The latest issue of Church Executive recently hit the stands.  It has some great articles in it—you can subscribe here. Below is an excerpt from my article in the issue. If your church remains healthy, then the staff structure will probably look much different in 2020 than it does right now. Church leaders will work for long periods of time to implement new visions for their congregations. They will labor for years to simplify the structures of their churches. They will lead their churches to Read more [...]

I am self-conscious about using the term “kid.” I served for two years at a church where a loving member would adamantly correct me when I used the word in a sermon. “Kids are baby goats. We have children, NOT kids!” She would chastise me every time. It seriously upset her. But what about kids children these days? Excerpts from two separate research projects caught my attention. The first is from the Perspectives on Psychological Science Journal (reported by UPI): Today's teens are no Read more [...]

No one knows Sam Rainer, Sr.—at least outside of Union Springs, AL. My grandfather was the mayor of the town and president of the local bank. He didn’t write books. He didn’t have speaking engagements. I don’t think he ever did a radio interview. He just poured his life into the town my grandmother endearingly called “Onion Sprouts” (she never told us why). The Lord took him home in 1984, but his legacy remains. He was a war hero who flew D-Day. He sided with civil rights activists in Read more [...]

I want to be an old man some day. My wife’s friends called me “old man Sam” when we started dating, but it doesn’t count. I am older than her, but not that much older. At 30, however, I think I’m more in the younger category than older. So one day I want to be an old man. One with lots of stories. I look up to the older guys in my church. We young guys need to. There are a few things that I pray don’t disappear with the older generation. There are amazing stories to be told. And stuff Read more [...]