ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
November 9, 2025
As I have been meeting with the Board and Staff of the Christian Church Foundation, I must confess feeling a bit awestruck by these folks—smart, talented, insightful, and often raising good questions about things that slid right past me. At one point in the meeting, I was sitting next to Matt Rosine, the President of CCF, and I said, “You have surrounded yourself with some amazingly skilled people.” Of course, I would put Matt in that group as well. If you don’t know, CCF helps churches with endowments and individuals with estate planning, charitable trusts, and ways of thinking about legacy giving. Each year, CCF distributes millions of dollars for ministry to local congregations and partners within our denomination. It is quite extraordinary to serve on a Board making such an important contribution to the ministry of Jesus Christ. Yes, it is a Board Meeting with minutes, reports, resolutions, votes, charts, graphs, and other business. Yet at the end of the day, we hear the story of some person’s conversation about legacy more than 25 years ago coming to fruition through an endowment that today is paying the tuition for young people to go to church camp every year. Or maybe it is a permanent fund created by a couple who loved their church and wanted to make sure their annual pledge would be paid even after their death. I get to hear the stories, and, in some small way, participate in making sure the Christian Church Foundation remains strong and committed to its primary purpose of supporting the ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
For all those who see generosity beyond the moment, we convey our gratitude to you, O God who first inspired generosity. Amen.
