin Friedman Read the Full Transcript on The Non-Anxious Leader website. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jack-shitama/message

Episode 43 of Season 3 is a reflection on Edwin Friedman & Peter Steinke's A Failure of Nerve where they look at the human tendency to react to the most dysfunctional person in a family, group, or organization and in so doing abdicate much-needed stability. How can we respond in this hour? Take a listen to hear more. Connect with us at ideologypc@gmail.com // feel free to share, subscribe, rate, and/or comment Episode notes: - A Failure of Nerve by Edwin Friedman & Peter Steinke

We live in a hurried age, that's obvious. And yet we still fail to grasp how imperative slowing down and living in unhurriedness is for everything that matters in life. In this episode, we explore why and how slowing down matters so much and what it opens up for us. And we explore six practices that you can engage to live in unhurriedness, even if your calendar remains full and busy. Because there's great hope: you can be quite busy and yet become and remain absolutely unhurried in all things.

Edwin Friedman described five characteristics of systems that promote burnout among their leaders. Understanding this can help you avoid the same fate. Part 1 goes through the characteristics. Part 2 helps leaders respond appropriately. Show Notes: Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue Read the Full Transcript on The Non-Anxious Leader website. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jack-shitama/message

Edwin Friedman described five characteristics of systems that promote burnout among their leaders. Understanding this can help you avoid the same fate. Part 1 goes through the characteristics. Part 2 helps leaders respond appropriately. Show Notes: Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue Read the Full Transcript on The Non-Anxious Leader website. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jack-shitama/message

How we respond to challenge and crisis is a big factor in whether we will survive and even thrive. These three factors come from a lecture that Edwin Friedman gave in 1985. Show Notes: Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue The Center for Family Process Read the Full Transcript on The Non-Anxious Leader website. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jack-shitama/message

Tod Bolsinger and Markus Watson discuss this quote from A Failure of Nerve, by Edwin Friedman.“In any type of institution whatsoever, when a self-directed, imaginative, energetic, or creative member is being consistently frustrated and sabotaged rather than encouraged and supported, what will turn out to be true one hundred percent of the time, regardless of whether the disrupters are supervisors, subordinates, or peers, is that the person at the very top of that institution is a peace-monger.”Learn how to lead your church into ministry that matters. Check out my online course, Engaging God's Mission.

“And Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid…” (Mt. 17). Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA 2D12 Last Epiphany (Year A) 11:00 a.m. Sunday 19 February 2023 Exodus 24:12-18 Psalm 99:1-8 2 Peter 1:16-21 Matthew 17:1-9 Last week in an email my friend Hugh Morgan observed that when it comes to social justice the Old Testament prophets sound strikingly modern to him. He wonders if the Old Testament has a stronger social justice message than the New Testament. [1] Today we consider this question.   But first let's define social justice as equality in wealth, political influence, cultural impact, respect… in opportunities to make a difference, to love and serve others. It involves creating a society in which every person is treated with dignity as a child of God, as bearing God's image. Jesus calls this the realm of God. Martin Luther King calls it “the beloved community.”   Today we celebrate the Last Sunday of Epiphany. Epiphany means a shining forth. You might call it a realization that utterly transforms us. The culminating story of this season occurs on a mountain top when Jesus' friends experience a mystical encounter with God.   In a recent conversation the law professor Patricia Williams spoke about two epiphanies that she had had. [2] For her whole life she had taken at face value family stories she had heard about her great-great-grandmother. These described her as a lazy person who was constantly fishing, as someone that no one liked. Then when Williams was in her twenties her sister discovered the bill of sale for their great-great-grandmother. In an instant she realized the truth. At the age of eleven her great-great-grandmother had been sold away from all that she had ever known. Two years later she was pregnant with the child of the dissatisfied thirty-five year old man who had bought her. She was traumatized so alienated from his children, who were taught to look down on her, that the only thing they chose to tell her descendants was that she was unpopular. To get to the truth Patricia Williams had to interpret those two stories together and to have empathy for someone's suffering. We have to do the same thing in order to understand the Bible.   Getting back to our question, Hugh makes a wise observation about the importance of social justice in the Old Testament. The deceased Berkeley sociologist Robert Bellah (1927-2013) wrote a book called Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age. He asks about how religious belief makes large human societies possible. He notes that Israel first appears in Egyptian records in the year 1208 BCE, long before anything written in the Bible.   He points out two notable features about the social world that produced the Old Testament. First, that this it attempts to establish a society not on the role of one man as a divine king (like most Egyptian pharaohs) but rather on a covenant between God and the people. Moses is a prophet not a divine king.   The second thing he notices is that the prophets, for instance, Amos does not just condemn failures of religious ritual but the mistreatment of the weak and poor. Amos criticizes both foreigners and his own people. He writes, “Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four I will not revoke the punishment; because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes” (Amos 2). [3]   At this point I feel compelled to tell you more about the Old Testament. It will be a long time before Chat GPT can write an accurate sermon. I am totally astonished by how incorrect search engine results are when it comes to some of the most basic issues in religion. This includes how we determine when these books were written. There was no journalist taking notes in the Garden of Eden or the court of David. The books of the Bible were not written in the order in which the events they record happened, or in the order in which they are presented. One way to look at it is to see them growing up around the two ideas I just mentioned from the prophet Amos – that there is one God for all people and that God cares how the poor are treated. Scholars believe that the words of the prophet Amos were among the first in the entire Bible. So it is not as if the world was created, Noah built an ark, Abraham met God, God chose the Tribes of Israel, David's kingdom was established, many other kings reigned and then social justice became important. Social justice, this idea of God's universality and the dignity of every person, comes first. The other stories are ancient but put together by writers with this conviction in mind.   So the twentieth century rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel calls the prophets, “the most disturbing people who ever lived” and “the [ones] who brought the Bible into being.” They “ceaseless[ly] shatter our indifference.” They interpret our existence from the perspective of God. Heschel writes that the prophets have assimilated their emotional life to that of the Divine so that the prophet, “lives not only his personal life but also the life of God. The prophet hears God's voice and feels His heart.” [4]   The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew with three main types of literature the Torah (instruction or) the law, the Nevi'im or prophets, and the Ketuvim or the writings. The New Testament was written in Greek under Roman occupation and includes totally different genres: gospels, epistles or letters, and John's apocalyptic conclusion the Book of Revelation. As Jesus alludes to in the Book of Matthew, the New Testament is built on the foundation of the old – that there is one God for all the nations who cares about human dignity. It has a different feeling because it is composed at a different time, under different social circumstances for a different audience. But for me it is not less focused on social justice. Christians do not worship the Bible, but the person of Jesus. Jesus is how we understand our lives and our connection to God.   We see this in today's gospel. The story of the Transfiguration is not so much about a private mystical experience, but a meditation on Christ's passion. It exists to shape our response to Jesus' death on the cross. Imagine the Book of Matthew. We climb up one side through Jesus' teaching and healing until we finally hear Jesus describe how his death will be. The disciples cannot take it in. We go down the other side to Jerusalem where Jesus will be killed. And for a reassuring moment we linger at the mountaintop.   Let me briefly tell you three things about the Greek text. Matthew uses the emphatic word idou or “Behold! Look!” three times. First, before the appearance of Moses who represents the law, and Elijah who stands for the prophets. Then again when a shining cloud appears and yet again when God says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased” (Mt. 17). Jesus' friends feel so afraid they fall down like dead people. Jesus tells his friends to rise up and uses the same word he does when he says that the Son of Man will be raised from the dead. Jesus touches them in a reassuring way. The Greek word hapsamenos means to touch, hold or grasp. But it also can be translated as to light or ignite a flame.   What does it mean for social justice, to have at the heart of our religion a man who gives up his life and is executed? It is not just what Jesus says that matters. He gives his life to help make real this idea that God loves every human being, that each life has innate dignity. This includes the truth that death is not the end.   Although Christians often get lost in the belief that faith is about an isolated individual's personal salvation, there is a deep tradition of meditating on the way Jesus' death reverses the overwhelming evil all around us. I do not have time for more examples but I would like to mention Basil of Caesarea (330-379).   In the Gospel of Luke Jesus tells the story about a rich man who has so much property that he decides to build a bigger barn to hold it all so that he can “eat, drink and be merry” (Lk. 12). That night the foolish man dies. So the fourth century Basil wrote a sermon about this. He says that what we think we need constantly changes. We are metaphorically building smaller and bigger barns all the time. When we think we need too much we cannot be generous to others.   Basil says, “How can I bring the sufferings of the poverty-stricken to your attention? When they look around inside their hovels… [and] find clothes and furnishings so miserable… worth only a few cents. What then? They turn their gaze to their own children, thinking that perhaps by bringing them to the slave-market they might find some respite from death. Consider now the violent struggle that takes place between the desperation arising from famine and a parent's fundamental instincts. Starvation on the one side threatens horrible death, while nature resists, convincing the parents rather to die with their children. Time and again they vacillate, but in the end they succumb, driven by want and cruel necessity.” [5] The Christian tradition in every generation is filled with appeals like this. They beg us to recognize the full humanity of every person.   Let me tell you the second of Patricia Williams' two epiphanies. When she was a child there were very few women or Black people who were judges, law professors, law partners, attorney generals, etc. Virtually all law had been written by white men. Because of this there were blind spots, basic failures to understand society that had crucial legal ramifications. [6]   Professor Williams and other intellectuals invented Critical Race Theory to address this, to help the law work for all people, not just those in power. These debates were largely for people in universities until about ten years ago. In our conversation Professor Williams expressed her surprise when she heard a powerful political consultant talk about how he had made millions of Americans fear and hate this social justice project. He had successfully convinced them to regard Critical Race Theory as divisive and dangerous to white people. He explicitly stated that increasing their anger was a means of getting their votes. [7]   The great twentieth century Jewish expert in building healthy religious congregations Edwin Friedman frequently repeats this warning. “Expect sabotage.” [8] When we are working for good, to change how things are, we will be opposed. Those who care about social justice need to understand that there will be people who actively seek to thwart it.   Patricia Williams is a prophet for me, shattering my indifference. Many here this morning are prophets to me also. Behold. Be ignited. Shine forth. Let the realization of Jesus' love utterly transform us. [1] Hugh Morgan, 9 February 2023. “In reading Isaiah and the minor prophets, I am struck by how modern they sound, when calling out issues of social justice.  Of course, our thinking has been influenced by the enlightenment and all that came after it, so my brain may be predisposed to see these threads in the text.  But they are there. You do not see the same strength of views on social justice in the New Testament, certainly little about upsetting the then current order.  And I do not think you see similar messages supporting the oppressed in Greek or Roman writings (I have a super limited sense of what these are.) And, you do not see "social justice thought" - a very modern thing - called out, developed, emphasized from the OT texts in the early church, nor through the reformation, not even in the revivals in America and England in the late 1800s. Two questions to ponder 1. Where did the social justice message in the OT come from? 2.  Are there strains of this message in church history that I / we are not aware of?” [2] Patricia J. Williams on the Grace Cathedral Forum, 1 February 2023. https://youtu.be/8h-xHY7OIuY . Also see Patricia J. Williams, The Alchemy of Race and Rights: Diary of a Law Professor (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991) 17-19. [3] Robert Bellay, Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011). Quoting Michael Walzer and David Malo on a covenant between the people and God (310f). Amos' ethical statements (302). [4] Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets: An Introduction, Volume One (NY: Harper, 1962) ix-26. [5] “How can I bring the sufferings of the poverty-stricken to your attention? When they look around inside their hovels… [and] find clothes and furnishings so miserable… worth only a few cents. What then? They turn their gaze to their own children, thinking that perhaps by bringing them to the slave-market they might find some respite from death. Consider now the violent struggle that takes place between the desperation arising from famine and a parent's fundamental instincts. Starvation on the one side threatens horrible death, while nature resists, convincing the parents rather to die with their children. Time and again they vacillate, but in the end they succumb, driven by want and cruel necessity.” Basil of Caesarea, “I Will Tear Down My Barns.” Tr. Paul Shroeder. Cited in Logismoi. http://logismoitouaaron.blogspot.com/2010/03/on-social-justice-by-st-basil-great.html [6] Professor Patricia J. Williams and I talked about “stand your ground” laws that result in much higher rates of death among Black men, because white people are more likely to be afraid of them. [7] In an online interaction I heard from someone who is monomaniacally focused on the idea that Critical Race Theory must necessarily involve government forced discrimination against white people. He did not have the time to see the Patricia Williams interview. He had already made up his mind. [8] “Sabotage is part and parcel of the systemic process of leadership.” Edwin Friedman, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix (NY: Church Publishing, 2017 revised).

In this Magic in the Room episode, Luke reflects on Edwin Friedman's concept of a differentiated leader. A differentiated leader has done the work of self-definition and self-regulation. This leader knows who they are and their purpose so well that they are not swayed by the reactivity, herding, blaming, and short-term thinking of the anxious system around them. Instead, they have a strong vision and invite people to join them.  Research in this episode:    Find Luke's Twitter thread here.    A Failure of Nerve by Edwin H. Friedman  A Leadership Paradox: Influencing Others by Defining Yourself by Greg Robinson  Spiral Dynamics by Don Edward Beck and Christopher Cowan  The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business by Patrick M. Lencioni  The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge    Music by evangrimmusic.com  Support from techblogwriter.co.uk 

Understanding the nuances of emotional process will make you a better leader. These four tips will help. Show Notes: The Center for Family Process The Center for Pastoral Effectiveness in the Rockies The Family Systems Institute The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family Tending the Fire Lombard Mennonite Peace Center --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jack-shitama/message

In this episode of SoundNotes, Len Greski joins Dave to discuss leadership and emotional systems. Len is a Principal Consultant at LeadingAgile and he has a background in sociology. As Len explains, “The most difficult challenge in delivering great products is getting people to work together." During the interview, we explore emotional systems theory and how that can be applied within our organizations and teams to create sustainable change and deliver great products. The Bowen Family Systems Theory was developed by Dr. Murray Bowen. It is rooted in taking a systems view in studying families and the relationship patterns that develop between family members. Bowen's theory and the eight concepts that came out of it can also be applied to the workplace and the emotional systems we create and participate in day to day. The better you are able to understand these systems, the more able you will be to foster systems that lead to a positive outcome for your team, your organization, and your customer. Links from the Podcast Bowen Family Systems Theory: https://www.thebowencenter.org Johari Window: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window A Failure of Nerve by Edwin Friedman  https://amzn.to/3Cxc6dD Contacting Len Greski If you'd like to contact Len, you can reach him at: LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/len-greski/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/leonardgreski Twitter: https://twitter.com/lgreski GitHub: https://github.com/lgreski Email: Leonard.greski@leadingagile.com Contacting Dave Prior If you'd like to contact Dave, you can reach him at: LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrsungo Email: dave.prior@leadingagile.com If you have a question you'd like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to Dave.

What do we do when things fall apart? The way we answer this question shows us the truth of who we are. We all look great when things are comfortable. It's in the times of challenge, when the building is burning down around us, when all that we've held onto dissolves in our arms, that our true allegiance, our true character, our true identity get revealed. We are busy people living in a busy world, and it causes us to seek life in the rapid and immediate. Yet our culture seems more anxious, lonely, and depressed than we ever have - our insta-culture is failing to provide us the lasting life we're looking for. Listen as Pastor Clint explores the life of Jeremiah, which served as a salve to the futile, shallow pursuits of his own world and led Jeremiah to a robust, holistic, meaningful life. As it turns out, true life doesn't come through the rapid and immediate: it comes through a long obedience in the same direction. Sermon Resources: 1. Study on smartphones: https://www.businessinsider.com/dscout-research-people-touch-cell-phones-2617-times-a-day-2016-7 2. “Horror Vacui” - Baruch Spinoza 3. "passion for the immediate and the casual..." Gore Vidal, "Matters of Fact and Fiction: Essays" 4. “The anxiety is so deep within the emotional processes of our nation that it is almost as though neurosis has become nationalized.” -Edwin Friedman, "A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix" 5. Camino de Santiago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago 6. “The essential thing in heaven and in earth is that there should be a long obedience in the same direction that thereby results, in the long run, in something which makes life worth living—virtue, art, music, dancing, reason, spirituality—anything whatsoever that is transfiguring, refined, foolish, or divine.” -Frederick Nietzsche, "Beyond Good and Evil" Join or follow us below: Facebook: www.facebook.com/midtownpreschurch Instagram: www.instagram.com/midtown.pres/ Website: www.midtownpres.org/ Community Groups: www.midtownpres.org/community-groups Sunday Services: www.midtownpres.org/

In a two-part discussion, Autumn and Hunter consider a book by Pastor and Author Mark Sayers entitled “A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World Will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders.” Sayers observes that the moral, geopolitical, and cultural norms of the past many years are being challenged and will eventually give way to a new order. We are moving into an undetermined era which Sayers calls a “gray zone,“ filled with upheaval and tension. In a modern gray zone, super-charged by our complex, networked reality, tension manifests as collective anxiety. However, a more compelling, brighter reality comes into focus in Sayer's writing. God repeatedly uses these moments in history to bring about renewal through leaders who maintain a non-anxious presence, deeply connected to God regardless of the cultural and political melee. Resources mentioned in this episode: "A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders" by Mark Sayers (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802428576/) "A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix" by Edwin Friedman (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1596272791/)

Why is modern disagreement loaded with anxiety and emotion? The answer might surprise you. Dr. Alastair Roberts looks at how Christians can remain both confident and calm in disagreement while seeking solutions and understanding. We also dive into the concept of self-differentiation, gridlock, and the difference between reactivity and response.  Book References "Self and Leadership" by Alastair Roberts: https://alastairadversaria.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/self-and-leadership.pdf "A Failure of Nerve" by Edwin Friedman: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1596272791/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_ATMMKE23KKW86WAD2MN5 For more resources from Alastair visit: https://alastairadversaria.com Check out Alastair's daily Bible reflections: https://adversariapodcast.com/ Follow us on Instagram: @thatllpreachpodcast

Every system has interlocking triangles. This episode uses a case study from Edwin Friedman's Generation to Generation to explain how they work and how to unlock them. Show Notes: Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue by Edwin Friedman Read the Full Transcript on The Non-Anxious Leader website. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jack-shitama/message

In Part 2 of this series, Ken Shuman and a group of Faithwalkers continue the conversation about what it looks like to live in a regressive society. When a society is regressive, anxiety is really high, and people's level of emotional maturity and ability to manage anxiety decreases, resulting in worse and worse behavior. In this episode the group considers and discusses the remaining three ways that people behave when society is in regression (Edwin Friedman). This conversation was recorded on March 4, 2022.

In this episode, Ken Shuman shares an update on good things happening in Faithwalking and then he and a group of Faithwalkers talk about what it looks like to live in a regressive society. When a society is regressive, anxiety is really high, and people's level of emotional maturity and ability to manage anxiety decreases, resulting in worse and worse behavior. In this episode the group discusses the first two of five ways that Edwin Friedman noted people behave when society is in regression. This conversation was recorded on February 18, 2022.

We are back! Talking about all kinds of things, including New Years and cleaning, Edwin Friedman's theory of differentiation and a Lightning Round of Random! (Obviously the LRoR is way in our wheelhouse.) Also, we narrowly missed becoming a baseball podcast. You are welcome. P.S. Here's Edgar Martinez and his light bat - quite entertaining. P.P.S. Here's "Four Days in October" for any interested parties! P.P.P.S. Whatever Mo said about The Natural had all the wrong details. SHOCKER. Spoiler alert! Here's a clip of the final home run.

Leadership issues as close to home as sibling position and as big-picture as societal regression -- Bowen Family Systems Theory has it all. In the 4th episode in this series, we talk about how our birth order powerfully shapes our behavior as leaders as well as the behavior of those we lead. Then we explore how anxiety shows up in our society in ways that we all recognize from today's headlines and we consider what less-anxious leadership looks like in times of upheaval and uncertainty.  Summary: A theory about how humans actually function Even siblings grow up in a different family How sibling position shapes our behavior and functioning Sibling position in congregations and organizations How society functions like families do Anxiety in society's attempts at problem-solving Strategies for leaders For basic information about BFST, we recommend these resources:  The 8 Concepts of Bowen Theory by Roberta Gilbert Extraordinary Relationships by Roberta Gilbert https://thebowencenter.org/theory/ For a deep dive into Bowen theory in Bowen's own words, try Family Therapy in Clinical Practice by Murray Bowen.  To expand your application of Bowen theory, consider: A Diary of Everyday Growing Up (podcast and blog) by Jenny Brown A Failure of Nerve by Edwin Friedman

How did the role you played in your family shape who you became? How does it shape your leadership? How do the people in your organization express the role they learned in their families? We invite you to consider how your family helped you shape the self that you bring to your leadership as well as how these concepts show up in the organization that you lead.  This is the third in a series of conversations about Bowen Family System Theory, a theory that has deeply influenced us and our book The Leader's Journey.  In this episode, we cover a lot of ground as we look at two of the eight concepts of Bowen theory: the family projection process and the multigenerational transmission process. Summary: Are you flying by the seat of your pants? How testing a unifying theory can integrate your leadership The impact of a family's anxious focus Our roles shape our functioning and our leadership The magic of connecting across the generations A family diagram – a useful tool for families and organizations Resources The Leader's Journey page Jim's Facebook page Trisha's Facebook page Mike's Facebook page As a guide to doing your own family of origin work, we highly recommend the book Becoming a Healthier Pastor by Ronald Richardson. We also find value in A Family Genogram Workbook by Israel Galindo. For basic information about BFST, we recommend these resources:  The 8 Concepts of Bowen Theory by Roberta Gilbert Extraordinary Relationships by Roberta Gilbert https://thebowencenter.org/theory/ For a deep dive into Bowen theory in Bowen's own words, try Family Therapy in Clinical Practice by Murray Bowen.  To expand your application of Bowen theory, consider: A Diary of Everyday Growing Up (podcast and blog) by Jenny Brown A Failure of Nerve by Edwin Friedman

Can you see the triangles in your family and your organization? How do you manage yourself in them? What role does distancing and cutoff have in your relationships over time? Can you imagine a different way of showing up in these intense and anxious relationships?  This is the second in a series of conversations about Bowen Family Systems Theory, a theory that has deeply influenced us and our book The Leader's Journey.  In this episode, we cover a lot of ground as we look at two of the eight concepts of Bowen theory: triangles and cutoff. This sets us up to talk about the rest of the theory in future episodes and to make application to leadership at every level. Summary: Triangles – the basic molecule of human relationships Triangles, anxiety and leadership Taking a healthy position in common triangles Cutoff – managing anxiety with distance Cutoff in families and faith groups What if cutoff seems to be working for us? Imagining change as a path to change Resources For basic information about BFST, we recommend these resources:  The 8 Concepts of Bowen Theory by Roberta Gilbert Extraordinary Relationships by Roberta Gilbert https://thebowencenter.org/theory/ For a deep dive into Bowen theory in Bowen's own words, try Family Therapy in Clinical Practice by Murray Bowen.  To expand your application of Bowen theory, consider: A Diary of Everyday Growing Up (podcast and blog) by Jenny Brown A Failure of Nerve by Edwin Friedman