Dan Hotchkiss, author and congregational consultant
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, 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 [...]
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 Apart [...]
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 [...]
Posted in Planning on Mar 19th, 2007
Years ago a bright Yale student asked me how I would describe the difference between a church and any other charitable group. I gave the sort of answer most of us might give: I emphasized the church’s unique life-transforming mission and its special responsibility to treasure and transmit precious traditions across generations.It was a good [...]
Posted in Congregations on Feb 12th, 2007
To succeed, a congregation needs a lot of people to show up regularly, give generously, and work hard. Why do they do it? It’s a pressing question for religious leaders, especially in communities where religious participation is no longer a strong norm, or where paid work levies an increasing tax on every household’s time. Leaders [...]
