Sam Rainer's Blog, page 4

Tattoos, Marlboros, and Ministry: Lessons from My Favorite Unconventional Deacon

One of my favorite deacons had more tattoos than teeth. Herbie was the lone deacon at my first church, a rural congregation of six people. I was in my mid-twenties, serving the church bi-vocationally. The trip was two hours one way to get there. Four-wheel drive was required on some home visits. I was a terrible pastor, lacking experience, preaching skills, and maturity. I led worship, too—from an old karaoke machine. My lone deacon occasionally smoked during the service. The smell of Marlboros ...

The Value of Video Venue Preaching: What are the Pros and Cons?

With the explosion of multi-site churches, the implementation of video venue preaching is not a surprising development. Though estimates vary, there are likely around 10,000 multi-site churches in the United States. Millions of people attend them weekly. Over half of multi-site churches have video venues. Some of the most popular pastors in the nation utilize video venues to broadcast their preaching.

What is a video venue? These venues come in many forms, but they all have one thing in common: ...

A Simple and Quick Checklist Before Preaching Every Sermon

Every preacher prepares differently. You likely already have a personal method of sermon preparation or will create one as you develop and gain more experience. This checklist is not meant to be a comprehensive guide, but I hope you find it useful in the sermon writing process.

Read the text. Multiple times, over and over. Memorize portions of it. Read in various translations. What do you observe? What does the passage say?

Pray the text. Do not neglect this step! You should pray as much as you ...

Six Quick Tips for the Upcoming Church Budget Season

Most churches budget on a calendar year, meaning the spreadsheets come out in full force about the same time as pumpkin spice lattes. Budget season is just around the corner.

Creating a church budget is a laborious—and somewhat thankless—task. It can take several weeks to finalize an annual budget.

Every line item matters. God brought this point to my mind a few years ago during the budget process at my church. As we poured over pages of documents, a mundane expense stood out to me: $1,500 for B...

Should Churches Celebrate July 4th? (And How Much)

Independence Day is a unique holiday for the American church. An overt Christian connection does not exist like with Christmas or Easter. July 4th is also specific to the United States, so churches outside of our country—as expected—would not recognize the holiday.

Four predominant views exist concerning whether American churches should recognize the holiday in a worship service. These views are on a spectrum, and godly people can have widely differing perspectives.

Display of patriotism. Chu...

How to Hold Church Staff Accountable in a Hybrid Work-from-Home Arrangement

I’ve written previously about why required office hours may not be the best arrangement for church staff. Jesus didn’t say, “Stay in the church building.” He said, “Go.” It is much harder to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission from a desk.

Additionally, I have cautioned about the pendulum swinging too far the other way. For example, it would be unwise if every church staff person worked from home and rarely came into the office. A couple of office days are essential. For my ch...

What Should Pastors Do When They Must Lead People They Don’t Trust

Pastors must trust their churches for God’s mission to be accomplished. And congregants must trust their leaders for church culture to be healthy.

Blind trust is unwise.Trust is granted more than earned.When pastors do not grant trust to anyone, they become paranoid tyrants.

Trust between individuals is derived from reliability, confidence, and truthfulness. People become trustworthy when you rely on them confidently because they are honest. 

You may not trust someone for several reasons...

Fifteen Questions to Ask of Every Sermon Before Preaching

Writing sermons is a challenge for many reasons. For one, I never feel like my sermons are quite complete! But Sunday is coming, and the writing process must end at some point. Then begin again.

These questions are designed to help you quickly review your sermons before you deliver them. Use this checklist to evaluate your sermon’s content, tone, and application.

Is the good news of Jesus in my outline or manuscript?How will this sermon please and glorify God?Who is my audience? Am I preach...

Why Vacation Bible School Is as Important Now as Ever

He’s older now. Retired, but not done. He doesn’t move quickly, and his hearing is not great. For thirty years, he shepherded our church. We call him “Brother Bob.” All of Bradenton calls him that. He’s a passionate evangelist for evangelism. Give him a minute of your time, and you’ll hear him share the gospel. Boldly. Without apology. 

A couple of years ago, he brought three children to Vacation Bible School. Two of them accepted Christ. In fact, dozens of children, even a few parents, have acc...

The Right Way for Older Deacons to Mentor Younger Deacons

“Is he too young?” I was glad someone asked the question because we were all thinking it. 

“Is he qualified?” Another deacon asked a better question. We all agreed the young deacon candidate was full of the Spirit, wise, hard-working, and had a good reputation. 

“Is he ready?” In response, several old-timers chimed in at the same time, “No one is.” Case closed. The next step was to equip and mentor him. However, the deacon body did not have a formal mentoring program. It is a problem for many ch...