by Sam Rainer | Dec 20, 2007 | Uncategorized
I’m a city-boy. I grew up most of my life inside large urban areas. My wife is a country gal. Her family raises their own beef. So when we started looking for a home, I was thinking a downtown loft. She wanted farmland. So we compromised. Our home borders corn fields... by Sam Rainer | Dec 16, 2007 | Uncategorized
I am putting the final touches on my first book (co-authored with my father). The tentative title is Essential Church. The bulk of the work is based upon a three-part research project on why 18-22 year-olds leave the church and how to get them back. The manuscript... by Sam Rainer | Dec 14, 2007 | Uncategorized
Sitting at a table during our last church fellowship, I asked a woman who was visiting, “Do I know you or have we met before?” She just looked at me with a wry grin. I thought I recognized her, but I wasn’t sure why. “I know you, and we’ve met many times before,” she... by Sam Rainer | Dec 8, 2007 | Uncategorized
I learned something this week. It was the best kind of learning – the one where you see academic theory played out in real life. I love to teach, but I’m not one for classrooms. I love to learn, but I don’t need academia telling me what’s most important. But the... by Sam Rainer | Dec 4, 2007 | Uncategorized
“While discipleship defines the walk of the believer, prayer fuels this walk and gives power to make this walk honoring to God.” That quote comes from my Sunday School director. He’s a sagacious old man… The more I am in ministry, the more I see the necessity of...
