Thom S. Rainer

Latest

• 
  Dec 12, 2011

  For Those Hurting This Christmas Season

  I hurt deeply for those who see empty places at their meals for Christmas. I hurt for those who have gone through the agony of a divorce.

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  Nov 22, 2011

  8 Traits of Effective Church Leaders

  I am a bit reluctant to articulate the characteristics of effective church leaders for fear that some may take the information and reduce it to a neat, quick-fix formula, and that others may see this approach as human-centered

• 
  Nov 9, 2011

  When Great Churches Fall

  The names of the churches stare back at me. There are 876 churches. Most of them have their names written in my books. The names I am seeing right now are churches that are no longer great. They have fallen from the lists. They no longer meet the criteria.

• 
  Nov 5, 2011

  The Lifecycle of Pastors

  Almost twenty years ago, I began to note that the tenure of a pastor often follows a predictable pattern. Now, almost two decades later, I still see many of the same patterns

• 
  Oct 26, 2011

  Five Warning Signs of Declining Church Health

  What were some of the warning signs? The church is experiencing conflict over issues of budgets and building. Corporate prayer is minimized.

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  Oct 20, 2011

  Church Versus State

  On too many occasions, I have seen governmental agencies and zoning commissions deny churches needed permission to expand for no apparent reason. And too many times, I am left figuratively speechless with the adversarial attitudes I see against Christians and local congregations.

• 
  Oct 5, 2011

  Courageous. A Movie. A Movement.

  Courageous is indeed a great movie. But, even more, it could very well prove to be the beginning of a movement.

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  Oct 1, 2011

  Five Characteristics of Healthy Church Leaders

  They spend time in prayer and the Word. They have longer tenure in the church.

• 
  Sep 12, 2011

  Remembering September 12, the Day After

  It was on the day after, September 12, that I begin to hear the questions. How could this happen? Why did this happen? Why did God let such evil people take the lives of so many innocent victims?

• 
  Sep 8, 2011

  Church Staff: Some Observations

  There are no longer consistent norms for the portion of a church budget that should be dedicated to personnel costs. Each church has a different rationale or contextualized reasons for the inclusion or exclusion of specific paid staff.