Rev. Dr. Peter Steinke

The Rev. Dr. Peter Steinke spoke to a crowd of more than 180 rostered and lay leaders at Midland Lutheran College on April 20. The event was co-sponsored by the college and the Nebraska Synod.

Dr. Steinke, who has served as a parish pastor, a therapist for clergy, and a consultant to congregations, has authored a new book titled “Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times.” In the book, Steinke suggests that churches should be viewed as living, breathing organisms, and the health of a congregation should be evaluated using family-systems theory.

Steinke’s lecture touched on a wide range of topics affecting congregational health, including conflict, dealing with change, the need for mature leadership and challenges facing congregations today.

He said that while society is changing rapidly, systems, by their very nature, are subject to homeostasis, a state of maintaining a stable or constant condition.

“We give far more power to the past than we do to the future… It’s difficult to change systems,” Steinke said.

Society is in a period of not knowing what is coming next, which creates anxiety, he said.

According to Steinke, mature leadership within congregational systems is vital. It is also important for church leaders to be able to define themselves to others while staying connected.

He offered three significant challenges for congregations. People generally are no longer “belongers” like their great-grandparents were. Branding and loyalty don’t mean as much as they used to. People are no longer as likely to seek out the church. This, Steinke said, means churches have to become more missional in nature.

“The clearer your sense of mission is, the less resistance of change,” he said.

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