Dan Hotchkiss, author and congregational consultant
Posted in Board governance, Staff, Synagogues on Jul 27th, 2007
I’ve been working for some time on a diagram to express some of themes about congregational governance. Partly to get feedback, and partly as a test of the whole process of uploading, here it is. At some future point I’ll post a commentary, but even without that I would be interested to hear what you [...]
Posted in Board governance, Clergy, Strategic planning on Jul 19th, 2007
Around the board table, each leader brings a point of view rooted in subcultures he or she belongs to. Subcultures of sex, race, age, and nationality are often recognized. The Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator can help a group to acknowledge and “normalize” such differences. We have barely yet begun to see how powerful our occupational subcultures [...]
Posted in Board governance on Jun 21st, 2007
My next book, due out in the spring of 2008, will be called “Ministry Together: The Art of Governance in Congregations.” Or not–I would welcome any thoughts you may have about a better title. Why “Ministry Together”? Well, consider the alternatives:
Ministry Apart. This approach has a long history, and takes many forms. Ministry [...]
Posted in Board governance on Apr 1st, 2007
Q: Our board spends too much time reviewing and approving work that should be done by staff and committees. We know we shouldn’t micromanage, but we can’t seem to help it. How can we change?
A: You have a lot of company. Most boards criticize themselves for “micromanaging” and rightly so. This happens because tiny [...]
Posted in Board governance on Apr 1st, 2007
The envelope please! Runner-up for Most Influential Book as rated by American clergy is…
“Ladies and gentlemen, will it be a book on spiritual practices? Biblical studies? The ever-popular ‘How to Blame Lay Leaders’? No, the topic of the second most important book this year is [drum roll] congregational administration!”
Who’d have thought it? For many [...]
Posted in Board governance, Strategic planning on Mar 1st, 2006
Few projects excite and galvanize a congregation more than a new building or a major renovation. People complain about construction delays, capital campaigns, and the general din and dust, but their blood pumps, their wallets loosen, and their enthusiasm rises. Lyle Schaller went so far as to generalize that congregations that build capital are happier [...]
Posted in Board governance on Jun 13th, 2005
Most board members know micromanaging is bad. Boards criticize themselves all the time for long meetings, trivial agenda items, and an inability to delegate: “We should be making policy, not managing the operation.” Staff and volunteers chafe at the need to bring projects back to the board at each point along the way. [...]