Great insights on adaptive change

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Product Description

Mainline denominations in the United States are in crisis. These institutions-created in and for modernity-are now facing a changed, postmodern culture. Hamm faces the crisis, examining its origins, and offers sound advice on how to lead to church to make the adaptive changes needed to thrive in postmodern times.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #252725 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 130 pages

From the Publisher
This book is part of the Columbia Partnership Leadership Series. The TCP Leadership Series is an inspiration- and wisdom-sharing vehicle of The Columbia Partnership, a community of Christian leaders seeking to transform the capacity of the North American Protestant church to pursue and sustain vital Christ-centered ministry.

From the Back Cover
"Dick Hamm asks an essential-and deeply faithful-question of the church: Where are we going? Then, through analysis and insight into both past and future, and with an unwavering commitment to the mission of the church, Hamm points us in the right directions, where God's Spirit is at work, where lives are being transformed and communities are finding healing and hope. It's a road map all of us in the mainline church should have...and a journey we all ought to be joining."
-Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary, Reformed Church in America

"The 'perfect storm' in mainline denominations has stirred a need for deep change. Dick Hamm clarifies the factors that make up the 'storm' and gives us a clear view of how the church has lived through its history in a way that has contributed to the present status of the mainline church. In this text, he helps us see where we've been and gets us headed out of 'the storm' and into a readiness for change."
-Dani Loving Cartwright, regional minister and president, Christian Church (DOC)

About the Author
Dick Hamm served as General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada from 1993 to 2003. He is a founding partner and president of The Columbia Partnership and has written and spoken extensively on the subject of church renewal and is bringing that knowledge to bear on congregations and other church organizations through consulting and coaching. He is the author of two other books, 2020 Vision for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and From Mainline to Front Line.

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Customer Reviews

A Mainline Manifesto
It's no secret: Mainline Protestantism has suffered dramatically in membership losses and influence these past few decades. Where once Mainline denominations were the dominant force in American religious life, others have taken their place. Whether or not that's to change is yet to be seen.

Richard Hamm offers the Mainline churches a manifesto that calls on these historic churches to essentially seize the day and embrace the future. Hamm writes as one who has experienced all levels of church leadership. He has served as a local pastor, a middle judicatory, and head of a national denomination. Soon he will take on a new role as the first Executive Director of "Christian Churches Together."

So it can be said that this is a person who knows his subject well. The book is written to leaders of congregations, regional bodies, and national bodies. He speaks from his own experience - both the positives and the negatives (he retired early from his second term as General Minister and President of the Disciples of Christ). From that experience he has discerned a new way forward, one that is "missional" in orientation.

He calls for change in the churches, but it's substantive change that he's calling for, not just rearranging the chairs on the deck of a sinking ship. He challenges leaders to move from management to mission, from being CEO's and caregivers to being pioneers and change agents.

At the center of this manifesto is Hamm's concern for preserving the core values of the Mainline churches in the face of challenges from secularism and fundamentalism. The problem, as he sees it, is that the structures that developed over the years have become obsolete and they prevent the church from adapting to the cultural context in which it lives. By embracing the "missional church" idea Hamm is less interested in quick fixes, but rather calls for long term reinvention of the church so that the Mainline values can be preserved and can influence not just the religious context but the world context.

The choice of the word "postmodern" in the subtitle is key, for this book is written with this changing dynamic in mind. What worked then, in the days before 1968 (and Hamm places the dividing line at 1968, which interestingly is the date of Disciple Restructure). In this postmodern world change will come not via democracy, which has been a hallmark of the Disciples decision making, but through discernment and consensus. It takes longer and is messy, but in the long run Hamm believes it is more effective. Leaders in this new environment must become a "non-anxious presence" rather than an "anxious non-presence." That is, the way ahead will require of us, a willingness to brave an unknown world while remaining non-anxious.

What makes the way forward difficult, and Hamm is very aware of this, is generational differences. Mainliners have been pretty good about dealing with racial and gender issues - at least at the national levels - but it's quite clear from counting the "gray heads" in many congregations, that generational differences are what will determine the future. Much of our congregational leadership came of age during World War II and just afterward, and they are, Hamm says, a generation of joiners. They joined churches and lodges, but later generations haven't followed suite, which is born out in declining numbers in lodges and services organizations as well as churches. So, if the church is to move forward, it must taken notice of these generational shifts. Baby Boomers have made their mark, but the future lies in the Millennials, those coming of age now. This is a generation that is more progressive and concerned about things that Mainliners are concerned about. But their focus is different and they must be attended to.

So, what are the values that the Mainline lifts up? First, there is the witness to the relationship of faith and reason. The mind and the spirit belong together, and this is a hallmark of the Mainline that Hamm sees being challenged by a creeping fundamentalism. Second, Mainline schools educate rather than indoctrinate. They allow freedom to explore and dissent - critical thinking is encouraged. Third, the Mainline perspective encourages the development of a world view that "analyzes reality both in terms of individuals and systems." Sin, in essence takes on both individual and systemic form, and ultimately it is the systems that must be changed for progress to be made. Fourth, Mainline perspectives seek to be inclusive (though this is always a struggle) of persons, especially women and people of color. With regard to sexual orientation, a matter Hamm doesn't speak to here, the Mainline is still struggling to know what to do. Finally, in terms of overseas involvements, the Mainline seeks to partner with indigenous people rather than deal with them in colonial fashion.

Our calling is simple - we are called to rediscover our core values and then move from maintenance to mission. We can do this be establishing new congregations and revitalizing older ones. There is no one way of doing things, and so this isn't a prescription as much as an encouragement to take the first steps to becoming not who we were in the 1950s, but who we are to become by the grace of God today and tomorrow.

This isn't a long book, but it's an important one. That it's written by someone who has tasted leadership in all of the churches various forms is beneficial. It's an honest book; one that was forged in the midst of difficult times. But, it's not a bitter book; rather it is a hopeful one. For that reason, it's a book that must be read - and quickly, for there is no time to waste. We must remember, as the author tells us, that this is not a journey to be taken alone, but rather it must be taken with God as the guide and sustenance for the journey.

Dr. Robert Cornwall
Pastor, First Christian Church of Lompoc
Editor, Sharing the Practice

A leadership book from a substantial leader
Richard Hamm understands church leadership from the inside out. He currently serves as the first executive leader for the broadest-based ecumenical collaboration in the US, Christian Churches Together. Before that, he was the General Minister and President of a mainline denomination. Before that, he served as a regional minister (a middle judicatory pastor, a bishop), and before that as a gifted congregational pastor and a new church planter. Dr. Hamm understands churches. He understands leadership. And he knows what makes people tick.

This book reveals both Hamm's incisive perception and his love for the church. It will be most helpful for established church leaders (both clergy and lay) who are trying to make effective shifts in the current, chaotic cultural climate. Hamm's perceptions will enrich your understanding. Recreating the Church will give you hope and help you start taking steps toward transformation.

It's About Context
This excellent resource for ministry in congregatons covers the bases. It is a book about context. The context for congregational ministries both empowers and limits the work of a congegation. Dr. Hamm has offered dozens of ways of analyzing the context for mainline congregations in this first part of the 21st Century. His writing is both informational and inspirational. He helps people in congregations understand the cultural and social changes that have reshaped the context for congregational ministry. When congregations use this book to understand the world in which they do ministry, they will be much better equipped to alter what they are doing to be more effective. I highly recommend this book for pastors and lay leaders in congregations. It will serve as a great conversation partner as you imagine new ways to be church in the North American context in the 21st Century.
Dan Moseley, Professor of Practical Parish Ministry