Thom S. Rainer

Latest

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  Sep 3, 2015

  6 Reasons Leading Your Church to Growth Is More Difficult Today

  Growth is indeed more difficult today in American congregations. And there are some clear reasons why this reality is true.

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  Jun 14, 2015

  5 Types of Change Resistant Churches

  One of the more frequent questions I get is somewhat related to leading change in the church. The expressions of frustrations are often the result of different expectations. For example, a pastor search committee may tell a pastoral candidate they want to see change in the church. But their understanding of the level of change is far different than the perception of the candidate.

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  Jun 12, 2015

  7 Factors That Stop Momentum in a Church

  I will then ask the obvious question: "What happened?" My question is straightforward because I know most church leaders will identify a singular event that precipitated the momentum reversal. In this article, I identify seven of the most common "momentum stoppers."

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  Jun 11, 2015

  11 Things Pastors Need to Know Their Spouses Are Thinking

  Many of the comments I have received have been shared in anonymity, and I certainly understand the need to keep names confidential. But the comments are real and verbatim. And many times I can feel the hopes and hurts that come with these comments. Here are the eleven most frequent thoughts from pastors' spouses:

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  Jun 9, 2015

  7 Concerns About Christians and Tipping

  Hopefully, such stories are rare. But we do have reasons to be concerned when church members and Christian leaders treat restaurant servers and other service employees so poorly. Allow me to outline seven key concerns.

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  Jun 2, 2015

  7 Trends in Worship Service Times

  If your church has one service at 11:00 am on Sunday mornings, it is likely in the minority. In a recent reader survey we conducted with 1,649 responses, slightly over half of the congregations had only one worship service on Sunday morning, and the times of that single service varied.

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  May 31, 2015

  3 Types of Church Revitalization: Introducing Church Answers Monthly

  God addressed the issue in two primary ways. First, He spoke to three key leaders for them to be His catalysts for rebuilding (Haggai 1:1-2). Second, God commanded the people of Judah to change their behaviors, to move from selfish behavior to selfless behavior. They obeyed (Haggai 1:12). They rebuilt the house of God (Haggai 1:14).

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  May 30, 2015

  10 Things You Should Never Say to a Guest in a Worship Service

  Indeed, these unfortunate and ill-timed comments almost always guarantee that you will offend guests and make them very uncomfortable. Most of the time guests are already ill at ease since they are in a new place and a new environment. By the way, each of these quotes was actually communicated to a guest in a worship service. My guess is that all ten of them have been said many times . . . too many times.

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  May 28, 2015

  14 Key Reasons for the Breakdown of Church Unity

  So what are some of the key reasons we are seeing the breakdown of unity in our churches? Though my list is not exhaustive, allow me to share fourteen of those reasons.

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  May 27, 2015

  8 Common Characteristics of Successful Church Revitalizations

  There is one type of church revitalization that is more successful than all others. The church closes its doors for a season, and then re-opens, usually with a new name and new leadership. I know this approach is not an option for most of you, so I gathered data from the "other" category. This category includes churches that kept the same name and, for the most part, the same leadership.