Thom S. Rainer

Latest

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  Nov 5, 2017

  15 Unusual Hospital Visits Experienced by Pastors

  Pastors visit church members and others in the hospital. It is what pastors do. And most patients appreciate the ministry and efforts of these pastors. But that does not mean the pastors' visits are uneventful.

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  Oct 30, 2017

  How Much Time Do Pastors Take for Vacations?

  This topic was hotter than I expected. I asked pastors and other church staff about the amount of time taken for vacations each year. Most of the responses came from pastors, and many of those pastors were pretty intense about it.

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  Oct 27, 2017

  10 Really Strange Things That Happened at Church Business Meetings

  Dead bodies and donuts. Those are two of the themes of church business meetings.

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  Oct 23, 2017

  The 5 Choices of Declining Churches

  It's simple and straightforward. Leaders of declining churches have five choices. But putting them to practice is not so easy.

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  Oct 19, 2017

  7 Common Reasons Pastors Get Cold Feet

  Many people have this naïve view that a pastor just has to preach and love people. Not so.

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  Oct 16, 2017

  9 Common Types of Church Cowards

  Many pastors and church leaders are miserable because of fewer than five percent of the church members.

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  Oct 8, 2017

  10 Ways to Bring Joy to Your Pastor

  In some ways, I don't like the official designation of October to be pastor appreciation month. I really wish we showed appreciation to pastors all the time.

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  Oct 4, 2017

  4 Most Common Acts of Stupidity That Get Pastors Fired

  For some reason, some church leaders just don't think they will get caught. Or they think the baby steps won't lead to major steps toward a total fall. Please read these four acts of stupidity carefully and prayerfully.

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  Oct 1, 2017

  Top 10 Sources of Discouragement for Pastors

  "Is this valley I am going through normal for pastors?" The question came to me directly from a pastor who was relatively new to his church. He was surprised how abruptly discouragement hit him.

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  Sep 26, 2017

  7 Deadly Statements of Church Members

  Words have meaning. And if church members start articulating words consistently, those words begin to reflect the priorities and passions of the church.