All Episodes
Rainer on Leadership — 139 episodes
Armed Church Security Teams: Good Idea or Bad Idea?
Five Relatively Recent Theological Controversies That Have Faded
Why Don’t Churches Sing Old-School Hymns Anymore?
An Interview with Chris Brauns on “The Way of Repentance”
Should a Church Accept a Tithe from a Lottery Winner?
The Burge Report: Why Immigration Won’t Reverse America’s Secular Drift
The Top Preaching Distractions (What Stops Pastors Mid-Sentence in the Pulpit)
Why the Pastorate Is One of the Highest Security Jobs in an AI World
What Should a Pastor Do When One or Two Key Donors Keep the Church Doors Open
The Four Domains of Successful Outreach to Families with Children
Why We Still Believe in Short-Term Mission Trips for Churches
Unique Church Leadership Lessons from the Book of Ezra You Haven’t Heard
The Back-to-School Checklist for Pastors (Prepping Your Church for Ministry to Parents and School-Age Children)
The Burge Report: Why the 1990s Were the Most Consequential in Modern U.S. Religious History
What Successful Evangelistic Churches Actually Do for Outreach
Dodging Detours: Five Ways a Feasibility Study Protects Your Campaign from Pitfalls
Should Pastors Engage in Online Fights?
The Future of Church Hiring When Pastors Are in Short Supply
Amiable Autocrats: Why Some of the Nicest Pastors Make the Worst Bosses
Why Churches Are Struggling More and More to Find Staff
Why Can’t Pastors Talk About Politics?
The Burge Report: Are Non-Denominational Churches Just Southern Baptists in Disguise?
The Ongoing Shortage of Student Pastors (Where Did They Go?)
The Church Summer Slump: What Every Pastor Should Know
The Top Ten Most Common Low Attendance Days in Churches
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Bible Translation Committee (What Really Happens)
The Reality of Church Hoppers: A Pastor’s Honest Perspective
Why Members Leave Their Church and Never Come Back
Why Some Pastors Stay for Decades (and Thrive in Their Churches)
The Hyper-Traditionalist Movement in Church Architecture (Is Anyone Really Building Churches This Way?)
The Church “Fault Lines” That Could Become Ministry Tsunamis
The Burge Report: Boomers Can’t Save Us Forever: The Hard Truth About Church Demographics
What Churches Should Do About Inactive Members
Are Sunday Morning Service Times Changing? What the Data Says About the Future of Church Worship Schedules
What to Say (and Not Say) Immediately After a Church Crisis
Crucial Commitments: 5 Simple Decisions That Members of Healthy and Growing Churches Make
How to Become Your Pastor’s Favorite Church Member
The Best Board and Trustee Structure for Churches
Seven Things Pastors Do You Probably Don’t Know About
The Burge Report: Gen Z and the Church: Lonely, Cautious, Skeptical, But… Open
How to Discard a Worn-Out Bible Properly
Should Full-Time Pastors Have a Side Hustle?
The Critical Functions of a Pastor Rarely Found in a Church Job Description
After 25 Years of Consistent Recreation Ministry, This Church Discovered Something…
What We’re Doing as Pastors to Keep Our Marriages Healthy
Six Reasons Pastors Must Be More Courageous Today
The Top Ways to Annoy Your Pastor
The Burge Report: The Latest Data on Transgender Young Adults and the Church
Tithing Or Not: Should Lead Pastors Know What Church Staff Give?
What Growing Churches Actually Do to Reach and Keep People
Churches Are Targets for Predators (Here’s Why)
Marriage Discipleship Is the Missing Piece in Family Ministry
Why Churches Are MUCH Older Now…
Why Guests Don’t Come Back to Church After a Big Ministry Event
America’s Gambling Problem and the Church
Why Small Churches Matter More Than Ever
When Church Members Become Online Trolls: What Pastors Should Do
The Burge Report: The Assemblies of God: Why This Denomination Is Defying Gravity
How Long Should a Pastor Pray Each Day?
Before You Enroll: What You Need to Know About Seminary
Should the Pastor Know How Much People Give to the Church?
The Silent Exodus of Senior Adults (What’s Happening in Churches?)
Should Churches Acknowledge Super Bowl Sunday?
The Church Number: 60% The Power of a Personal Invitation
The Best Ways to Encourage a Discouraged Church (Your Next Three Steps)
Revisiting Simple Church: What Worked, What Didn’t
How Do You Fire a Church Employee?
The Burge Report: The Democrats Have a Religion Problem (Does It Matter?)
When Should a Church Hire an Executive Pastor?
Digital Worship Fatigue: Why Online Church Can’t Replace the In-Person Gathering
Church Conflict: Five Common Ways Small Fights Turn into Big Problems
Does Counting Church Worship Attendance Still Make Sense?
Five Pastoral New Year’s Resolutions that Aren’t About You
The Burge Report: Who’s Really Watching Online Church?
After the Christmas Chaos: The Lightest Work Week of the Year for Pastors
Religious People Are Happier (And the Data Proves It)
Unbelievable: 72% of Churches Have No Marriage Ministry!
NEW Research: What Really Matters in Theological Education?
Non-Churchy Looking Churches: The Advantages of Big-Box Church Architecture
Should Churches Look Churchy? The Advantages of Traditional Architecture
How to Handle Losing Your Church’s Biggest Financial Supporter
Small-Church Breakout Growth: The Incredible Story of First Baptist Caldwell, NJ
Why You Should Leave Your Church (A Pastor’s Perspective)
The Burge Report: How Do Pastors Actually End Up in Ministry?
The Top Reasons Why It’s Painful for Pastors to Lose Church Members
An Entrepreneurial-Minded Pastor in an Established Church: The Unique Story of a Baltimore Congregation
Three Things Every Church Small Group Leader Should Be Doing
How to Grow Generosity in Your Church (Without Making It Complicated)
The Unchurched Are Not Angry with You (But They Are Indifferent)
The Church Number: From 137 to 60 The Shrinking Median Church in America (2000–2023)
Many Churches Face Future Sticker Shock with Deferred Maintenance
The Burge Report: The Biggest Little Denomination: The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
The One-Person Church Communication Plan (That Actually Works)
How to Get Families in Your Church to Read the Bible Together
The Least Appreciated People in Your Church (And What To Do About It)
The Legacy Life with David Green, Founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby, and Bill High, CEO of Legacy Stone
How We’re Using AI in Sermon Prep Ethically and Efficiently
The Unknown Connection Most Unchurched Have with the Church
Six Essential Pastoral Meetings No One is Scheduling For You
The Burge Report: The Kids Aren’t Alright—And Church Student Ministry Might Actually Help
What Really Scares People Away from Church
The Big Front Door for Guests Just About Every Church Misses
Building a Worship Ministry that Excels On and Off the Stage
The Top 6 Gripes About Church Curriculum (and What to Do About Them)
The Trust Gap: Why Outsiders Won’t Step Inside Your Church
Five Reasons Churches Should Still Try to Reach Boomers
Realistic One-to-Two-Year Objectives for Small-Church Revitalization
Millennials Move LESS than Gen X and Boomers (New Implications for Your Church)
Which “Higher Standard” Measures Actually Make Sense for Pastors
How Your Building Shapes Your Ministry: Five Ways the Baptist T Still Shapes (and Limits) Your Ministry
How Your Building Shapes Your Ministry: The Baptist T – When Building Design Limits Ministry
The Burge Report: Do Churchgoers Want More or Less Politics in the Pulpit?
The Loneliness Epidemic Among Pastors
The Non-Legalist Reasons for Weekly Church Attendance
Who in the Church Should Hold Pastors Accountable?
Weekly Church Attendance Patterns by Generation: 2016 to 2024
The Johnson Amendment Reversal: Endorsing Political Candidates from the Pulpit
Why the NLT Might Be the Best Bible You’ve Never Considered
Sermon Illustrations that Connect to the Bible Text (And Your Church!)
The Easiest (and Most Incredible) Way to Get Information from Your Guests!
The Burge Report: Is Gen Z More Religiously Engaged than Their Parents?
The Limits of Pastoral Care: When Counseling Isn’t Appropriate
The Top 5 Legal Issues Churches Face Today
Ten Quiet Disrupters in American Church Life (Part 2)
Ten Quiet Disrupters in American Church Life (Part 1)
What Young Families Really Want in a Church
Seven Occasions When You Should Not Hire More Church Staff
How Much Money Should a Pastor Make?
The Burge Report: Are Religious People More Prone to Conspiracy Theories?
The Future of America’s Largest Churches: An Interview with Eric Geiger
The Shifts in How Churches Choose Small Group Curriculum (What You Need to Know): An Interview with Michael Kelley
The Best Bible Translation for Preaching
Four Kinds of Church Leaders Who Will Not Lead in Revitalization
What Should I Do After Getting Fired from a Church?
Four Common Reasons Most Churches Aren’t Breakout Churches
Five Key Tips to Teach Your Church to Tithe
Eight Causes for a Ministry Slump
Is There Any Hope for Revitalizing Mainline Churches?
The Burge Report: Why Are Non-Denominational Churches Growing?