153- Most Churches Need Revitalization (with Thom Rainer)

Welcome to podcast 153. Today, it’s a blessing and honor to welcome Thom Rainer. Our subject will be church revitalization, a subject that Dr. Rainer is an expert on…

Thom S. Rainer is an author, researcher, speaker, and former president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. Prior to LifeWay, he served at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for twelve years where he was the founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism. He is a 1977 graduate of the University of Alabama and earned his Master of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Thom also serves as the Founder and CEO of Church Answers, a huge and effective resource for training, equipping, and revitalizing churches and ministers.

Thom, thanks for agreeing to be with us today. And welcome!

INTERVIEW

Thom, a while back I read an article you wrote entitled “Three Types of Church Revitalization.” Reading it helped me and our team better understand what we do, and have been doing since 2008.

In that article, you wrote that “Over 300,000 churches in America need significant revitalization.”

What do you think that number today? Is the church on an upswing, or is it continuing to decline?

The article uses the story written in the prophecy of Haggai as a reference point. In a real sense, Israel was in great need of revitalization. Their priorities were messed up!

DR. RAINER'S RESPONSE

In your article, you wrote:

“Like the rebuilding of the temple, there are two foundational issues that must be addressed in church revitalization. First, the church must have the right leaders on board. Second, the behavioral patterns of the church members must change.

“No infusion of methodologies or innovations can take place until these two issues are addressed. Such is the reason most revitalizations fail, and only a few succeed. Let’s look at that reality in light of three approaches.”

I’d love for you to elaborate on these two foundational issues, and on what happened in Haggai’s day.

DR. RAINER'S RESPONSE

It seems to me that unless leaders are honest about their current condition, and are willing to take a deep and honest dive into their own hearts and practices, revitalization will not occur.

So, what are good first steps in church revitalization?

RESOURCES

Thom Rainer has made many, many resources available. Here are just a few…

1. Article cited in this episode: download here: https://us4.campaign-archive.com/?u=e900691004213b8049094abdb&id=edd1c05103&e=ba1b3e8bad

2. Websites:

https://churchanswers.com (Thom Rainer, Founder and CEO)

Includes paid resources: courses, assessment tools, etc., and free resources: blog articles, webinars, etc.

3. Podcasts:

• The Church Answers Podcast

• The Church Answers Podcast

• Rainer On Leadership

• Revitalize & Replant

4. Books:

— Who Moved My Pulpit? Leading Change In The Church

— I Will: Nine Habits of the Outwardly Focused Christian

— Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Churches

— Breakout Churches: Discover How to Make the Leap

— Surprising Insights from the Unchurched and Proven Ways to Reach Them

— Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples

— The Post-Quarantine Church: Six Urgent Challenges and Opportunities That Will Determine the Future of Your Congregation

— Becoming A Welcoming Church

— Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive

— I Am A Church Member: Discover the Attitude that Makes the Difference

We appreciate you tuning in with us today. We invite you to subscribe to this podcast through any of the podcast outlets that distribute Strength for Today’s Pastor.

And don’t forget our website: poimenministries.com. You find lots of ways that we can connect with you, the senior or lead pastor, and by the will of God, strengthen you and your ministry to the glory of God.