Tag: Thom S. Rainer

The church is in disunity for several reasons including gossip, self-serving leaders and lack of prayer. This breakdown of unity severely hinders our mission of reaching the lost and building the Kingdom of God.

Research studies all seem to return to one major theme to explain the exodus of church members: a sense of some need not being filled. In other words, these members have ideas of what a local congregation should provide for them, and they leave because those provisions have not been met. But many times, probably more than we would like to believe, a church member leaves a local body because he or she has a sense of entitlement.

Pastors’ children find themselves in a complicated position within the church community. Members’ expectations about their behavior, harmful gossip, and the taxing schedule of their pastoring parent may cause anxiety and breed cynicism in so-called “PKs” (Pastor’s Kids). Thom provides us with five reminders about how to combat this.

Churches need to take many factors into consideration when hiring more staff. The decision is not based simply on congregation size. Leaders must consider the context of the need for new staff, paying attention to this list of reasons not to hire more people.