Thom S. Rainer

Latest

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  Nov 27, 2013

  Thoughts on the Court Ruling on the Ministers' Housing Allowance

  Almost as soon as the ruling was made public, I began to receive inquiries through social media, by email, by text, and by phone. U. S. District Judge Barbara Crabb of the Western District of Wisconsin ruled unconstitutional a provision in the U. S. tax code that allows ministers to declare some or all of their ministerial income as a housing allowance. That allowance is not subject to federal income tax. Though it is still too early to gauge the full implications of this ruling, there are sev

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  Nov 24, 2013

  4 Steps Forward for the Very Sick Church

  Where is the hope in God? Do I not believe He can perform the miracles necessary to reverse the courses of these churches? Of course I do. But in Scripture, God usually works with a willing people, at least a willing leader. When He delivered the Jews from the bondage of Egypt, he had a leader named Moses. That leader was initially reluctant, but eventually He obeyed and the people followed.

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  Nov 23, 2013

  Very Sick Churches

  I like to be a bearer of good news. I like to be able to be positive about situations, especially when those situations involve churches. At the same time, I refuse to deny reality. Such denial can only lead to a worsened condition. Churches typically do not move from good health to dying overnight. It is usually a more subtle deterioration. I have identified five simple stages:

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  Nov 10, 2013

  Thank You Pastor's Wife

  Thank you pastor's wife. You may have one of the most selfless roles in the world. You are expected to be at the beck and call of church members, regardless of your own schedule. You are expected to adjust your life to the life of the pastor, who just happens to be your husband. You really have no independent life of your own.

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  Nov 8, 2013

  3 Signs Worship Wars May Be Ending

  While I'm not crazy enough to predict the total cessation of worship wars, I am willing to say that they will be ending in many churches. Here are three reasons why.

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  Nov 1, 2013

  5 Questions to Ask to See If Your Church Is Dying

  Please forgive me for the morbid and depressing title and content. I don't think posts such as these encourage many of you. I guess the impetus for writing such an article is the work I am doing to finish my next book, Autopsy of a Deceased Church. I have dealt a lot with the death of churches in my research and writing for that book.

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  Oct 26, 2013

  10 Traits of Joyous Pastors

  I recently wrote the names of 23 pastors that, at least from my perspective, seem to find the greatest joy in their ministries. While such an exercise is admittedly subjective, it was nevertheless enlightening and encouraging.

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  Oct 20, 2013

  7 Habits of Highly Effective Church Staff Meetings

  I confess. I used to hate meetings. In fact I was very vocal about meetings being a waste of time. In most meetings I attended, I daydreamed about a dozen other ways I could be spending my time more productively. Over time I would discover the problem was not the meeting per se, but the way the meeting was managed.

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  Oct 18, 2013

  10 of the Most Common Questions Asked by Pastors

  I wish I could respond to every phone call, email, text, Facebook post, Twitter direct message, blogpost comment, and several other forms of communication I receive. Pastors ask me questions, lots of questions. I am both honored and humbled that they would think that I could be a source of information or expertise.

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  Oct 15, 2013

  7 Reasons Your Church Needs to Go on a Diet

  Most churches—more than eight out of ten—are busy. Too busy. These churches need to slim down their plethora of programs, activities, and ministries. They need to go a busyness diet.