Title: Hamm reelected as Disciples general minister and president
Date: October 10, 1999
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: news@cm.disciples.org
99b-68
Cincinnati General Assembly
October 8-12, 1999
Cincinnati Convention Center
Room 233
(513) 784-6014
CINCINNATI (DNS) -- An Indianapolis man was re-elected, Oct. 10, to a six-year term as the leader of the Christian Church (Disciples Christ).
The Rev. Richard L. Hamm was overwhelmingly endorsed for a second term as general minister and president by the Disciples General Assembly. The decision-making body is meeting through Oct. 12 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He served from 1990 to 1993 as regional minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Tennessee. The church leader was senior minister of First Christian Church, Fort Wayne, Ind., from 1982 to 1990. He also has held pastorates in Missouri and Kansas.
Hamm holds a bachelor's and doctor of ministry degrees from Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary, both in Indianapolis. The Crawfordsville, Ind., native grew up in Florida, where he attended St. Petersburg Junior College.
Throughout his career Hamm has served in a variety of volunteer and executive leadership positions. He was named "Ecumenist of the Year" in 1993 in Tennessee and received the Model in Ministry Award in 1990 from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana. He also recently published a book, From Mainline to Front Line," which addresses the need for change in the Disciples of Christ.
The Rev. Richard L. Hamm and his spouse, Melinda Ann (Mindy), have a son, David, and a daughter, Laura.
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was founded in the early 1800s. The denomination has nearly 900,000 members in more than 3,800 congregations in the United States and Canada. Those churches are concentrated mainly in the Midwest and in Texas.
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