The Art of Balancing Ideology and Progress
by: Sam Rainer III
Every church should progress. Every church should cling to ideals. And healthy church leadership involves the process of balancing both ideology and progress.
ABOUT SAM RAINER III
Sam serves as lead pastor of West Bradenton Baptist Church. He is also the president of Rainer Research, and he is the co-founder/co-owner of Rainer Publishing. His desire is to provide answers for better church health. Sam is author of the book, Obstacles in the Established Church, and the co-author of the book, Essential Church. He is an editorial advisor/contributor at Church Executive magazine. He has also served as a consulting editor at Outreach magazine. He has written over 150 articles on church health for numerous publications, and he is a frequent conference speaker. Before submitting to the call of ministry, Sam worked in a procurement consulting role for Fortune 1000 companies.
Sam holds a B.S. in Finance and Marketing from the University of South Carolina, an M.A. in Missiology from Southern Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies at Dallas Baptist University.
7 Ways to Love Your Community
by: Sam Rainer III
Church leaders should love their communities as much as their churches. Granted, some churches are easier to love than others, and some communities are easier to love than others. A calling to a place, however, requires a love for that place.
Why New Pastors Meet Resistance to Change, Part 2
by: Sam Rainer III
Don’t attempt change if you haven’t learned to love the people of the church and the community.
Why New Pastors Meet Resistance to Change, Part 1
by: Sam Rainer III
Change is likely to occur when the people within an organization believe the benefits of making the change outweigh the costs of making the change.
Your Communication Strategy Starts at the Top: Why Senior Pastors Are to Blame for Bad Church Signs
by: Sam Rainer III
I blame senior church leaders for bad church signs and bulletin bloopers. The communication strategy of a church is the responsibility of senior leadership.
Improving the Ineffective Leader: Moving from Bad to Good
by: Sam Rainer III
While environment and position influence bad leadership, not every case of poor leadership can be blamed on a mismatch. Some leaders are just outliers on the wrong side of the bell curve.
Hurdles to Established Church Innovation
by: Sam Rainer III
Established churches, in particular, can take comfort in the establishment. Traditions and history can easily become a guise for complacency.
Who You Influence: 5 Types of Followers
by: Sam Rainer III
Either people are on board with your leadership or not, right? No; there are degrees of influence and different types of followers.
Can I Be An Effective Pastor If I Don’t Like Management?
by: Sam Rainer III
Leadership Engine, Sam Rainer, Staff, Staff Leadership Roles
The vast majority of pastoral roles include management. So, can church leaders be effective if they don’t like management?
The Transition from Idea to Change
by: Sam Rainer III
Change occurs most smoothly when ideas are simple, standard, and flexible.
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Thank you Ed for sharing your insights into the Church Growth Movement. I have my reservations with Church Growth models because it has done more damage than good in the Body of Christ. Over the years, western churches are more focused on results, formulas and processes with little or no emphasis on membership and church discipline. Pastors and vocational leaders are burnt out because they're overworked.
I do believe that the Church Growth model is a catalyst to two destructive groups: The New Apostolic Reformation and the Emerging Church. Both groups overlap and have a very loose definition. They're both focus on contemporary worship, expansion of church brand (franchising), and mobilizing volunteering members as 'leaders' to grow their ministry. Little focus on biblical study, apologetics and genuine missional work with no agenda besides preaching of the gospel.
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Thank you for sharing such a good article. It is a great lesson I learned from this article. I am one of the leaders in Emmanuel united church of Ethiopia (A denomination with more-than 780 local churches through out the country). I am preparing a presentation on succession planning for local church leaders. It will help me for preparation If you send me more resources and recommend me books to read on the topic. I hope we may collaborate in advancing leadership capacity of our church. God Bless You and Your Ministry.
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Amen!!
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