Sam Rainer

Latest

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  Nov 29, 2021

  Major warning signs stress is starting to impair your leadership

  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 stress, then leadership becomes impaired.

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  Nov 14, 2021

  Why sermon preparation is not devotional time

  Sermon preparation is not — and should not be used as — devotion time. Sermon writing is devotional to an extent. Both involve prayer. Both elevate Scripture. Both require the work of the Holy Spirit. But they are different.

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  Nov 9, 2021

  How to handle unsolvable problems that arise in your church

  What should you do when you encounter the inevitable problem that appears unsolvable? What if you cannot ignore the issue?

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  Nov 3, 2021

  Apathy: Why it's hit the Church and how to break out of it

  Now is the time to start breaking the apathy cycle. One way to kickstart energy in the church is by re-emphasizing your membership class. As churches recover from the pandemic, unfortunately, the membership class is often one of the last things to return.

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  Oct 1, 2021

  6 ways the Church becomes hypocritical

  Often, hypocrisy is an accusation leveled at a particular person. But churches can become hypocritical and cultivate a culture of hypocrisy as an organization. How does this happen?

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  Sep 2, 2021

  What should you do when you get hate messages? 4 options to consider

  Regardless of how off base such a letter may be, it still represents the perspective of a person in the church family. So what do you do?

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  Aug 26, 2021

  Winning over 3 kinds of your most difficult church members

  What does a difficult person look like, and how can you win them over?

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  Aug 21, 2021

  What will happen to the all-white church in America? 10 trends to watch over next 10 years

  Demographics tend to change slowly. You can see the patterns emerging, and, for the most part, you can know what is coming years in advance. Most people do not pay attention to these gradual shifts because it does not have an immediate impact on their lives. Then we hit an inflection point, and everyone seems to notice.

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  Aug 7, 2021

  Here's 1 of the most overlooked ways to get your church to solve community problems

  The list of ideas is long. While each community will have neighborhood-specific problems, one issue stands out as a neglected nationwide solution most churches are not considering. Fostering is one of the most overlooked ways to get your church to solve community problems.

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  Jul 25, 2021

  A few surprising perspectives about your unchurched neighbors

  We are all guilty on some level of not being obedient to the imperative of Acts 1:8, sharing the Gospel message with all who will listen. And many of us have not taken the step of inviting our neighbors to church. Some of us may not even know our neighbors.