The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC) is not a large denomination, but its members are certainly givers. Recent research indicates that CRC members give an average of 6.1 percent of their income to their church.
Smaller than the traditional 10 percent, sure, but "dramatically higher than other Protestant denomination's giving" according to Christianity Today's analysis.
What's the secret? Researcher and consultant Rodger Rice credits positive public expectations for giving from CRC churches, as well as encouragement to give to worthy causes outside the local church. But he also notes that the CRC doesn't mandate a certain level of giving. They also recognize that "money follows mission," and that the "best way to encourage giving is to focus on congregants' spiritual development."
According to Christianity Today's Abby Stocker, a recent "CRC report found that those who were 'daily nourished' by prayer, Bible reading, and similar practices gave 7.7 percent of their income, compared to 5.9 percent for those who were 'undernourished.'"
"Generosity," Rice said, "is just a natural outcome of spiritual health."
—From Christianity Today
True Worship Is Not Transactional
"We [Americans] interpret everything through a lens of pragmatism, through a transactional understanding of the world. Many of us come to church Sunday after Sunday with an expectation of receiving something … But God does not exist to be useful. God exists to be adored, simply because of who he is. True worship is never transactional. True worship expects nothing in return. True worship is, at its core, an act of senseless, wasteful, indulgent beauty."
—Skye Jethani, from a sermon at Newsong Church in Irvine, CA. Watch it on Out Of Ur (search for the title above).
What's a Parse?
Our "Currents" section has a new look. And it's more than just a facelift. Beginning with the issue you're holding, we're bringing our various takes on ministry and culture, in print and online, under a new name: PARSE.
You seminarians understand what parsing is. It's analyzing a word or sentence, breaking it down and understanding its particular meaning in its context. We believe Christian leaders are called to exegete Scripture and culture. Like Barth famously said, we need to read with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper (or tablet) in the other.
In addition to being a new section in each issue of Leadership Journal, we've launched a PARSE newsletter. Sign up at: christianitytoday.com/lyris/parse/subscribe.html. It's a fresh, creative bi-weekly dispatch on ministry and culture. And this fall our blog, Out of Ur, gets a sharp new look and URL: parsemagazine.com.
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