{"id":61618,"date":"2026-05-14T11:37:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=61618"},"modified":"2026-05-14T11:37:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:37:27","slug":"seminary-hosts-thriving-in-ministry-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/seminary-hosts-thriving-in-ministry-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Seminary hosts Thriving in Ministry conference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A range of faith leaders gathered at Eastern Mennonite Seminary from May 5-6 for a two-day conference focused on exploration and learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The conference, \u201cThriving in Ministry: Family Systems Theory as a Resource for Faith Communities,\u201d was hosted by the seminary in partnership with The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family and supported by the Lilly Endowment Inc. and the Joe Carolin Memorial Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout the conference, participants explored family systems theory as a resource for understanding and strengthening relationships and congregational life. Ordained and lay leaders, along with others interested in family systems thinking, considered how Bowen theory and differentiation of self, along with their faith traditions, could guide reflection and cultivate thriving in ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keynote speakers Rev. Dr. Robert Creech and Dr. Dan Papero presented from their expertise in the fields of practical theology and psychotherapy, respectively. Over the two days of the conference, Dr. Creech shared keynote addresses about the intersection of language between systems thinking and Christian theology, as well as how the practice of differentiation of self enhances pastoral care. Dr. Papero spoke about the most recent neuroscientific research regarding the impact of stress on brain functioning. Both contributed to panel discussions with other presenters.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"61621\" src=\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-2-819x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-61621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-2-819x1024.jpeg 819w, https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-2-240x300.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-2-768x960.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-2-1229x1536.jpeg 1229w, https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-2.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"61620\" src=\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-1-819x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-61620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-1-819x1024.jpeg 819w, https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-1-240x300.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-1-768x960.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-1-1229x1536.jpeg 1229w, https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/05\/13120545\/image-1.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conference keynote speaker Dr. Dan Papero (left) has been a faculty member of The Bowen Center since 1982. He has written numerous articles and book chapters on various aspects of family systems theory and family psychotherapy. The Rev. Dr. Robert Creech (right), a former pastor and faculty member of Baylor University\u2019s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, is the author of \u201cFamily Systems and Congregational Life\u201d (2019) and co-author of \u201cThe Leader\u2019s Journey\u201d (2020), both with Baker Academic.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>Workshops and presentations included discussions on preaching, biblical studies, parenting, and tools to help participants thrive in ministry and daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the goals of the Thriving in Ministry conference were to help participants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>grow in their capacity to differentiate self through an increased understanding of the science of human relationships in families and congregations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>apply family systems theory to the work of faith leaders in pastoral care, preaching, youth work, religious education, and other ministry settings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>explore practical applications, including family diagrams, triangles, and other ways of shifting from an individual to a systems perspective<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Other guest presenters included Chaplain Penny Driediger, the Rev. Melanie Lewis, Pastor Lana Miller, Janis Norton, the Rev. Dr. Emlyn A. Ott, the Rev. William Pyle, and the Rev. Chet Yoder. Faculty presenters included Dr. Kenton T. Derstine, Kathleen Cotter Cauley, the Rev. Randall Frost, Dr. Barbara Laymon, the Rev. Jennifer Long, and Amie Post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about the conference, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/thebowencenter.org\/2026-thriving-in-ministry-conference\">The Bowen Center\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A range of faith leaders gathered at Eastern Mennonite Seminary from May 5-6 for a two-day conference focused on exploration and learning. The conference, \u201cThriving in Ministry: Family Systems Theory <a href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/seminary-hosts-thriving-in-ministry-conference\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"more-link\">... read more <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">about Seminary hosts Thriving in Ministry conference<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":61623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5583,14184,5185,5861,17562,265],"tags":[13723,5902,18632,17459,19068],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-61618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","category-campus-guests","category-campus-ministries","category-conferences-and-events","category-digest","category-seminary","tag-eastern-mennonite-seminary","tag-ems","tag-lilly-endowment","tag-seminary","tag-thriving-in-ministry","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Seminary hosts Thriving in Ministry conference - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/seminary-hosts-thriving-in-ministry-conference\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seminary hosts Thriving in Ministry conference - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A range of faith leaders gathered at Eastern Mennonite Seminary from May 5-6 for a two-day conference focused on exploration and learning. 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