Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 183
September 16, 2017
Notable Voices and the Week in Review: September 16, 2017
We Are Florida
Six Reasons Not to Quit – Rainer on Leadership #362
The Overcommitted Church
When It’s Time to Redesign Your Church Website
Seven Symptoms of Leaders Who Don’t Finish Well – Rainer on Leadership #363
How Missions Matures a Believer — Daniel Im
When we live out our core identity as missionaries, the Lord matures us. However, if we focus on behaviors directly tied to the maturation of our souls, we may never go beyond ourselves. The interesting thing about both goals—to mature and to live as a missionary—is that they’re cyclical. What matters is your starting point.
Is Online Church Real Church? — Karl Vaters
Online church is not just necessary, it’s important, even essential. The speed, convenience and world-wide reach of the internet is a wonderful tool. The digital world is a great place to network about faith. But church will never be entirely digital.Screen-to-screen is no substitute for face-to-face. Digital reality cannot replace actual reality.
The reason we should learn names is twofold. First, a general reason: God has always existed in relationship—the loving relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit. And because we are made in God’s image and likeness, it’s not good for us to be alone. I believe this is the main reason why people desire to be where everyone knows their name, as in the tagline from the old show Cheers. God designed us for community.
3 Things Pastors’ Kids Need From Their Churches — Barnabas Piper
Everyone in church notices the pastor’s kids. People don’t think about noticing them, it just happens. I grew up as a PK, the son of John Piper, and even I notice PKs. It’s almost impossible to avoid. They’re like the first children of the church. Don’t think you notice them? Here’s what it looks like.:
5 Very Real Tensions Every Small To Mid-Sized Church Leader Feels — Carey Nieuwhof
It’s critical that as church leaders we both understand and address the tensions we’re facing. In the same way that diagnosing that pain under your kneecap when you’re trying to run a race is helpful, diagnosing what you sense in the congregation can be critical to taking your next step forward. Overcome these tensions and you’re closer to progress. Avoid them or fail to deal with them and you can stay stuck a long time.
Choosing the Time of Your Next Worship Service — Eric Geiger
Much more challenging than adding a second service is deciding where to place your third or even your fourth service. Do you run as many as you can in the morning? Can you go past noon? Which is better in your community, Saturday night or Sunday night? What about your staff and their families? All really important questions. So how do you navigate the decision? Here are five steps to help your team discuss the next worship service time.
September 15, 2017
Seven Symptoms of Leaders Who Don’t Finish Well – Rainer on Leadership #363
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Leaders often struggle to let go and move on. And it’s often for one of these seven reasons.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
Pastors and church staff members in their 20s and 30s want to know how to finish well.
Coasting in ministry is basically telling God “I’m not going to do what you’ve called me to do.”
If your church you pastor averages 200 in attendance, you have 200 people who think they’re your boss.
Change can sometimes be easy for the leader and extremely difficult for those who work for the leader.
The seven symptoms we cover in this episode are:
Coasting.
Hanging on.
Weariness.
Misplaced identity.
Change aversion.
Failure to stay current.
Regret.
Episode Sponsors
The Timothy Track, from Midwestern Seminary, offers select residential M.Div. students placement in internship positions in a local church in the area. Now you can complement your studies with in-the-field ministry experience. In addition, all Timothy Track students will receive up to 12 credit hours for the internship and a 50% tuition scholarship for the first year.
Find out more at mbts.edu/TimothyTrack.
Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church.
Find out more about Vanderbloemen Search Group by visiting WeStaffTheChurch.com.
Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?
Resources Mentioned in Today’s Podcast
The Millennials
Identity
September 14, 2017
When It’s Time to Redesign Your Church Website
By Jonathan Howe
Depending on who and what you read, you can find different opinions on how often you should redesign or refresh your website. If it’s a website design company, the answer is probably “six months ago.” They like the business, after all.
I don’t think you should have a timeframe for website redesigns, though. It’s an as needed event and also one that should be carried out with much planning and intentionality.
Website redesigns should be carried out strategically and to meet a need. So if your church has one of these needs, then it may be time to refresh your site.
Your site is not mobile-friendly. This is a top priority right now. If you don’t have a mobile-friendly, responsive website, find someone to fix that right now.
Your logo or branding changes. This may seem obvious, but if you’re going to invest in a new logo or graphic branding package, then make sure your website is redesigned to reflect the change.
Your site is not guest-friendly. Consider the content and layout of your site. Is it mainly for guests or members? If everything is geared to members, it might be time to fix some things.
You need to change website platforms. This redesign is typically forced. If you’re moving to WordPress or Squarespace as your web platform, then you will likely have to make design changes to the site. It’s rare that you can move across platforms and keep a consistent look and feel.
Your site is dated. This is more of a design aesthetic than the other items in this list. But if your site looks old and feels old based on the graphics and content, move forward on a redesign.
The first question I get when I write on website redesigns is who I recommend to do this work. There are several options available to you, but choose someone who knows churches and works with them. Our friends at MereChurch (affiliate link) do a great job helping churches and can help you, too.
Does your church need a website redesign? Have you redesigned your site recently? If so, what drove that decision?
Jonathan Howe serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at LifeWay Christian Resources as well as the host and producer of Rainer on Leadership and SBC This Week. Jonathan writes weekly at ThomRainer.com on topics ranging from social media to websites and church communications. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter at @Jonathan_Howe.
September 13, 2017
The Overcommitted Church
Many churches have become too busy for their own good.
They have so many activities, programs, events, and services that they are wearing out their congregations.
Here is the irony. Most of the activities in these churches were started with a noble cause to make a difference in the congregation and the community. But the members became so busy they don’t have time to connect with people in a meaningful way.
The overcommitted church has become the ineffective church.
So how did our churches get in this predicament? The causes are many, but here are seven of them:
Our churches equate activity with value. Thus busy churches are deemed to be churches of value. And busy, exhausted, and frustrated church members are deemed to be Christians of value.
Programs and ministries became ends instead of means. I recently asked a pastor why he continued a ministry that had dwindled from 220 participants to 23 participants. “Because,” he said, “this program is a part of the history and heritage that defines our church.” Warning: If a program defines your church, your church is in trouble.
Failure of churches to have a clear purpose. Even the best of churches can only do so many things well. Once a church has no clear and defining purpose, it has no reason to start or discontinue a program or ministry. That issue then leads to the next two reasons.
Church leaders have failed to say “no.” Some church leaders can’t say “no” to new programs and ministries because they have no clear or defining purpose on what they should do. Others leaders simply lack courage to say “no.”
Fear of eliminating. Once a program, ministry, or activity has begun, it can be exceedingly difficult to let it die. Sometimes leaders lack courage to kill programs. Sometimes they are blinded to the need to kill programs. Sometimes they hesitate to kill a program because they don’t know a better alternative. We need more churches in the program killing business.
Church is often defined as an address. As long as we think “church” means a physical location, we will try to load up that address with all kinds of busyness. Many churches are ineffective at reaching their communities because their members are so busy at the building they call the church. That’s both bad ecclesiology and bad missiology.
Churches often try to compete with culture rather than reach culture. A church in the deep South had a dynamic basketball ministry where they fielded community basketball teams comprised of church members and non-believers. But once the church built its own gym and recreation center, the church members started spending all their time playing at their new facility. In an attempt to have a gym as good as those in the community, the church ironically became less effective reaching those in the community.
Busy churches. Activity-driven churches. Overcommitted churches. Ineffective churches.
In my next article, I will share some ways churches are becoming less activity-driven and more effective.
In the meantime, let me hear from you.
September 12, 2017
Six Reasons Not to Quit – Rainer on Leadership #362
SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play • iHeart Radio
Mondays are ofter quite difficult for those in ministry. It’s the day many want to throw in the towel. Today, we explain six reasons why you shouldn’t quit.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
Wise counsel from godly friends is needed when you feel like quitting.
Giving thanks to God for what you have changes your perspective on what you don’t have.
Lay leaders: express gratitude to your pastor and staff. You never know what they might be going through.
There will be times where you go through seasons of discouragement. It happens in every vocation.
It’s sometimes hard to know if the job is done, but at some point, you have to move on.
The six reasons we cover in this episode are:
When we have no clarity from God.
When you haven’t expressed gratitude and joy to God for where you are now.
When it’s just about a few critics.
When it’s a season of discouragement or difficulty.
When the job is not done.
When a commitment has been made.
Episode Sponsors
Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. Their Fall Lead Pastor and Executive Pastor Coaching Networks are now open for registration, and our very own Dr. Rainer will be speaking at the Fall Lead Pastor Coaching Network.
So if you’re a Lead Pastor or an Executive Pastor looking for peer roundtable coaching, check it out at vanderbloemen.com/coaching. It’s limited to 16 folks, so apply today before it fills up.
Midwestern Seminary, one of the fastest growing seminaries in North America, exists to train leaders For The Church. The local church is God’s “Plan A” for the proclamation of the gospel, and there is no Plan B. And this is Midwestern’s vision and heartbeat—equipping pastors and other ministry leaders who are called to expand God’s mission in the world through the local church. At Midwestern Seminary: they train leaders ‘For The Church.’
Visit them online at MBTS.edu and start your ministry training today.
Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?
Resources Mentioned in Today’s Podcast
EvangelismRenewal.com
ChurchAnswers.com
Christian Standard Bible
September 11, 2017
We Are Florida
I couldn’t let my normal blog post sequence continue.
I had to interrupt it.
For sure, I have a vested interest. The church where my son is pastor, West Bradenton Baptist Church, is in the path of the eye of Irma as I write this post.
But there are millions of people and hundreds of churches in harm’s way. The likely devastation is unfathomable.
We the people of God never see a situation as hopeless. We serve the God of all power, the God of miracles, the God of healing, and the God of hope.
We believe in that God.
We believe that God is able.
And we believe in the power of prayer to that God.
Please join me and millions of others praying for Florida. Right now, we are all Florida.
And when the storm is over, and when the time for healing comes, we will be the hands and feet of Christ.
Would you make a brief comment on this blog post and let Florida know you are praying?
Will you let the people and the churches know we will not forget them? Even if you’ve never posted a comment anywhere at anytime, will you send a clarion message to Florida?
We care.
We are praying.
We are the people of God.
And we are Florida.
September 10, 2017
Pray for West Bradenton Baptist Church
Location: Bradenton, Florida
Pastor: Sam Rainer
Weekly Worship: 8:00, 9:30, 10:30 (En Espanol), & 11:00 AM, Eastern
Fast Facts: West Bradenton Baptist, like several hundred other churches, is in the path of Hurricane Irma as she makes landfall this morning. Please pray for my son, Sam, and his family as well as all of those who will be affected by this storm. Like many in Southwest Florida, Sam and his family evacuated earlier in the week, and he’s been using videos and emails to communicate with the congregation. Here’s a video update from Saturday that Sam shared on his blog:
If you or your church wish to donate to the Send Relief efforts or volunteer for the relief work in the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, you can do so here.
Website: WestBradenton.org
“Pray for . . .” is the Sunday blog series at ThomRainer.com. We encourage you to pray for these churches noted every Sunday. Please feel free to comment that you are praying as well.
If you would like to have your church featured in the “Pray for…” series, fill out this information form..
September 9, 2017
Notable Voices and the Week in Review: September 9, 2017
Ten Unfair Expectations of Pastors’ Wives
10 Reasons Church Revitalizations Often Fail – Rainer on Leadership #360
What to Do with an Anonymous Letter
Ten Facebook Promotion Tips for Churches
5 Compelling Reasons To Start a New Church or Campus – Rainer on Leadership #361
5 Fears of Experienced Leaders That Can Wreck Their Legacy — Art Rainer
Experienced leaders are susceptible to the fears leaders of all tenure face. However, because of their tenure, the impact of dwelling on these fears is often magnified, sometimes leading to an unfortunate deterioration of their legacy. What are a few of those fears, and how do they wreck an experienced leader’s legacy? Here are five fears to consider:
5 Surprisingly Effective Ways to Improve Your Preaching — Erik Reed
I want to get better at preaching. I want to excel at this craft. I know the gravity of preaching, so improving at it is non-negotiable. Many of the articles and posts on preaching have the same advice being offered, which is fine considering how leaky we are. But I have discovered some non-traditional, sparingly recommended preaching helps that I want to share that could be used to improve your sermons. Here are five surprisingly effective ways to improve your preaching:
10 Ways to Keep Your Church from Reaching Millennials — Chuck Lawless
Many of our churches are missing the millennial generation (typically defined as those born between 1980 and 2000). If you want to be that kind of church, too, here are some things that will likely keep you from reaching this generation:
How to Pray When You Don’t Want to Pray — J. D. Greear
If someone wrote a story of my prayer life, it would probably be titled, A Confused Mix of Wandering and Worrying. Fortunately, Paul Miller also provides several helpful ways out of our prayer haze. Here are four of the biggest takeaways from A Praying Life:
The Top 8 Reasons Most Churches Never Break The 200 Attendance Mark — Carey Nieuwhof
Breaking 200 Without Breaking You is designed to take senior pastors, their teams and boards through the top 8 barriers church leaders face when trying to reach their community. So, here are the top 8 reasons churches who want to grow never end up breaking the 200 barrier.
6 Questions to Ask Before You Change Jobs — Eric Geiger
Leaders, especially ministry leaders, have commonly asked me questions about how to process new jobs/opportunities that come their way. What questions should I ask myself? How do I wrestle with changing jobs? Here are six questions, in no particular order, to ask:
September 8, 2017
5 Compelling Reasons To Start a New Church or Campus – Rainer on Leadership #361
SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play • iHeart Radio
New campuses and new church plants often create an energy established churches and campuses do not. But how much of a difference does it make? Today we examine some new research on the subject courtesy of Warren Bird and the Leadership Network.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
You’re likely to reach more Millennials with a newer campus or facility.
People who attend churches/campuses started in the last five years are 52% more likely to share the gospel than others.
In the first five years of a new church or site, it grows 170% faster than the later years.
Most churches need to consider giving birth to a new campus or site.
The five reasons we cover in this episode are:
More Millennials attend new churches and campuses
More outreach comes as a result of new churches and campuses
There is more engagement in service at new churches and campuses.
Churches and campuses started in the last five years have seen more growth than older churches.
More financial resources come from new churches and campuses.
Episode Sponsors
The Timothy Track, from Midwestern Seminary, offers select residential M.Div. students placement in internship positions in a local church in the area. Now you can complement your studies with in-the-field ministry experience. In addition, all Timothy Track students will receive up to 12 credit hours for the internship and a 50% tuition scholarship for the first year.
Find out more at mbts.edu/TimothyTrack.
Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church.
Find out more about Vanderbloemen Search Group by visiting WeStaffTheChurch.com.
Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?
Resources Mentioned in Today’s Podcast
leadnet.org/portable
How Churches Can Break Growth Barriers, featuring Warren Bird — Rainer on Leadership #327
ArtRainer.com
September 7, 2017
Ten Facebook Promotion Tips for Churches
By Jonathan Howe
Your church is likely entering a busy season. School has started. Members are in a routine again after the summer. Fall festivals details are being finalized. And Christmas season plans are being made.
The abundance of events and outreach opportunities churches have planned for this time of year make for great promotion on Facebook. If your church is not using Facebook to advertise church-wide events, make this fall the time you start.
Facebook is the most effective platform for your church to use to promote itself—if you use it wisely. These ten tips will help you do so.
Use good graphics. Whether you boost or promote a post or just ask your members to share it, your graphics need to be good. Make the investment to get a professional or someone well versed in design to help with your graphics. Using a bad graphic for promotion is like pouring your money down a drain. No matter how much you spend, your promotion won’t be effective if you’re using bad graphics.
Vary your post types. Don’t use just images or just events or just video. Facebook rewards varied post types, so try to use as many types as you can.
Create audiences to target. If you’re going to run ads or boost posts, be sure to set up audiences in your advertising account. The more targeted you can get the audiences to your location and intended demographics, the better. Use zip codes or radius sizes for geographical targeting. Use age and gender attributes along with interests for demographic targeting.
Use Facebook Live. Live video doesn’t always mean your reach will be instantaneous, but the video will get significant reach over the course of 7-10 days. The key is to use Facebook Live to give details and create excitement about an upcoming event. If you do this well, your video will get shared even more and the reach will grow organically.
Create shareable content. The easiest way to maximize your Facebook promotion is by creating content people want to share. The more they share it with their friends, the less you have to spend to get the word out.
Ask members to share content on Facebook. This relates to the previous point. If you’re creating good content that’s shareable, don’t feel ashamed about asking members to share it on Facebook. You don’t have an issue with encouraging them to invite friends personally, why should you have an issue with encouraging members to invite friends digitally.
Put some money behind your promotion. $100 for an event can go a long way with the right audience targeting. Nearly always, you can spend a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising and get better results on Facebook.
Advertise over time. It’s better to stretch your advertising over two weeks rather than two days. Repetition helps with any kind of advertising. So having a longer timeframe for your content to show up in newsfeeds helps.
Watch your ads and boosted posts. You’re likely to receive a question or comment on your ad or promoted post. It’s easy to forget that post is still getting eyeballs after a day or so. Be sure to watch the post and respond when needed.
Don’t expect automatic and overwhelming results. Just because you’re promoting on Facebook doesn’t mean you’ll be overrun with guests and new attendees at your church. However, I’d be surprised if you don’t see at least some noticeable results.
Does your church advertise on Facebook? Have you seen good results from your Facebook promotions?
Jonathan Howe serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at LifeWay Christian Resources as well as the host and producer of Rainer on Leadership and SBC This Week. Jonathan writes weekly at ThomRainer.com on topics ranging from social media to websites and church communications. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter at @Jonathan_Howe.
