The Crux of It All

April 8, 2009

It is no accident that Newsweek will publish this cover story the day after Easter. It’s available here online. The article uses as support a recent survey from researchers at the Trinity College in Hartford, CT. These researchers surveyed more than 54,461 people between February and November 2008. They found that the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as Christians has dropped from 86 percent in 1990 to 76 percent today. Written by Newsweek’s editor, Jon Meacham, it’s a fair-minded Read more [...]

The De-Baptism Movement

April 1, 2009

A recent story from Great Britain broke my heart. While the movement is not widespread, more than 100,000 British people have downloaded certificates of de-baptism. Another 1,500 British have paid for the parchment version of the certificate. The National Secular Society started the movement. This news snippet comes from the report: The initiative launched by a group called the National Secular Society (NSS) follows atheist campaigns here and elsewhere, including a London bus poster which triggered Read more [...]

The Unchurched Next Door are Receptive

March 26, 2009

Ed Stetzer and team recently released one of the largest surveys on Americans’ receptivity to different methods of church invitations. Conducted last December, the study included a survey of over 15,000 adults. It should not come as a surprise, but the best way to reach people is through friends, family, and neighbors: Personal invitations are generally well received. It is yet another example of statistics screaming for us to be bold in sharing our faith and inviting others to church. This Read more [...]

Faith and Family

March 22, 2009

Scott McConnell from the LifeWay Research team co-authored the recently published book, The Parent Adventure. It reveals how the church can help moms and dads break the cycle of destructive parenting practices by focusing on the authority of God’s Word. The book includes a national survey of 1,200 adults with children under 18 living at home. This data blurb from the research caught my attention: The most common definitions of successful parenting include children having good values (25 percent), Read more [...]

Baptism as an Evangelistic Opportunity

March 16, 2009

The latest update from LifeWay Research contains one of the more encouraging stats I’ve seen this year. The heading of the release reads “Nearly all Americans would attend a friend's baptism…if invited.” The report included this statistic: 87 percent of Americans agree with the statement, "If invited, I would attend the baptism of a friend or a friend's child (even if I didn't attend that particular church)." The key words in this phrase are “if invited.” One of the great tragedies in Read more [...]

The Rise of the Non-Religious

March 11, 2009

The release of the American Religious Identification Survey has caused a flood of media and blog activity. Researchers at the Trinity College in Hartford, CT surveyed more than 54,461 people between February and November 2008. They found that the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as Christians has dropped from 86 percent in 1990 to 76 percent today. The report expounded upon this sharp decline: Ninety percent of the decline comes from the non-Catholic segment of the Christian population, Read more [...]

The Tragic Death of Pastor Fred Winters

March 8, 2009

As many of you may know, Pastor Fred Winters of First Baptist Church Maryville, IL, was shot to death during the 8:15AM service while he was preaching. My father, Thom S. Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay, has asked to utilize my blog to release a statement he wrote earlier today about his friend and former student. Our prayers are with the family and church during this tragic time. A few moments ago I received the tragic news that Fred Winters, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Maryville, Read more [...]

The Power of Multiplying Groups

March 8, 2009

My good friend and partner in ministry, Chad Keck, has put together a video of our campus that demonstrates how one small group within a church can create a culture multiplication. As you will see, I’m blessed to serve at the Ranch (what we call our campus). Small groups go by many different names (Sunday School, community group, etc), but it’s important that they are more than the teaching arm of your church – they are one of the best ways to multiply. Check out Chad’s video and then stop Read more [...]

Killing Sermon Cockroaches

March 2, 2009

Tony Morgan (NewSpring Church Chief Strategic Officer) has given us a great new collection of leadership insights in his new book Killing Cockroaches. It took me forever to read it - not because of his writing style, but rather because of the page flip animation of scurrying cockroaches in the bottom corner of the book. It’s spellbinding. Once the mesmerizing effects wore off, I found myself underlining and circling several portions of the book. The book is a collection of short insights on Read more [...]

The Generational Tech Divide

February 24, 2009

New data from the Barna Group reveals the breakdown of technology use between different generations. You can read all of the conclusions here. David Kinnaman comments about some the results: Even though young people are sometimes called the "Net Generation," every age segment is becoming dependent on the Internet. In fact, because Boomers and Busters represent about two-thirds of the adult population, they are far more numerous users of technology than are adults under the age of 25. For instance, Read more [...]