Thom S. Rainer

Latest

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  Jan 31, 2014

  7 Paradigm Shifts in American Churches

  I know I'm not smart enough to have predicted all of these major changes in churches the past decade or so. The changes have been profound in many churches, and they seem to be lasting changes. For clarity, please understand I am not making qualitative assessments of these paradigm shifts; I am merely noting them. And I understand fully that all of them are not operational in all churches. Nevertheless, they are pervasive on the congregational landscape of American.

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  Jan 30, 2014

  11 Things I Learned from Pastors' Wives

  Several months ago, I wrote a post about pastors' wives. The responses and comments were numerous and incredible. One of the greatest blessings about this blog for me is how much I learn from others. As I read the comments and the interactions, I came away with a greater appreciation for pastors' wives, as well as a greater concern for these ladies. I have attempted to summarize the primary issues the pastors' wives discussed. I am sure I've missed something. For now, here are eleven things I

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  Jan 18, 2014

  14 Sentences That Brought Joy to Pastors

  I just received a letter from a delightful lady. She was a member of a church where I was ordained in the ministry. What I remember most about her was the way she offered encouragement to the pastors of that church. The letter reminded me of so many good laypersons who served sacrificially in churches where I have been. With that in mind, I asked several pastors to recall something very positive said to them by church members. I asked them to try to summarize it in one sentence. Though I should

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  Jan 15, 2014

  An Open Letter to My Denomination: Have We Lost Our First Love?

  Dear Southern Baptists: Please hear me clearly. I am not writing out of any sense of superiority. Indeed, many of you could put me to shame. But my heart is breaking with what I perceive to be a loss of passion for those who do not know Christ. Many of you have seen the numbers. We are reaching fewer people for the gospel today than we did decades ago when we were a much smaller group.

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  Jan 11, 2014

  7 Things We Learned From Pastors' Kids

  It was not the response to a blog post I expected. Back in June of 2013, I wrote a post speaking on behalf of pastors for their kids. I summarized seven major things pastors wanted you to know about their children. The article had a big response when it was first posted. But, for reasons I have not completely fathomed, the post went viral a few weeks ago. Now almost 200,000 views and hundreds of comments later, we can see a pretty clear picture.

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  Jan 6, 2014

  14 Predictions for American Churches for 2014 (Part 2)

  The order of the trends is random. They are not ranked in any particular priority. On Wednesday, I shared the first seven predictions. I conclude today with the final seven.

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  Jan 1, 2014

  14 Predictions for American Churches for 2014 (Part 1)

  Predicting is as much of an art as it is a science. And if any prognosticator is honest, he or she will tell you that they don't always get it right. I know. I certainly don't always get it right. But I don't pull my predictions out of thin air. To the contrary, each of them has a reasonable explanation. For these fourteen predictions, I gleaned from several sources:

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  Dec 13, 2013

  7 Reasons Why Church Worship Centers Will Get Smaller

  A seismic shift is taking place in American church facilities, a shift that will become even more noticeable in the years to come. Church worship centers or sanctuaries will become smaller than they were the past 40 years. As church leaders decide to build, a large number of them will decide to build smaller than most of their predecessors have in previous years.

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  Dec 7, 2013

  One of the Biggest Mistakes Pastors Make

  I love pastors. I love affirming pastors. I love speaking positively for pastors. That's why this article is a bit different for me. Pastors, I want to talk frankly and, hopefully, with a spirit of love, about one of the biggest mistakes I see many of you make. Most pastors have little emphasis, or sometimes, even knowledge about the content that is taught in groups in their churches.

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  Dec 4, 2013

  7 Ways Pastoring Has Changed in Thirty Years

  In early 1984, I began serving as a pastor for the first time. I would ultimately serve four churches as a pastor and nine churches as an interim pastor. In 1984 I was a young 28-year-old pastor without a clue. Today I am 58-years-old, and I'm still not sure I have a clue. So much has changed. So much has changed in pastoring in just thirty years. Let's look at major ways the pastorate has changed in that time.