Thom S. Rainer

Op-ed Contributor

Latest

Jun 8, 2016
12 Weird Items in Church Bylaws
Sometimes reading a church's bylaws is like taking a trip to the twilight zone.
Jun 4, 2016
15 Crazy Things That Happened at Funerals
As I promised in last week's article on weddings, I have fifteen stories from pastors about funerals.
May 29, 2016
15 Crazy Things That Happened at Weddings
Pastors and other church staff have a plethora of stories to tell about weddings they have officiated. Unfortunately, they are often constrained from telling the stories lest their church members become offended.
May 26, 2016
7 Common Changes to Church Outreach
"So what are churches doing to reach people today, Thom?" I hear some version of that question on a regular basis.
May 22, 2016
5 Questions Prospective Pastors Rarely Ask Search Committees (But Should)
It is critical that prospective pastors ask questions about the church. There are five questions, however, which are rarely asked. These questions could be key toward avoiding some of the unpleasant surprises many pastors encounter.
May 19, 2016
7 Relational Skills of Great Church Leaders
Much has been written in the past decade on leadership skills. The body of literature on the topic is massive and growing. I certainly have little to add in a brief blog post.
May 15, 2016
10 Things to Know About Generation Z
Church leaders, particularly, need to keep an eye on this generation. There are some fascinating trends taking place.
May 12, 2016
16 Strange and Funny Things Pastors Have Been Asked to Do
"Pastor, I have a rat in my house. Please come get it!" It's a true story. I was the pastor.
May 11, 2016
I Am Not in Church
I am not in church. Sure, I have visited churches several times, but I gave up.
May 4, 2016
5 Reasons Large Single-Site Churches Are Declining
One of the largely unspoken phenomenon of the past decade has been the decline in large churches located at only one site. Most of the large church growth today is taking place at multisite churches.