Kristen Vanderberg

I love the historic hymns that we sing during Holy Week.  One of my favourites is, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" written in 1707. That means that Christians have been singing it at Easter for 310 years!  While Easter is deeply personal (Christ died for me) it is also universal.  I love feeling connected to the church of all times and places during this week.

I'm so excited to see how God will continue to use both of these ministries for His Kingdom.  My prayers are with you, Reggie, as you take on this new role.  I pray that God will give you wisdom and discernment as you juggle the mandates of both offices and as you work to integrate them when appropriate.  My prayers are also with all of your staff.  Change - even good change - is always tricky during the time of transition.

Thanks for your excellent post, Elaine.  As Director of Communications and Marketing for the CRCNA, I'm curious about why discussions about a church's identity led to a decision to get rid of the denominational identification?  This question isn't a judgment.  I think a lot of churches have reached the same conclusion. They feel that getting rid of the "Christian Reformed" part of their name somehow makes them more appealing. I'm just curious what the term "Christian Reformed" seems to communicate to the public that makes us want to avoid it?  Why has it become so appealing to appear non-denominational? 

Thanks Elaine and Herb for your helpful responses.  As I said, I've seen a lot of CRC churches go the same route.  Some have gotten rid of their "Christian Reformed" middle name altogether (many replacing it with a new middle name of "community").  Some have decreased the size and prominence of "Christian Reformed" but continue to add it as a tagline ("a Christian Reformed ministry"). Others exclude it from the name and signage but do nod to their CRC heritage in the "about us" or "what we believe" sections of their website.  

Your explanations about the reasons behind this make a lot of sense. Churches should want to be more inclusive and accessible. If our names are a hurdle that block people from walking through our doors, then we should humble ourselves and change them. 

The flip side, however, is that when more and more churches remove their denominational name, it becomes harder and harder for people to understand what we're all about.  Herb mentioned that people don't understand the term "Christian Reformed" and think that it might be related to prison ministry.  How can we help the term have meaning when we use it less and less?

I'd love for the term "Christian Reformed" to become synonymous in our broad culture with a people called by God to live a life dedicated to faith formation, servant leadership, gospel proclamation, worship, mercy, justice and mission. I wonder how we can better build up that understanding when we downplay the words. 

Then again, maybe we need to humble ourselves and not worry about how well our denominational name is known or understood, but just focus on how well Christ is known and understood. 

Welcome Chong!  Given your background in campus ministry, I think you could offer a great editorial on Young Adults and the future of our denomination.  Another topic that I'm passionate about and would love to see explored further is how we use our language (and social media) to really isolate each other.  We tend to surround ourselves with people who are like us and then slam those who think differently.  Has this hurt our ability to learn from each other and change?

Here's another interesting CRC response to this crisis.  This one was written by CRC pastor, Bruce Adema, and first appeared in the Hamilton Spectator:  

http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/7093464-faith-matters-hope-in-dark-days/

Welcome Sarah! We are so glad to have you here. I look forward to seeing the Network community thrive under your leadership. Oh, and nice pic of Austria. 

Staci, thank you so much for all you've done for the Network over the past 8 years (and your two years in other roles before that). You have been such a blessing, and I will truly miss working with you. The community that is The Network has been formed, in large part, by your gentle leadership and servant-hearted approach to helping others. While you can never be replaced, I am praying that that community will continue to flourish with whomever next steps into the role. And please know that you are welcome to blog here any time :)