Dan Hester, the founder of Facing Challenge, LLC is an ordained United Methodist with over 30 years experience as a pastor. Midway through his career he discovered how family systems theory lies beneath the content of whatever is going on at church and in his own family. Dan studied with the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, became a certified facilitator with Healthy Congregations, studied with Leadership in Ministry, and participated in the Post Graduate Program at The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family. One compelling question for Dan through this time was: How does a pastor provide pastoral care, not simply to individuals, but to the entire congregation? After answering the call to intentional interim ministry, Dan developed this workshop because it is the best way to provide pastoral care to congregations as a whole, while also eliciting new insight and options from constituent members. Dan believes that family systems theory can open doors, loosen knots, and foster discipleship in congregations and their leaders.
Facing Challenge, LLC workshops build on the field of family therapy. Dr. Daniel Papero described five continua that measure the functioning of a family. (Chapter 3 of Handbook of Bowen Family Systems Theory and Research Methods. New York, Taylor and Francis, 2020. “Developing a Systems Model for Family Assessment.”) This model captures the variation in family response to challenge. Facing Challenge, LLC adapts and applies these concepts to congregations.
The validity of this application was established by Barbara Laymon who developed a survey used with 475 congregations to measure Papero’s continua in a congregation. Using factor analysis methods, it was determined that the proposed five dimensions were sub-dimensions capturing one underlying factor: a congregation’s level of differentiation. Working with conscious effort in one dimension will impact all five. The scale was predictive of a congregation’s reported functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about Barbara Laymon’s work at her web site: www.barbaralaymon.com.
To find out more, book a workshop, or talk systems, contact: dan@facingchallenge.com.
Facing Challenge, LLC 