Dan Hotchkiss, author and congregational consultant
Posted in Board governance, Clergy on Nov 20th, 2008
By law, board members are supposed to put the best interest of the church above all personal considerations — but how is that even possible? Board members in most churches play many other roles throughout the church, and many board decisions affect them and those they love. Potential conflicts of interest arise whenever a board [...]
Posted in Board governance, Congregations on Apr 21st, 2008
Comparisons are useful but tricky. New Testament writers compare the church to a human body, a herd of sheep, a bride, and a vineyard. Synagogues are often likened to a house, a tent, or an extended family. None of these analogies is meant to be exact or literal—a church may act in some ways like [...]
Posted in Clergy on Mar 1st, 2008
Q: Our minister has announced his retirement. During his long ministry, we have avoided most of the conflict about homosexuality raging in our national church. How can we look for a minister without dividing our congregation? A: Right now, several North American religious groups are sharply split about how and whether to accept gay clergy. [...]
Posted in Planning on Jan 28th, 2008
When churches plan, one of the things they often plan to do is grow. They have their reasons: the Great Commission, for one, and the fact that spreading the gospel is a main point of the congregation’s purpose. But when you get past polite chit-chat, other motives will assert themselves. For clergy, church growth is [...]
Posted in Board governance, Congregations, Finance on Nov 22nd, 2007
“Conflict of interest” is an ugly phrase, but it’s time to say it, lay it on the table, and deal with it as a normal part of life. Everybody who is not a hermit manages conflicting interests all the time. Congregations’ awkwardness and silence on the subject only makes us vulnerable. Many congregations accept practices [...]
Posted in Finance, Social ministry on Sep 3rd, 2007
Reporting on a ravaged Mississippi town on the Gulf coast, the Associated Press said that “Katrina clobbered the rich and poor alike.” A cliché repeated often enough slips past the brain into the heart. We like the idea that in times of disaster all stand equally in awe before the powers that beset us. The [...]
Posted in Congregations on Aug 20th, 2007
Once in a while an article seems to strike a nerve, and continues to be read and requested for years. Here are some of mine that have made the biggest splash: The Stewardship of Risk Taking risks is just as much a part of stewardship as thrift. What is the Mission of “Missions”? Most congregations [...]
Posted in Board governance, Congregations on Aug 2nd, 2007
Here’s a list of some of the books and other resources I have found most helpful and provocative as I have thought about how congregations can best organize their boards, clergy, staff, and volunteers to envision and carry out powerful ministries: BoardSource. Many resources available at www.boardsource.org. Carver, John, and Miriam Mayhew Carver, Reinventing Your [...]
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, 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 [...]