Thom S. Rainer

Latest

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  Apr 8, 2015

  9 Ways to Deal with Church Bullies

  In my earlier post, I dealt with the traits of church bullies. I now move from descriptive to prescriptive. How do we deal with church bullies? What can we do to prevent such bullying? Here are nine of my suggestions:

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  Apr 4, 2015

  One Key Reason Most Churches Do Not Exceed 350 in Average Attendance

  Nine out of ten churches in America have an average worship attendance of less than 350. And that percentage has not changed significantly for many years. Yet the unchurched pool of persons is increasing in most communities. There are people yet to be reached. But most churches will never exceed 350 in attendance. Why?

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  Apr 3, 2015

  9 Traits of Mean Churches

  I received two emails this week from church members who made that very statement. The members are from two different churches in two different states. One of the churches belongs to a denomination; the other is non-denominational. In both cases the church members made the decision to drop out of local church life altogether.

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  Apr 1, 2015

  9 Traits of Church Bullies

  Church bullies are common in many churches. They wreak havoc and create dissension. They typically must have an "enemy" in the church, because they aren't happy unless they are fighting a battle. They tend to maneuver to get an official leadership position in the church, such as chairman of the elders or deacons or treasurer. But they may have bully power without any official position.

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  Mar 24, 2015

  7 Distinguishing Habits of Highly Effective Pastors

  Determining the effectiveness of a pastor is a highly subjective exercise. While certain metrics may prove helpful, they do not tell the whole story. In that context, I reviewed my 40 years of serving churches in a variety of capacities and noted several very effective pastors I knew well. My list was lengthy: nearly 30 pastors total.

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  Mar 21, 2015

  9 Common Tensions Pastors Face

  Every day, pastors and other church staff make intentional decisions about what is important in their lives and ministries. Often, the decisions they must make are between competing demands. These decision points are tensions in the lives of pastors and church staff. The directions they choose shape their ministries.

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  Mar 12, 2015

  9 Thoughts on Church Splits

  For over thirty years I have been professionally and personally connected to the local church. I have served as a pastor, church consultant, author, seminary dean, and church resource provider. The most painful moments of my tenure have been those occasions where church dissension is great, and where church splits take place.

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  Feb 22, 2015

  The Top 10 Most Fiercely Defended Traditions in Churches

  I recently embarked on a major research project for a new resource I will soon be offering. Part of my research included a long review of thousands of comments made on this site over the past few years. Though my research had another purpose, I became intrigued by the comments related to church traditions.

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  Feb 18, 2015

  5 Thoughts About Church Memorials

  Many churches have them. They can be found in varying degrees of emphasis from one church to another. They are church memorials, areas of a church designated in memory of someone who was a member of the congregation.

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  Feb 14, 2015

  9 Concerns about Church Members Who Withhold Their Financial Gifts

  The story is too common, but I hear such stories repeatedly. My most recent conversation was with a church leader where an affluent church member offered to make a large contribution to the renovation of the worship center. He had one stipulation: the worship center had to be named in memory of his late mother. The leader politely declined. The affluent member did not make the donation. To the contrary, he began withholding all of his gifts to the church.