Quotes from Thom S. Rainer

Leaders are first to care for the sheep. They are to love the sheep. They are to serve the sheep. If change is attempted without love, you have failed already.

change leadership involves an ongoing prayer conversation with God to give you love for all the sheep. He will teach you how to love these sheep.

If you are not being criticized, you are not leading. Such is the reality of leadership. Such is the reality of change leadership.

En una iglesia a la que le falta alineacion, todos compiten por el mismo espacio, los mismos recursos, los mismos voluntarios y el mismo tiempo dentro del calendario.

Here is the principle: If you know you have to make a difficult decision with someone, don't delay. The situation will only worsen. But please be certain you have no other alternatives.

As leaders, we do not want to change people. We want God to change people. And that includes us leaders as well.

Simple church leaders are designers. They design opportunities for spiritual growth. Complex church leaders are programmers. They run ministry programs.

Simply stated, your church will not likely be ready for change until it experiences some action steps of an outward focus.

This outward focus prepares the members for change. It gets them looking beyond their own needs to the needs of their community and the world.

Turnaround begins with you. Outward focus begins with you. Revitalization begins with you.

Introverts don't like small talk conversation, but they typically don't mind writing. The more people can "see" you on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or a blog, the more they will feel like they know you, even though you don't have one-on-one interaction with them.

Confident and courageous leaders have no problems pointing out their own weaknesses and ignorance.

If outside forces and culture were the reasons behind declining and non-influential churches, we would likely have no churches today. The greatest periods of growth, particularly the first-century growth, took place in adversarial cultures. We are not hindered by external forces; we are hindered by our own lack of commitment and selflessness.

If you have been expending lots of energy mingling, counseling, or socializing, you need some down time to recover. Put it on your calendar so you can be intentional about it. And for an hour or so, go to a place by yourself. Read, relax, or do nothing. No one is there to talk to you for those minutes. Enjoy your blessed aloneness for a brief season.

The churches were purposeless. They were engaged in an activity called, "This is the way we've always done it.

the health of the church is directly tied to the health of groups in the church. If you are not in a small group, a Sunday school class, or some other type of group, you are not contributing to the health of the church.

Fearful leaders love to stay in the morass of insignificant details. Because the details are usually unimportant, it is difficult to make a mistake of consequence. Of course, it's impossible to do anything of consequence when your focus is on those things that really don't make a difference.

Thriving churches have the Great Commission as the centerpiece of their vision, while dying churches have forgotten the clear command of Christ.

Matthew 28:19–20: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." The imperative in those verses is "go." But as we go, there are several sub-commands. We are to make disciples. We are to baptize. We are to teach.

church members who became involved in some type of group in the churches were five times more likely to be active in the church five years later compared to the worship-only attenders.

A failure to pray was tantamount to a failure to breathe.

A church without a gospel-centered purpose is no longer a church at all.

Prayerful Commitment 1 God, open my eyes that I might see my church as You see it. Let me see where change needs to take place, even if it is painful to me. And use me, I pray, to be an instrument of that change whatever the cost.

Seven out of ten guests will go to a church website as a determinative factor in where they will choose to visit.