Tag: Thom Rainer
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6 Ways Ministry Spouses Get Hurt By the Church
Researcher Thom Rainer identifies Six Ways Ministry Spouses Get Hurt. I have listed them below, slightly reworded: Complaints About Their Minister-Spouses Complaints About the Children Unreasonable Expectations About Ministry Involvement Gossip & Murmering Isolation Attacking the (non-Staff) Spouse to Get Desired Results Every non-staff church leader should be aware of these. Every church member should…
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Chrysalis Factor
There are times I feel somewhat like a sea captain who took charge of a ship that had experienced unprecedented prosperity under the direction of his predecessor, and then sprung a leak a few months into his tenure. Don’t get me wrong, I love the church where I serve, but some of the challenges came…
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Three Times a Month
Thom Rainer recently noted that there has been a marked change in the measure of comitment the average Christian had to his or her church. At least there has been a change in one measurable detail: An active church member 15 years ago attended church three times a week. Now it’s three times a month…
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10 Warning Signs of an Inwardly Obsessed Church
Researcher Thom Rainer warns of signs of a church that is so inwardly focused that it has ceased to be the church of Jesus Christ and has become, at best, a museum to (assumed) past glories, in which the membership makes up the board of directors. Rainer writes: Any healthy church must have some level…
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The Un-Churched Next Door
It has been an encouraging trend. After several months during which we observed a score of painful defections from our church, the past few months have seen a rebound. We have been blessed to see a number of new folks join our fellowship. Among them are a handful of mature transplants, Christians new to our…
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Cutting-Edge Way to Reach the Un-churched
Now the probing question for you and me: “When was the last time you invited an un-churched person to church?” We in the church are searcning and agonizing over ways to reach the lost… yet research indicates a simple invitation may be the most cutting-edge approach we can employ. – Thom Rainer, The Unchurched Next…
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Putting a Bus Stop at Our Church
A generation ago it was not uncommon for a churches to have bus ministries. Volunteers would drive a bus to pick people up from around the community and shuttle them to and from the church. Jim Collins, in his best-selling book Good to Great, seems to suggest churches still need to get people on and off the…
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Unchurched Next Door
According to Thom Rainer, your unchurched neighbors are not all alike. At least that is what the research from Rainer Group indicates. In his book, The Unchurched Next Door, Rainer puts the unchurched in our lives into five distinct categories: U1 – Highly receptive to the Gospel. In fact this group includes some who may well…
