https://network.crcna.org/ The Network en Fri, 19 Apr 2024 21:35:18 +0000 Tue, 20 Oct 2015 17:27:49 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/who-does-classis-serve In one classis where I’d served, most of our attention and energy was focused elsewhere. This was a time of great turmoil in the Christian Reformed Church. Issues were being hotly debated and a few leading members of classis were intensely interested in the outcome of these debates.&nbs Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/who-does-classis-serve Tue, 20 Oct 2015 17:27:49 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/trusting-spirit A comment made about the process for selecting the executives of Synod 2015 stood out to me. In response to the news that choosing by lot had been part of the selection process, someone commented that it was good to see that we are learning to trust the Spirit just a little. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/trusting-spirit Tue, 11 Aug 2015 18:34:59 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/weighing-classical-exams I observed a classical exam recently. There is nothing unusual about that. Over the last ten years, classis Chatham has conducted more than fifteen exams. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/weighing-classical-exams Tue, 30 Jun 2015 13:34:39 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/classical-appointment-endangered-species The classical appointment might be an endangered species. If you are unfamiliar with the term because this practice, also known as classical pulpit supply, has already gone extinct in your area, a classical appointment was one way churches in a region helped each other. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/classical-appointment-endangered-species Fri, 22 May 2015 14:14:54 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/clear-decks Something I once read suggested that organizations should periodically clear the decks, disband every committee, and run lean for a season before asking what structures are really needed to carry out the mission of the organization. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/clear-decks Wed, 29 Apr 2015 13:44:52 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/long-pastorates-old-problem “The extremely long pastorates of our day...place a great strain on many a congregation and especially upon its minister.” That comment may sound familiar, but it is not new.  I came across it while browsing through an old church order commentary (yes, I do know how that sounds). Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/long-pastorates-old-problem Tue, 14 Apr 2015 13:50:05 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/diakonia-redux-will-deacons-get-voice I am not sure I’ve ever heard a deacon speak up at classis. Though deacons have been delegated to Classis Chatham for seven years, I’d be hard pressed to identify how their presence has affected the meetings of classis. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/diakonia-redux-will-deacons-get-voice Tue, 07 Apr 2015 14:19:54 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/break-it A number of years ago, I was a guest at a Presbytery meeting. Never having attended a meeting like this before, I was a little surprised to find that after the opening worship this presbytery broke up into committees. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/break-it Thu, 12 Mar 2015 19:50:35 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/one-hundred Is 100 members the threshold for congregational viability?   Harry Boessenkool says as much in a response to "Does Classis Help Churches". Citing some statistics about the number of Christian Reformed Churche Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/one-hundred Thu, 19 Feb 2015 21:10:44 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/self-diagnosis-and-church-visiting “I doubt that church visiting is very effective anymore.” Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/self-diagnosis-and-church-visiting Fri, 06 Feb 2015 15:58:54 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/brief-guide-church-visiting The attached guide, created by a Pastor Church Resources team called Better Together, is intended as a quick summary of the CRCNA's Guide to Conducting Church Visiting, with a focus on building healthy relationships between congregations and pastors.   Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/brief-guide-church-visiting Thu, 05 Feb 2015 20:00:20 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/does-classis-help-churches I was visiting a church council as part of a classical visioning process.  Our Classis had asked each church council to participate in an appreciate inquiry about classis.  While there, it became clear that few members could remember a time when their church felt engaged and motivated b Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/does-classis-help-churches Fri, 30 Jan 2015 21:32:14 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/me In the last couple of weeks I have seen “Like us on Facebook” on the signs of two different churches and a truck dealership. Am I just old, or is there something odd about that? Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/me Tue, 16 Dec 2014 16:48:03 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/classical-consultants Years ago I needed some advice and I called to talk to a Home Missions regional leader. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/classical-consultants Tue, 09 Dec 2014 14:20:24 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/why-staff I once interviewed with a church search committee as part of a calling process. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/why-staff Tue, 02 Dec 2014 14:10:13 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/what-again I once got to fly to classis meetings. Along with other delegates from my area, I’d get up long before dawn on a Friday morning to catch an early flight.  After landing we’d be shuttled to a church in time for the meeting which typically lasted over two days. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/what-again Sun, 26 Oct 2014 21:55:05 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/classis-and-smaller-church A delegation from a Lutheran church visited me when I was a pastor in South Dakota. Their building had burned down and they wanted to look at the structure we had recently completed. While they did, the pastor asked me how many churches I currently served. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/classis-and-smaller-church Wed, 15 Oct 2014 21:04:13 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/woods My one and only foray as a synodical deputy (I was an alternate) took me deep into the woods of Northern Minnesota, where the classis now known as Lake Superior was meeting at a conference grounds. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/woods Tue, 07 Oct 2014 19:05:41 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/cascadia-and-christmas-trees I recently ran across an article describing Cascadia, which is described as a bio-region that includes parts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/cascadia-and-christmas-trees Mon, 08 Sep 2014 13:18:29 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/connection Back in the tumultuous 90s a pastor in the Classis I was then part of started musing about the possibility of the whole Classis leaving the Christian Reformed Church. This might have just been a stray remark, the conversation certainly didn’t go anywhere, but it still unsettled me. Norman Visser https://network.crcna.org/topic/leadership/classis/connection Tue, 02 Sep 2014 14:55:24 +0000