Thom S. Rainer

Latest

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  Feb 2, 2015

  3 Major Trends in Sermon Length

  The opinions about the "right" sermon length are varied, but they are typically intense. Several months ago, I conducted a social media poll to find out the preferred sermon length of preachers. Since that time, I have been observing pastors' preaching on podcasts and in person. I have also been asking them directly about their sermon length.

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  Jan 31, 2015

  6 Observations about Speaking to Pastors Right Before They Preach

  For most pastors, preaching is one of the most important facets of their ministries. It is that time when they get to expound on God's Word. Much of their training has focused on preaching, and they often spend 15 to 20 hours preparing each sermon.

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  Jan 14, 2015

  Seven Ways Pastors and Church Staff Find Jobs

  This post may cause some of you to feel uneasy. I have to admit I've had some of those same feelings writing it. I prefer to think of pastoral ministry as a calling more than a job. And I sometimes cringe when I write about seemingly secular solutions to Christian work.

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  Jan 9, 2015

  15 Trends for Churches in 2015 (Part 2)

  These final eight trends are those I consider to be of greatest magnitude for their potential impact on churches: The beginnings of prayer movement in our churches. The tipping point for small groups.

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  Jan 8, 2015

  15 Trends for Churches for 2015, Part 1

  Some of my trends are called "tipping points." In simple terms, a tipping point here means that something has changed in our churches to the point that it appears to be permanent. With that in mind, I present to you my 15 trends for 2015: The tipping point of churches eliminating Sunday evening worship services. Continued flow of people from smaller churches to larger churches.

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  Dec 31, 2014

  Seven Myths About a Pastor's Workweek

  It is an old joke, one that is still told too often. You go up to your pastor and say, "I wish I had your job; you only have to work one hour each week." It is likely your pastor will laugh or smile at your comment. In reality your pastor is likely hurt by your statement.

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  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.

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  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?"

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  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.

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  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.