Weblog Menu

• News & Events
• Major Projects
  • Calvin Multicultural Climate Survey
  • Clergy & Public Affairs Survey
  • Christian Reformed Church Surveys
  • Kent County Congregations Study
  • West Michigan College Student Major Selection Survey
  • Youth Services Landscape Survey
  • Previous Projects
• Research at Calvin
  • Business
  • Calvin Institute for Christian Worship
  • CSR Staff
  • Economics
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Social Work
  • Sociology

Most recent entries

• “Community-Based Reforms of the Justice System”
• Reminder of our New Location
• “Clergy: Pay and Performance”
• Christian Reformed Church congregant survey report published
• Evangelical Speaker Mark Noll Coming to Calvin

Admin

• Member Login

“Community-Based Reforms of the Justice System”

CSR is pleased to sponsor a presentation by David LaGrand, Calvin graduate and current Grand Rapids City Commissioner.  Long interested in social justice issues, Commissioner LaGrand’s resume includes a law degree, working in the prosecutor’s office, and volunteering in the prison ministry program. A founder of the Restorative Justice Initiative (RJI) and advocate of the Restorative Justice approach to misdemeanors, including a “Fast Track Accountability Program” (FTAP), Commissioner LaGrand will discuss his part in reforming our local justice system.

Join us for information and a conversation about restorative justice in Grand Rapids:

Meeter Center Lecture Hall Thursday, November 19, 3:30 p.m.

Reminder of our New Location

Occasionally we find someone who does not know about our new location. Last year we moved across Burton St. into the Raybook Building. Please feel free to drop in for a visit and a cup of coffee.

Find your way with this map:
Sorry, this neat feature doesn’t work in Internet Explorer, but is too cool to drop for all that. Try Firefox!!

View Larger Map

“Clergy: Pay and Performance”

How does the interaction of faith and economic activity affect religious organizations? Becky Haney, Assistant Professor of Economics at Calvin College will present the results of her research in this area. Her specific research interests include an examination of the theological and economic implications for the clergy labor market as well as comparaing and contrasting the free market with the mission of Christian denominations.

CSR invites you to take part in the discussion:

Thursday October 22, 2009; 3:30 p.m. Meeter Center Lecture Hall, Calvin College Refreshments provided

Christian Reformed Church congregant survey report published

CSR has just released our report on the 2007-2008 "CRC 150th Anniversary Survey," titled Spiritual and Social Trends and Patterns in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. The report was co-authored with our esteemed "director emeritus" Rodger Rice. We all benefitted from tremendous support and cooperation from dozens of churches and the denominational leadership of the Christian Reformed Church in North America.

The report's main sections cover over-time trends from CRC surveys dating back to 1987; measures and explanations of congregational health; factors related to generous, stewardship-oriented giving to the church; and an analysis of respondents' comments.

The following resources are available:

• The CRCNA denominational research page, including coverage of this report.
• Full-color PDF of the 52-page report.
• The original online survey in English, Spanish and Korean.
• A full-text English version of the survey in Microsoft Word (largely unformatted).
• The original survey entry page and respondent FAQ and the survey coordinator information.
• A sample of the report format provided to all churches with at least 20 respondents (the actual church's name is redacted).

Here's a sample of the report's analysis, from Figure 13 on page 22 of the report. It shows the distribution of congregational health measures for churches with at least 20 respondents, sorted from healthiest to least healthy. Each colored square is a particular respondent's score on a highly reliable scale rating the congregation's health on 24 items representing 11 areas. The chart shows that there is substantial internal variation within churches, no matter how healthy they are--even the church with the healthiest score has some relatively disappointed congregants, and even the least healthy church has some fairly sanguine members.

Image created in Tableau 5.0.

Evangelical Speaker Mark Noll Coming to Calvin

Be sure to check out the upcoming lectures by Mark Noll at Calvin College.  The Henry Institute, the Nagel Institute, and the Calvin College History Department are co-sponsoring the events. Noll, a graduate of Wheaton College, will center his talk around one of his most recent books, entitled God and Race in American Politics.