Thom S. Rainer

Latest

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  Aug 27, 2017

  Why It Takes 5 to 7 Years to Become the Pastor of a Church

  In most established churches, there is a prolonged period before the church members as a whole will truly embrace you as pastor. The majority of pastors never make it to year five.

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  Aug 25, 2017

  7 Characteristics of Reactionary Pastors

  Sometimes church leaders have to be reactionary. We can't always plan ahead. But many church leaders can be more proactive. Too many of these leaders waste valuable time because they were not prepared adequately.

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  Aug 20, 2017

  Why Many of Our Churches Are Still One Color

  Tens of thousands of congregations are one color, one race, or one group. Why? Why is this reality still taking place today?

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  Aug 13, 2017

  Why Dying Churches Die

  Many churches are dying. Some are so sick that they are a few years, perhaps just months, from death. But too many refuse to do anything.

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  Aug 12, 2017

  10 Tough Pieces of Advice Pastors Have Trouble Receiving

  The last thing pastors need is someone to offer them advice. But I do want pastors to hear those pieces of advice that are really difficult to heed.

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  Aug 8, 2017

  5 Reasons Church Organizational Changes Fail

  To be clear, organizational change is absolutely necessary ... some of the time. But much of the time, we lead organizational change for the wrong reasons.

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  Aug 3, 2017

  7 Common Reasons Churches Have a Dramatic Decline in Attendance

  We consider a church to be in dramatic decline when the average worship attendance drops by 20 percent or more in three months or less. What causes such unusual declines?

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  Jul 31, 2017

  Top 10 Surprises New Pastors Have

  I love new pastors. It is fascinating to hear their thoughts after they have served as a pastor for a year or two.

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  Jul 29, 2017

  7 Dangers in the Last Few Years of Your Ministry

  I am assuming I have a few more years left in ministry. And this point in my life is both a time of reflection and looking forward. To be clear, I want to avoid seven dangers in my last years of ministry.

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  Jul 27, 2017

  7 Reasons Why Some Churches Should Consider Being Acquired

  This post is not about a pleasant topic. It's about churches that have declined to the point where their near term future is in doubt.