2020 Vision for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

by Richard L. Hamm

Book Overview

Where are the Disciples going in the first twenty years of the new millennium, and how will they get there? In this book, the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) shares his vision for his denomination, lifting up three marks of a faithful church: a deep Christian spirituality, true community, and a passion for justice.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0827236379
• ISBN13: 9780827236370
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Chalice Press
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Do you see what I see...

Richard Hamm is the recently retired General Minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a position he held for about a decade. He recently described his role in that position not so much as an administrator or dogmatic leader, but rather as someone who is called to provide a vision for the denomination into the future. Vision is a word bandied about by corporate types and organisational theorists, but often remains murky in definition and application. The first two chapters of this text develop the most important part of a foundation for valid vision - the context and present situation. Hamm explores the context of the church, from within and within a broader society. He also sets the context for what vision involves - spiritual renewal, institutional renewal, and ultimate transformation. The vision not only sees, it has intention, the intention of being made real. Hamm called for primary elements of this vision to fall along the lines of developing true and faithful community, a deepening spirituality, and a passion for justice. All of these sound wonderful, but become difficult to put into practice. For example, what constitutes justice to one person or one congregation may not be the same for another. All three aspects - community, spirituality, justice - require people to leave their comfort zones and embrace a higher ideal. As church folk, that should be part and parcel of the call from baptism and membership, right?The second primary section deals with `getting from here to there'. The first chapter calls upon people to be agents for change, but with careful intention and proper discernment. Discernment is a specific process that involves all voices in the community, and does not arrive at easy answers or simple majority-rule decisions. Hamm draws on modern ideas of leadership theory and tempers this with spiritual practices for ministers and others in the church. The second chapter in this section carefully shows the physical projections (charts with age of clergy, etc.) and incorporates the principles of vision (I see the church as...) to make the case for Hamm's vision.There are two appendices - one on denominational questions generally (the Disciples having a strong ecumenical history often concerns itself with general questions about denominationalism), and one on polity issues. These bring up important questions for discussion as the vision of the church continues to grow.This is a very accessible book, an interesting read for Disciples in particular, but also more generally for those interested in the ideas of Christian direction and polity in North America in the coming years.

Excellent read

I agree with Diana that the book well written and gives a sobering account of the future of Proestants and the Disciples of Christ, in particular. Not a hard read at all!

A view into the 21st century in mainline Protestantism

This is a readable book that is hard to put down if you are interested in the future of Christianity. Hamm helps us understand the differences in how various generations approach organized religion. He states that North America is the area of the world most in need of missionary work at this time. Even though his focus is the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), I think most of the book is relevant to all the mainline Protestant denominations. I am a lay person interested in this topic and found the book quite understandable.