Thom S. Rainer

Latest

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  Feb 4, 2012

  I Am a Church Member

  I am a church member. I will seek to be a source of unity in the church. I know there are no perfect pastors, staff, or other church members. But neither am I.

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  Jan 21, 2012

  Seven Reasons Leaders Fail

  What then are the common characteristics of leaders who fail? They fail to dream.

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  Jan 6, 2012

  Twelve in 2012: Trends in Healthy Churches. Trends 7 to 12

  Healthy churches have pastors who love the members. And the churches allow their pastors to spend time in sermon preparation.

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  Jan 5, 2012

  Twelve in 2012: Trends in Healthy Churches. Trends 1 to 6

  The churches have a high view of Scripture. The members are evangelistically intentional.

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  Dec 12, 2011

  For Those Hurting This Christmas Season

  I hurt deeply for those who see empty places at their meals for Christmas. I hurt for those who have gone through the agony of a divorce.

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  Nov 22, 2011

  8 Traits of Effective Church Leaders

  I am a bit reluctant to articulate the characteristics of effective church leaders for fear that some may take the information and reduce it to a neat, quick-fix formula, and that others may see this approach as human-centered

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  Nov 9, 2011

  When Great Churches Fall

  The names of the churches stare back at me. There are 876 churches. Most of them have their names written in my books. The names I am seeing right now are churches that are no longer great. They have fallen from the lists. They no longer meet the criteria.

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  Nov 5, 2011

  The Lifecycle of Pastors

  Almost twenty years ago, I began to note that the tenure of a pastor often follows a predictable pattern. Now, almost two decades later, I still see many of the same patterns

• 
  Oct 26, 2011

  Five Warning Signs of Declining Church Health

  What were some of the warning signs? The church is experiencing conflict over issues of budgets and building. Corporate prayer is minimized.

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  Oct 20, 2011

  Church Versus State

  On too many occasions, I have seen governmental agencies and zoning commissions deny churches needed permission to expand for no apparent reason. And too many times, I am left figuratively speechless with the adversarial attitudes I see against Christians and local congregations.