Thom S. Rainer

Latest

• 
  Dec 14, 2014

  Five Conditions That Lead to Negative Departures of Pastors

  I have written rather extensively on this blog regarding the short tenure of pastors in churches. Of course, many pastors leave churches for very positive reasons. They sense a call to another ministry opportunity. Or they retire from a church with a new phase of ministry in mind.

• 
  Dec 12, 2014

  Five Most Common Ways Churches Determine Pastors' Salaries

  There has been considerable interest on my previous posts dealing with pastors' salaries. One of the most common questions that I am asked is: "How do churches determine the salary of a pastor?"

• 
  Nov 21, 2014

  5 Reasons Why Millennials Do Not Want to Be Pastors or Staff in Established Churches

  Not all Millennials are averse to serving in leadership roles in established churches. But many of them are. And our churches are approaching a tipping point where many are unable to attract Millennial members or leaders. It will likely soon be a crisis.

• 
  Nov 15, 2014

  14 Characteristics of Genuinely Friendly Churches

  Several years ago, when I was involved in active church consultations, I assembled data on what I called GFCs, genuinely friendly churches. I set certain parameters for GFCs; then I attempted to measure those churches guest return rates. A guest return rate is simply the percentage of guests who will return to the church for at least a second visit.

• 
  Nov 14, 2014

  6 Reasons Your Church Might Not Be As Friendly As You Think It Is

  I have heard that statement thousands of times. I promise. In over 500 church consultations and thousands of church member interviews, I heard it. Most church members really do think their church is very friendly. But, more times than not, they are wrong. Guests who visit the churches usually have a much different perspective. Here are six things to consider if you really think your church is friendly.

• 
  Nov 12, 2014

  Should Your Church Stop Having a Stand and Greet Time?

  The surprise factor was the number one issue. Many first-time guests really don't like the time of stand and greet one another that some churches have. According to the Twitter responses and comments on the post, many guests really don't like it, so much so that they will not return.

• 
  Nov 11, 2014

  Top 10 Ways Churches Drive Away First-time Guests

  If you attend a church regularly, you've probably noticed the phenomenon. A guest shows up for a worship service, but he or she never returns. It is, unfortunately, a common issue in many churches.

• 
  Oct 31, 2014

  10 Reasons Why I'm Not Giving Up on Local Churches: A Plea for Revitalization

  The naysayers are at full throttle. "Local churches are dying!" "Churches are no longer relevant." "The church is full of hypocrites." "I don't need the institutional church." The naysayer nabobs of negativity are in full force. It's easy to give up. It sadly can be easy to believe God has given up on our churches. But He has not. I am convinced He has not.

• 
  Oct 27, 2014

  7 Things I've Learned from Joyous Pastors' Wives

  For certain, I have learned from other spouses of ministers as well. But the most frequent comments have come from pastors' wives. In this article, I share with you the lessons I've learned from pastors' wives who tell me they have found great joy and meaning in their lives. Here are seven of those lessons:

• 
  Oct 22, 2014

  8 Causes of Pastoral Ministry Slump

  The "slump" metaphor is used often in sports. The baseball hitter is in a slump because he has not gotten a hit in 15 at bats. The football quarterback is in a slump because he has only completed eight passes in the past two games.