The Hidden Lives of Congregations

Faced with crisis, lack of direction, or just plain "stuckness," many congregations and their leaders are content to deal only with surface issues and symptoms -- only to discover that the same problems keep recurring, often in more serious ways. Israel Galindo takes leaders below the surface of congregational life to provide a comprehensive, holistic look at the corporate nature of church relationships and the invisible dynamics at play. Informed by family systems theory and grounded in a wide-ranging ecclesiological understanding, Galindo unpacks clearly the factors of congregational lifespan, size, spirituality, and identity. He shows how these work together to form the congregation's "hidden life" and suggests how leaders can use that knowledge to help the congregation fulfill its vision. - Back cover.