DH-01 - About Dick Hamm

Richard L. Hamm was born in Indiana and raised in Florida. He returned to Indiana to attend Butler University (B.A. Religion, 1970) and Christian Theological Seminary (Dr. of Ministry, 1974). Dick is an ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and served congregations for 25 years in Indiana, Kansas and Missouri. He received the "Model Minister" Award from the Indiana Region in 1990. He has served in rural, exurban, urban and suburban settings and has been an associate minister, founding pastor of a new church, and senior minister of a multiple staff. He has twice been recognized for mediating settlements in school districts and thus averting teachers' strikes.

Dick served as regional minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Tennessee (1990-1993) and was named "Tennessee Ecumenist of the Year" in 1993. He 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 the author of three books, 2020 Vision for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and From Mainline to Front Line and Recreating The Church: Leadership For The Post-Modern Age. He lectures and teaches Disciples Polity at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. He served as a trustee of Christian Theological Seminary for 10 years and recently completed service as a trustee of the Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley). He is chair of the National City Christian Church Foundation Board, He is now serving as Executive Director for Christian Churches Together in the USA, a new and very broad ecumenical organization that includes communions from five "families": Mainline Protestants, Historic Black Churches, Evangelicals/Pentecostals, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox as well as several Christian organizations including Bread For The World, Evangelicals for Social Action, Habitat For Humanity, Sojourners, World Vision, and the American Bible Society. See www.ChristianChurchesTogether.org.

Dick is a former member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches and a former Vice President of the National Council of Churches in the U.S.A. He has preached from Brisbane to Beijing and Geneva. He holds eight honorary degrees (Bethany College, Butler University, Chapman University, Christian Theological Seminary, Eureka College, Lynchburg College, Phillips University, and Transylvania University). In 2000, he participated in the Jubilee Celebration in Rome at the invitation of Pope John Paul II.

He has written and spoken extensively on the subject of church renewal and transformation and coaches and consults with congregations, middle judicatories, denominational agencies and other church organizations. Dick is a Ministry Colleague of The Columbia Partnership www.TheColumbiaPartnership.org .

Dick and Mindy live in Indianapolis. They have two adult children and four grandchildren (all geniuses). Dick also enjoys astronomy.