INDIANAPOLIS — Saying he does not have the energy to continue in his job, the top executive of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) said he will resign his post this fall, two years before his 12-year term expires.
Richard L. Hamm, general minister and president of the 800,000-member church, said the church needs a leader who can take a “fundamentally new look” at how to move the denomination forward.
“I have neither the time in office nor the reserve of energy necessary to lead Disciples in the kind of change we now must make to move boldly forward to the vision before us,” Hamm said Feb. 26 in a letter to the church.
Hamm said he has completed the work he was called to when he was elected to the post in 1993. Hamm is widely credited with soothing differences in the church, helping to battle institutional racism and launching the Disciples on an aggressive church-planting campaign.
The Disciples have started more than 100 new churches in the past two years, up from an annual average of five or six in previous years. The goal is to start 1,000 new congregations by 2020.
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