Church Life

It’s official: Maranatha Christian Reformed Church of St. Catharines, Ontario, is no more. The church’s request to be allowed to disband after 65 years of ministry was approved at a special Classis Niagara meeting on April 9. It was a sad moment . . . .

I am pleading with pastors to tune in to this need for belonging. If, as a pastor, I visit someone during the week, that person will listen differently — more openly, more receptively — the following Sunday.

There is no doubt some link between the implosion of the CRCNA and the increase in pastor/church separations. But as elaborated in a CC article last year, the leadership crisis entails a multi-faceted phenomenon, involving the failing character and competence of pastors, congregational dysfunction and bullies, denominational issues and broader cultural shifts affecting expectations about leadership.

We investigated three main questions: Does your church charge for the use of its facilities? Does your pastor receive an honorarium, and if so how much? And is any other staff member remunerated? It quickly became clear that no Christian Reformed church is making a profit from funerals.