339: Thom S. Rainer and The Changing American Church

Thom S. Rainer is the founder and CEO of Church Answers. With nearly forty years of ministry experience, Thom has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of the local church and its leaders. He has been a pastor of four churches and interim pastor of ten churches He is the author of numerous books, including I Am a Christian and I Believe. Today, Thom shares how he ended up in ministry instead of banking, the difficulty of losing his father, and his thoughts on the changing nature of the American church. He reveals what he’s seeing as churches struggle to come back from the pandemic and the problems pastors are asking to be solved. Thom has been steeped in American Evangelical churches for decades and has a finger on the pulse of the local church. His story reminds us that the local church is still a vital institution for growing in Christ.

Listen to Thom’s story in your favorite podcast app now!

Stories Thom shared:

Hearing the Gospel from his high school football coach

Why it took a couple of days for him to become a Christian

Dropping out of church almost immediately

Deciding to get closer to Christ when he started dating his wife

Going into banking when they got married and getting immersed in church

Watching a five year old die and how that led him to a sense of calling

Losing his father and how that became a dark night of the soul

Becoming the CEO of Lifeway and how that affected him

The issue of glass houses for people in the pastorate

Why he started Church Answers

How churches can get healthier

Whether the digital church counts as “being in church”

The problem with “consumer Christianity”

The issue of expectation in churches

Great quotes from Thom:

I was probably my pastor’s both best and worst church members.

One of the surprises since Covid is that digital attendance has fallen off the cliff.

With expectation should come equipping and empowering.

Resources we mentioned:

Thom’s website for Church Answers

I Believe: A Concise Guide to the Essentials of the Christian Faith by Thomas S. Rainer

I Am A Church Member by Thomas S. Rainer

Church Equip

Related episodes:

Jonathan Carone and Unlearning and Relearning

Michelle Ferrigno Warren and Life on the Jericho Road

Loren Hicks and the Practice of Discipleship

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