What to do with Nastygrams

August 6, 2010

Most leaders get them. Every so often someone will send an unwarranted, venomous note, letter, or email. If you’ve ever received one, then you know they rarely come from someone close. Most of the time, they come from people you hardly know. In the church, these malicious messages are usually about irrelevant specifics, not the essentials of discipleship or the direction of a leader’s vision. Most annoyingly, they often come as a surprise from someone who has never expressed any previous disagreements Read more [...]

What I Learned from Being a Bi-vocational Pastor

July 25, 2010

Today I attended the funeral of a 95 year-old man. He was a bi-vocational minister. He paid the bills by working as an electrician. But his calling drove him to the tent revivals and churches. Bi-vocational pastors serve outside the spotlight. In my denomination, however, approximately half of all pastors are bi-vocational. They are many, but they get only a fraction of attention given to pastors of larger churches. They receive little recognition, but they are the workhorses of churches that Read more [...]

Welcoming Maggie Elizabeth Rainer!

June 25, 2010

No words can describe. 7 lbs 9 oz. I love her so much.

Why I’m Proud of My Dad

June 20, 2010

I spoke the below words in 2006 at my father’s inauguration to be president of LifeWay Christian Resources. I think no less of my father today. I can vividly recall the first time I failed at something. It was a new school year, and my second grade teacher had just returned the first quiz. I was somewhat pleased because I got half the questions right for a grade of 50%. One of my classmates then informed me that getting half right meant I received an ‘F.’ I didn’t believe him, and I decided Read more [...]

The Most Difficult Leadership Question

June 19, 2010

I recently spent some time at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD for my PhD program. A retired Colonel gave a lecture to my cohort. What he taught is one of the best leadership lessons on humility I’ve ever heard. Allow me to share the highlights of his lecture. It’s the hardest leadership question to answer: Am I humble? Humility is the most difficult leadership trait to determine about ourselves. And pride is the most dangerous leadership trait. Arrogance is the root leadership Read more [...]

What is Often Overlooked in Strategy

June 18, 2010

You are always communicating something. Body language, spoken words, which events you attend or do not attend—all send signals. And one of a leader’s key goals is reducing uncertainty—or ambiguity—by communicating the right information in the right amounts to the right people. Church leaders create strategies for growth, discipleship, worship experience, among many other things. What is often left out of these strategies, however, is a detailed plan for communicating. Without proper communication, Read more [...]

Choking the Church with Ambiguity

June 15, 2010

A problem with organizations is the larger they become, the more layers of complexity are added. More people equates to more information. More information leads to greater complexity—so the larger the organization, the greater the potential for information to get misconstrued or lost. Like someone who is deprived oxygen, a lack of clear communication—or a large amount of erroneous information—can choke an organization. Without good information flow, uncertainty is bound to build. By nature, Read more [...]

A Valuable Lesson from a Dying Media

May 14, 2010

The monthly emails from the Courier-Journal (the Louisville newspaper) finally got to me. Dear Sam Raimer, This is a courtesy reminder that your delivery service is scheduled to stop within the next 14 days. To prevent an interruption in your service, please utilize our quick online payment method by clicking on the link below. I was already on their payment system—they were charging my credit card monthly. And I was calling every month to prevent them from stopping my subscription. Twilight Read more [...]

Do Americans Believe God Answers Prayers?

May 5, 2010

Yes. Overwhelmingly so. The vast majority of Americans (92%) believe there is a God, and 83% of Americans say God answers prayers. Despite the positivity surrounding prayer, only 57% of adults favor a National Day of Prayer while 38% are ambivalent. I doubt a large segment Americans are praying to the God of the Bible, but too often I do not pray as if I am talking to the Creator of the universe. If I’m not careful, my personal prayer life can become routine and dull. And it’s far too easy Read more [...]

Religion According to Google

April 22, 2010

The following maps are generated from religious references in user-created content indexed by Google. The first map demonstrates which religions are more referenced than others in global searches. For example, blue means more search references to Jesus than Allah (green), Buddha (yellow), or Hindu (red). The second map reveals which denominations are more searched in the US. Not surprisingly, Baptists (green) dominate the South and Mormons (purple) lead the Mountain West. More of a surprise was Read more [...]