The 2023 AAAE Values document identifies nine broad areas to focus research and practice to address complex agricultural, food, and natural resources challenges. To do this good work, we need paradigms, frameworks, and methodologies to guide our thinking, scholarship, and practice. Systems-oriented paradigms enable us to solve problems collectively, propose holistic solutions, and tackle challenges at their cause rather than their symptom. The purpose of this theoretical manuscript is to invite AAAE scholars and practitioners to engage with systems-oriented paradigms when addressing complex AFNR challenges and to offer a resource for researchers and practitioners investigating complexity in AFNR systems. To accomplish this, we share three theoretical frameworks as entry points into systems-oriented paradigms. This work has implications for research and broader implications for the practice of scholarship in our discipline.