Governance and Ministry: Rethinking Board Leadership
Dan Hotchkiss
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In Governance and Ministry, Alban Institute senior consultant Dan Hotchkiss offers congregational leaders a roadmap and tools for changing the way boards and clergy work together to lead congregations. Hotchkiss demonstrates that the right governance model is the one that best enables a congregation to fulfill its mission—to achieve both the outward results and the inward quality of life to which it is called.
Resources on governance for the nonprofit sector have burgeoned over the past decade, and this book translates some of what is most helpful from that world for clergy and lay leaders. It also recognizes that in some ways congregations are unique and need governance structures and processes different from those that work in other organizations. Leaders must continually balance the conserving function of an institution with the expectation of disruptive, change-inducing creativity that comes when individuals peek past the temple veil and catch fresh visions of the Holy.
Governance in congregations is not the science of achieving optimal results through organizational re-engineering. Governance is an expressive art, like preaching. The forms of our congregations must reflect the values and perceptions of the sacred at their heart. Congregations need skills and methods for negotiating “our way” of governance and for passing the torch effectively to new leaders.
Praise for the Book
“Many congregations are struggling to rethink and reorganize their governance and board structures. Alban consultant provides an excellent orientation for such rethinking that is based on ample experience in the field.” —Christian Century
“If our faith is held as a ‘treasure in earthen vessels,’ then it matters deeply how we use those vowels called congregations. Board, staff, and members need to fulfill their critical roles and align appropriately for mission. Dan Hotchkiss helps. He provides a rich mix of ideas, language, models, and steps to help congregations use leadership well. And Dan writes like he talks—engagingly, with wisdom, and skirted with humor.” —Gil Rendle, Senior Consultant, The Texas Methodist Foundation Institute for Clergy and Congregational Excellence
“Have you felt overwhelmed by the countless possible ways that exist to organize, govern, and manage a church? Dan Hotchkiss sorts out the issues and possibilities for us in this book and offers a practical, flexible, and timely way to explore governance change.” —Chuck Olsen, author of Transforming Church Boards into Communities of Spiritual Leaders
“Dan Hotchkiss is a premier church planning facilitator. In Governance and Ministry he articulates a methodology by which local churches can be energized and visionary—not in spite of old ways of doing business but because of new ones.” —Michael Brown, Senior Minister, Marble Collegiate Church, New York City
Reviews
Dan Hotchkiss, in his book Governance and Ministry: Rethinking Board Leadership, manages to combine missional theology, organizational know-how, and practical experience into a volume that will be of help to both parish leaders and congregational consultants. It is a book that is written by a man who knows what he is talking about through his work with a multitude of congregations over many years.
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Given the diversity of congregations and types of leadership structures he is addressing, Hotchkiss has written an excellent guide to good board practice. His proposals are judicious, his awareness of potential issues extensive, and his guidance for implementation wise. He has balanced well the spiritual work that church boards do and their responsibility to establish structures and practices that enable their work.
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About the Author
Dan Hotchkiss, author of Ministry and Money: A Guide for Clergy and Their Friends (Alban, 2002), is a Unitarian Universalist minister and a senior consultant for the Alban Institute. He speaks, writes, and consults widely on strategic and financial planning, congregational governance, clergy leadership, and social justice ministries.
ISBN# 978-1-56699-370-8
Alban No. AL370
paper, 249 pages
2009
In stock
$17.00
($13.60 for members)
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