https://network.crcna.org/ The Network en Tue, 16 Apr 2024 21:09:59 +0000 Tue, 16 Aug 2022 13:13:45 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/um-church-heres-memo-you-missed This is awkward, but your church missed a memo. Maybe it never got sent or, well, your church just missed it. Either way, what matters is you’re here now and I have a memo to show you. Ready for it? Here goes... Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/um-church-heres-memo-you-missed Tue, 16 Aug 2022 13:13:45 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/want-stronger-givers Growing giving is harder than a day-old biscuit from Cracker Barrel. But you already know this. Givers get stuck. Indeed, it’s one of ministry’s most elusive challenges: helping givers grow their generosity. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/want-stronger-givers Mon, 18 Jul 2022 17:51:48 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/if-its-not-given-cheerfully-keep-it Cheerful giving is the gospel. It’s an emblem of God’s happy plan of redemption through Christ Jesus. To restore us and our world, God didn’t hold back with a grimace but joyfully went all-in. That’s giving. That’s God. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/if-its-not-given-cheerfully-keep-it Tue, 28 Jun 2022 13:33:29 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/i-want-tesla-wrong I’ll never own a Tesla. Truth is, if there’s ever to be an electric vehicle in my future, it’ll have to be a Kia or Hyundai. But I still want a Tesla. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/i-want-tesla-wrong Tue, 14 Jun 2022 13:08:29 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/planned-giving-made-easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy Yes, I do like saying “easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.” But like most people, I also like it when seemingly difficult tasks are made, you know: easy-peasy and…lemon-squeezy. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/planned-giving-made-easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy Tue, 17 May 2022 14:15:12 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/announcing-abraham-kuyper-christian-leadership-fund Thanks to the generous estate gift from the Rimmer and Ruth De Vries family, the Abraham Kuyper Christian Leadership Fund has been established at Barnabas Foundation to advance the Reformed world and life view as taught and lived by Abraham Kuyper. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/announcing-abraham-kuyper-christian-leadership-fund Tue, 12 Apr 2022 14:14:06 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/mistake-you-cant-afford-make-when-it-comes-giving Not all giving is the same. Obvious? Maybe to some; but not for most. This is especially true for churches, because giving is most often framed by the annual budget. It’s simple -- no matter the size or kind, any gift made toward the year-end goal gets lumped together. It’s all giving. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/mistake-you-cant-afford-make-when-it-comes-giving Mon, 04 Apr 2022 15:33:25 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/it-okay-if-your-church-lives-paycheck-paycheck “My church has a ‘paycheck to paycheck’ mentality.” This is how a church treasurer recently described to me the way his church makes its budget each year. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/it-okay-if-your-church-lives-paycheck-paycheck Mon, 21 Feb 2022 19:16:10 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/open-hands-open-hearts-record-breaking-generosity-2021 Thanks to the generosity of God’s people, Barnabas Foundation recorded an unprecedented volume of giving in 2021, breaking all previous years’ records for gifts received and distributed through the Foundation. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/open-hands-open-hearts-record-breaking-generosity-2021 Tue, 08 Feb 2022 00:11:24 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/how-be-freed-good-life-trap Ah, the good life—starting each and every day by shuffling barefoot out to the beach, just a few steps from your back door. There’s nothing to do (ever), and not a single care in the world belongs to you. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/how-be-freed-good-life-trap Mon, 10 Jan 2022 21:48:20 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/wanna-buy-pig-poke Impulse buying has been a thing since, well. . . since people could buy things. Regardless of time or place, people have been paying too much for stuff they have no business buying. Sound familiar? Yeah, me too. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/wanna-buy-pig-poke Tue, 16 Nov 2021 16:19:04 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/when-church-members-dont-give Giving is a miracle. It’s the inevitable result of abiding in Christ. It’s not an obligation, or even an option. It’s just evidence of new life in Jesus. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/when-church-members-dont-give Sun, 24 Oct 2021 17:59:07 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/how-should-you-give-its-location-location-location Location. Location. Location. Almost everyone knows the meaning of this famous real estate maxim. Real estate values are determined by location. The more desirable the location, the higher the asking price. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/how-should-you-give-its-location-location-location Mon, 20 Sep 2021 23:53:26 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/dirty-money-and-what-god-wants Dirty money. It’s not just a Netflix series about corporate corruption. It’s the headline some believers apply to money. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/dirty-money-and-what-god-wants Thu, 12 Aug 2021 01:03:20 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/what-its-really-have-it-all Know a person who “has it all”? Got a name? A face? What else can be said about a person who only gets green lights and open doors? It seems they always have more followers, dollars and points than you. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/what-its-really-have-it-all Thu, 03 Jun 2021 17:56:53 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/giving-coyote-life “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (John 6:27, NIV) Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/giving-coyote-life Thu, 22 Apr 2021 15:28:06 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/friendships-and-kingdom-service If you want to catch the Ottens, you’d better call early in the morning. Each at the age of 90, Roger and Audrey are on the move every day. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/friendships-and-kingdom-service Wed, 07 Apr 2021 16:21:14 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/why-its-hard-rich-enter-kingdom “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:23, NIV) Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/why-its-hard-rich-enter-kingdom Wed, 03 Mar 2021 14:42:11 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/when-theres-too-much-collection-plate "And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.” (Exodus 36:6-7, NIV) Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/when-theres-too-much-collection-plate Tue, 16 Feb 2021 16:01:25 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/becoming-giver-being-saver This is the story of how a Stewards Fund serves the Vander Kooi family.  Joel and Vivian Vander Kooi were clearly cut out for one another. Phillip Leo https://network.crcna.org/topic/finance/contributions/becoming-giver-being-saver Wed, 03 Feb 2021 14:59:00 +0000