Sam Rainer's Blog, page 18

Major Warning Signs Stress is Starting to Impair Your Leadership

Every pastor gets overwhelmed. The pressures of ministry are real and many, and seasons of stress are bound to occur. I’m sure many of you have stories of severe storms in which the stress was overwhelming. However, when ongoing stress starts to define a pastor, it becomes a contagion that spreads to others.

Unresolved stress can ruin church leadership. In fact, it can turn normally humble pastors into tyrants. When the causes of stress go ignored, when a pastor refuses to deal with the root of ...

Breaking Out of the Loneliness and Discouragement Cycle in Ministry

Loneliness and discouragement are often connected in a vicious circle. One leads to the other. They feed off each other. When compounded together, church leaders often feel trapped and hopeless.

Far too few admit it out loud, but it’s a common problem in ministry.

The church is supposed to be a place of belonging and hope, but many church leaders experience the opposite—isolation and discouragement.

What causes this problem? Sometimes people are just mean and hurtful. But let’s dig deeper.

Vulne...

Why Sermon Preparation is Not Devotional Time

Every Monday morning, I swivel in my desk chair—praying, pondering. Yellow legal pads fill with chicken scratch in a language only I understand. About fifty Mondays a year, around 3:00 p.m., I start to wonder if I’ll have anything worthwhile to say the following Sunday. The other two Mondays I’m on vacation.

I know it’s the Holy Spirit, but many weeks it feels like sheer luck. My sermon comes together and cogent points begin to form. I’ve heard of some pastors using their sermon preparation as a...

How to Handle the Unsolvable Problems that Inevitably Arise in Your Church

No leader can solve every problem. 

Some problems have staying power. And good leaders admit it when a solution to a problem will not come to fruition. Allow me to offer you two perspectives—one from the solution side and the other from the problem side.

1. Leaders can select the right problem to solve but craft a poor solution.

2. Leaders can attempt to solve the wrong problem. 

As a pastor, I have been guilty of both—poor solutions to the right problems and good solutions to the wrong problems...

Apathy: Why It Has Hit the Church So Hard and Your Next Step to Break Out of It

“I’m managing each week as they come. I don’t have the energy to think further out.”

The pastor was struggling to regain his passion, and he was expressing frustration with himself. He is self-aware enough to recognize his apathy. At the same time, he was unsure how to move forward from the malaise.

The problem of apathy has hit churches. Both leaders and congregants are struggling to move forward following the pandemic. A general lack of enthusiasm is defining the culture of many churches right...

How Pastors Can Use Feelings of Restlessness in a Positive Way

I have a tendency towards restlessness. Leading through a pandemic did not help. Feeling restlessness is a common phenomenon among pastors and church leaders right now. Maybe you can relate.

Leadership restlessness is something most leaders feel—usually more often than not. It’s the nagging question that keeps you thinking . . . what’s next? In the case of the church, this question can be corporate, meaning you’re thinking what’s next? for the entire congregation. This question can also be perso...

How the Neighborhood Church Could Make a Comeback

Incredible potential is right around the corner. Imagine what could happen if neighborhood churches got healthy on a large scale.

I believe the neighborhood church movement is primed for a launch.

The neighborhood church is associated with a particular neighborhood. It is common for them to carry the name of the community. They were originally started in the community and for the community. They are built into the fabric of the community and are often landlocked, surrounded by residences. Neighb...

Five Dangers of Speaking in Hyperbole and How It Can Backfire

Most pastors communicate with good intentions, and most pastors are genuinely excited about God’s work in their churches. In fact, one of the main questions I get when I consult with pastors is How can I get my church more excited? I start by telling them it’s unlikely anyone in your congregation will have the same level of passion as you do. As a pastor, you’re the shepherd. You lead by example. Leading out with passion is part of shepherding people.

But I’ve noticed a recurring theme among pas...

Six Ways the Church Becomes Hypocritical

A hypocrite is someone who acts differently than his or her stated beliefs. In one sense, we’re all hypocrites because none of us live up to our own standards.

We’ve all heard the claims about how the church is full of hypocrites. It’s easy to dismiss these complaints as unfair. We shouldn’t.

Your attitude and actions should match your belief. Jesus expressed concern over religious hypocrisy. In Matthew 6 and Luke 11, He denounces hypocritical givers, hypocritical prayers, hypocritical fasting, ...

What You Might Be Missing in Your Church’s Annual Budget

Budget season is upon us. Most churches budget on a calendar year basis. Meetings begin in September and October to finalize the budget before Christmas.

Churches are adapting with new ministry paradigms. Many congregations recently added digital strategies. There is a renewed focus on getting people back into groups. Adopting and fostering churches is becoming more commonplace.

As you attempt new ways of doing ministry, don’t fall back into an old budget template. You can’t resource new ministr...