Thom S. Rainer

A Quick Overview of the Triple Nones

Written by Thom S. Rainer |
Saturday, June 29, 2024
Simply put, a person has to pass three tests to be a triple none. Behavior. They never attend church.  Belief. They have no beliefs about God other than they doubt or deny his existence. In other words, they are agnostics or atheists. Belonging. They claim no religious affiliation or preference. The most notable data Burge produced in this aspect was the number of Americans that fit all three categories.

I remember my surprise at the response to a book I wrote in 2001, Surprising Insights from the Unchurched. The fact that I remember something that took place almost a quarter of a century ago is a testament to its indelible mark on my memory.
My research team studied the formerly unchurched, persons who had been out of the church for a long time (or their entire lives) and later became a part of a local congregation. Because of our large number of surveys and because our research team interviewed many of them in person, we ended up with a treasure trove of insights. We learned so much about why people who had rejected the church decided to come to a local congregation.
But my surprise occurred when the book started selling well, and I got more speaking requests than I could ever handle. Church leaders were fascinated by this research. That fascination of why people attend or leave church continues today.
But it is the latest research that should garner a lot of attention.
The Burge Factor
Ryan Burge is my favorite religion researcher. We are thrilled to have his insights and fun personality on the Church Answers team.
What Burge does that is unique is that he researches research. He looks at the massive amounts of data other major firms produce and discerns patterns and trends. His regular content is aptly named Graphs about Religion.
Burge points out that many church leaders regularly assume they know the precise definitions of terms related to religion.
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When Church Members are a Blessed Exit: 5 Thoughts

Written by Thom S. Rainer |
Sunday, November 12, 2023
These blessed exits can be a form of self-selected church discipline. Of course, departing members do not see themselves as subjects of church discipline. Still, their exits were good for the church, its mission, and its unity. Many of the pastors with whom we’ve spoken have learned not to chase these exiting members. 

Perhaps one of the most under-reported issues about the post-pandemic church is how some churches are doing better after the departure of some church members. We know that about 20 percent of active church attendees stopped attending during the pandemic and have not returned. What we rarely hear is that some of those departures actually helped churches.
I need to be careful with this topic. I am not suggesting that urging members to leave should be a church strategy. Nor am I suggesting that problems always reside with the church members. Pastors and other church staff can be problems as well.
Still, this issue is worth exploring. Here are five observations I have at this point,
1. Greater unity takes place when a negative church member leaves. My prayer is that any negativity in the church would be removed. It is hard to have a unified church when there is pervasive negativity present. One pastor shared with me about three church members who did not return after the pandemic quarantine.
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25 Unbelievable Things Search Committees Said to Pastoral Candidates

Written by Thom S. Rainer |
Monday, March 28, 2022
We got dozens of the expected responses like, “Does your wife play piano?” But we got many more that shocked us. By this point, you would think that I couldn’t be shocked how some churches treat a pastor or staff member.

It began as a conversation at Church Answers where we have 2,000 church leaders interacting almost 24 hours a day. They can ask questions about their churches, or they can just interact with one another about the hopes and travails of ministry.
I read as many of the comments as possible. This one caused me to pause. A pastor was interviewing with a search committee when one of the committee members asked him if he would be on 24/7 call 365 days a week. Taken aback, the pastor then asked the search committee member how many hours a week he was expected to work. The response? Up to 120 hours a week!
Seriously.
As other pastors and staff members interacted with this pastor, I decided to take the question to social media. I wanted to ask the question specifically to lead pastors, but I included church staff as well. Here was my question: “Pastors and church staff: What is a question you’ve been asked by a search committee (or its equivalent) that told you the church is not a good fit for you?”
We got dozens of the expected responses like, “Does your wife play piano?” But we got many more that shocked us. By this point, you would think that I couldn’t be shocked how some churches treat a pastor or staff member.
Here are 25 of the shocking questions or comments in no particular order:

Our last pastor preached for 18 minutes. Can you keep it under 20 minutes?

The salary is low, but we will pay you a commission for each new tithing family that joins the church.

What is your political party affiliation?

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