By Thom S. Rainer via:christianpost I am especially grateful to have the opportunity to hear from pastors’ wives since much of my focus is on pastors. Our recent, informal survey simply asked the open-ended question: “What do you wish you had been told before you became a minister’s wife?” Thank you to the pastors’ wives […]
By Thom S. Rainer via:blackchristiannews With apologies to Gary Chapman for playing on his well-known “Five Love Languages” theme, I asked 24 pastors how a church member might speak to each pastor in his own love language. And though 24 persons do not constitute a massive survey, I was amazed at the consistency of […]
By: Thom S. Rainer via:blackchristiannews Numbers of gifted persons and organizations have studied the phenomenon of the church “back door,” the metaphorical way we describe people leaving the church. And there will always be the anticipated themes of relocation or personal crises. We should recognize those issues, though we can respond to the latter […]
By Thom S Rainer via:christianpost On my blog earlier this week, I noted some of the signs of internal drift in established churches. I noted that an established church could be any congregation that has existed for three or more years. The church has developed certain patterns or traditions […]
By Thom S. Rainer via:christianpost When I led a church consultation company, one of the more common facets of my consultation was an on-site visit to a worship service. The person I hired to conduct the visit could know nothing about the church. Ideally this “mystery guest” would be an unchurched person, […]
By Thom S. Rainer via:christianpost The expectations of a pastor are endless. Many members expect them to be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. But different pastors are wired differently. One pastor may get great fulfillment out of counseling, while another dreads every minute of it. So I did an informal and unscientific survey of […]
Bu Thom S. Rainer via:christianpost I don’t particularly like the “quick-fix” formula some pundits offer to leaders of churches that are plateaued or experiencing a decline. The approaches often appear to be man-centered and methodological. Indeed, many times I think the solutions offered could just as easily apply to a civic […]
By Thom S. Rainer via:christianpost We all know those “energy drainers.” They are the people that seem to have a perpetual cloud hanging over their heads. They have the keen ability to turn good news into bad news. Yes, they are the kind of people you avoid asking “How are you?” for […]
By Thom S. Rainer via:christanpost I am often amused when I hear myself identified as an expert in any area. If I am a perceived expert, it is because I have had the wonderful opportunity to listen to thousands of people over the past few decades. They are the experts; I am little […]
