Thom S. Rainer

Latest

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  Jul 12, 2019

  10 things pastors should know about church shoppers

  For those in church leadership, this pattern of members deciding to leave is far too common and almost always painful. Here are a few observations from both the Church Answers’ community and me.

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  Jul 9, 2019

  Is the multisite church movement still growing?

  Not everyone likes or embraces the multisite movement; but it is hard for anyone to deny its growth and paradigmatic impact. I will add to this conversation with six updates about the movement.

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  Jul 7, 2019

  Healthy churches in 2029: 10 major changes in 10 years

  In the blink of an eye, ten years will pass. The pace of change is staggering, and there is no reason to believe the pace will slow down.

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  Jul 5, 2019

  6 things to know about church summer slumps

  “I hate summer attendance!” That sentence came from a pastor whose church is consistently down in attendance in the summer.

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  Jul 2, 2019

  10 common responses from fired pastors

  In over 30 years of vocational ministry, I have had conversations with hundreds of fired pastors. I have listened to them. I have prayed with them. On occasion, I have wept with them.

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  Jun 9, 2019

  Many churches on faster rate of decline toward death

  Based upon an aggregate of several research projects, I made some notes of growth and decline rates of churches and summarized my estimates into five categories by worship attendance changes over the previous five-year period.

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  Jun 5, 2019

  Should a church budget show pastor and staff salaries?

  Can a church member (or, in some cases, guests) look at a church budget and know exactly what everyone on church staff earns?

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  May 26, 2019

  10 common pastoral care challenges

  I recently conducted a social media survey where I asked pastors to share their most common pastoral care challenges. The volume of responses was huge, a very impressive number. But even more impressive were the stories of love and concern these pastors have for their congregations.

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  May 24, 2019

  7 considerations for church leaders who get an anonymous letter

  On occasion a church leader at Church Answers will share with the community that he or she received an anonymous letter. The leaders are inevitably hurt, and they are frustrated because they have no way to respond.

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  May 22, 2019

  7 consequences for church staff when a pastor leaves

  Many church members do not fully grasp how disruptive a pastor’s departure is to the remaining staff. Look at some of the possible consequences for church staff.