Recent Posting - News and Thought

Congregations and Taxes

"Congregations" and "taxes" are not words we’d normally associate with each other. But congregations do need to be aware of many tax-related issues.

Posted Jul 27 2010, 12:49 PM with

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“Summertime and the reading is easy.” Ah, my apologies to George Gershwin for rewording his song lyrics, but it is that season when many of us are taking a break and catching up on reading – both for fun and professionally.

Posted Jun 28 2010, 06:42 AM with

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Any Congregation Can

Rather than providing quick fixes, the Center for Congregations walks alongside congregations helping them to help themselves. Faith and Leadership recently posted a Q&A-style interview with Center President Tim Shapiro

Posted Jun 17 2010, 07:50 AM with

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Map Your Money

At a recent Center for Congregations workshop, leaders of the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving suggested that congregations can learn a lot by mapping their sources of donations.

Posted Jun 07 2010, 08:25 AM with

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Center's Education Program Reaches Statewide

In the past few months, the education program took on an even greater statewide character. For instance, events that are held in northern Indiana draw the attention of congregations in southern Indiana.

Posted Apr 19 2010, 06:19 AM with

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New Insights into Religion Website Introduced

Check out the Insights into Religion website! This new portal is a single source for religious research, articles and information from more than 20 sites supported by Lilly Endowment's Religion Division. The site will include contributions from the Center for Congregations website.

Posted Apr 09 2010, 09:35 AM with

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Lectionary Resource Can Help Congregations Reflect on Stewardship

For congregations following the lectionary, a new year has begun. For congregations preparing to close out the fiscal year, a new year is on the horizon. And for congregations practicing year-round stewardship

Posted Dec 07 2009, 07:51 AM with

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Your Congregation's Directory, with a Twist

The standard congregational pictorial directory has taken a page from today's popular social networking websites. Directory publisher Olan Mills now offers an alternative to the traditional church directory - the My Family Page Bio Directory.

Posted Dec 01 2009, 08:56 AM with

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Protect Your Congregation from Fraud and Embezzlement

Here in Central Indiana we have recently seen three rather public cases involving trusted church employees who embezzled large sums of money from their congregations. In at least one case, no one seems to have suspected anything amiss until the congregation ran out of money. How could this happen?

Posted Nov 23 2009, 08:26 AM with

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Preparing for the Flu and Other Emergencies

Being prepared can help congregations deal with the upcoming flu season, the H1N1 virus and other emergencies. Two free on-line articles explore precautions,

Posted Nov 12 2009, 09:41 AM with

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Multi-Site Congregations: A Resource List

The Center for Congregations is receiving more and more requests for resources related to multi-site churches. The multi-site church is defined as

Posted Oct 28 2009, 09:27 AM with

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Congregations Explore Sustainability and Earth Care

Congregations of all kinds are thinking about and acting on issues of sustainability and caring for God’s creation. On September 30, 2009, lay leaders from four Indianapolis congregations

Posted Oct 02 2009, 08:44 AM with

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Scheduling Software and Energy Savings

One of the latest twists in combining software features for congregations may be new capabilities added to the popular scheduling web-based service EventU. EventU Green, software that controls heating and cooling systems

Posted Jul 22 2009, 09:21 AM with

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Leap of Faith is a Success for Brownsburg Congregation

Church is the people within, not the building – members of Calvary United Methodist Church in Brownsburg were reminded of this in a big way as they worked through the challenges of building, relocating and ministering without a facility for more than a year.

Posted Jun 09 2009, 09:03 AM with

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Stewardship Resource Highlighted

Thinking about Stewardship? I recently read Ask, Thank, Tell: Improving Stewardship Ministry in Your Congregation by Charles R. Lane, and it strikes me as a great early summer read

Posted Jun 04 2009, 11:23 AM with

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On-Line Publications Focus on Economy and Congregations

In April, Leadership Network released a publication entitled How the Economic Slump is (or Isn’t) Hitting Churches. This resource is unique in that it reports Leadership Network’s survey research

Posted May 18 2009, 10:52 AM with

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The Effects of Electronic Culture

You may have heard professors, congregational leaders and TV preachers say, “the message always is the same; how we communicate it must change with the times.” They may be only half right. How we communicate may change the message itself in ways

Posted Apr 23 2009, 09:23 AM with

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Facing the Financial Crisis: 10 Smart Things Your Board Can Do Now

Congregations seeking to weather the current financial crisis may benefit from looking to the wider non-profit sector for advice.

Posted Apr 07 2009, 12:34 PM with

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Top Resource Picks

Check out the top resource picks from our most recent workshop presenters!

Posted Apr 07 2009, 10:23 AM with

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NE Congregations use Flourishing Tools

Thirteen northeast Indiana congregations received grants from the Center to help their leaders use the tools they learned at the Flourishing Congregations Summit. Grant recipients are:

Posted Feb 24 2009, 09:19 AM with

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Better Preaching and Better Listening

Since last September, seven congregational teams have faithfully participated in a long term learning opportunity. Over the course of seven months, these teams

Posted Feb 18 2009, 09:54 AM with

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Whole Brain Congregational Planning

At a Center learning event involving congregations engaged in a strategic planning process, participants were given a stack of 8 ½ by 11 pictures and asked to pick the one that best depicted the future they envision for their congregation.

Posted Jan 16 2009, 11:58 AM with

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Evansville Office Opens

The new Center for Congregations office in Evansville will serve the needs of congregations in southwest Indiana.

Posted Nov 10 2008, 01:23 PM with

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Exploring Technology

Workshop presenters Steve Clark and Daryl Cripe of Grace Community Church in Noblesville shared their best resource picks for congregations looking at the use of technology

Posted Oct 16 2008, 11:12 AM with

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Congregations Explore Marketing, Communications

When three central Indiana congregations decided to take a look at their communications and marketing processes, they found themselves on journeys of self-discovery. Read about their experiences in this edition of Congregational Stories.

Posted Aug 11 2008, 10:25 AM with

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