My father, Thom S. Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, wrote the following post after doing an unscientific Twitter survey. Feel free to chime in with your comments and some of your favorite books of the last two years. I returned to the Twitterverse to listen to what people are reading these days. Since I have 13,000 “followers,” it seemed likely that we could at least get an idea of the books that are really capturing the attention of folks. Once again, I must remind Read more [...]

After digging into Census data, the Pew Research Center has uncovered trends about each state and uniquely packaged them in a memorable format. They have created a typology that groups states as “sticky,” “magnetic,” both, or neither. They define each term: "Magnet" states are those in which a high share of the adults who live there now moved there from some other state. "Sticky" states are those in which a high share of the adults who were born there live there now. It’s a great way Read more [...]

One of the most dramatic demographic shifts in the past 15 years has occurred in our suburban public schools. The Pew Hispanic Center recently released a study from data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics. Here’s what they found: When it comes to increases in public school student enrollment, the suburbs are where most of the action has been over the past decade and a half. Since 1993-94, two-thirds of the 5.1 million increase in public school enrollment nationwide has Read more [...]

Below is my column from the most recent issue of Outreach Magazine. With the newest issue, they’ve updated the format, and it looks great. If you’re not currently subscribing, the bi-monthly magazine is a great resource for reaching your community. I once thought my father had incredible power. My brothers and I savored the days when he would pick us up from school and take us back to his office at the church. On the way he would demonstrate his authority over stoplights. At each one, he would Read more [...]

My father has a new website. Check out ThomRainer.com for his insights about church health and other topics. Today’s post is about prayer - an appropriate and relevant first topic: I miss Frances Mason. Frances was a member of a church where I served as pastor. She died three years ago. I still miss her. She came by my office the first week I was on the field in the church. “Pastor,” she told me, “I want you to know that I will pray for you every day. As spiritual leader of this church, Read more [...]