Why I Like Thom Rainer

I first came in contact with Thom Rainer when I was a student at Southeastern Seminary eleven years ago. Rainer was the dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Seminary at the time. He also happened to be the author of a textbook for a class on church growth.

Here's where I first came to respect Rainer: he made an assertion in his Book of Church Growth which he later refuted in his own Effective Evangelistic Churches. It takes a big man to admit his own error in print. But that was only the beginning of my appreciation for Dr. Rainer.

A couple of years later, he came to Rocky Mount, NC, where I was serving in ministry. By that time, I had completed my Master's work at Southeastern and was toying with the idea of pursuing doctoral work. I went to hear Dr. Rainer's presentation that night and wound up spending almost twenty minutes talking with him about the Doctor of Ministry in Evangelism and Church Growth. I was hooked.

My greatest appreciation for Dr. Rainer, though, is his research-based approach to writing. A lot of church growth writers seem to base their assertions on limited research at best. To be honest, several of them have set forth a single church's success as the model for all others. Rainer, though, usually makes his assertions only after evaluating several hundred churches in a variety of areas. When he speaks, you can believe that I'm paying attention.

I was disappointed that Dr. Rainer's departure to LifeWay came at almost the same time I finally enrolled at Southern, but I've seen his influence throughout the program. His replacement, Dr. Charles Lawless, has an equal level of passion and integrity to Dr. Rainer's. Both these men have played a pivotal role in shaping my understanding of and attitude toward church growth.

If you're not familiar with Thom Rainer, let me encourage you to follow his blog or buy one of his books (Sorry, Doc. LifeWay's page didn't show up on the first Google page). It'll give you a new appreciation for LifeWay stores and products. I think you'll come to appreciate him, too.