Thom S. Rainer - Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive

Other Books by Thom S. Rainer

I Am a Church Member

The Millennials (coauthor)

Transformational Church (coauthor)

Simple Life (coauthor)

Essential Church (coauthor)

Vibrant Church (coauthor)

Raising Dad (coauthor)

Simple Church (coauthor)

The Unexpected Journey

The Unchurched Next Door

Surprising Insights from the Unchurched

Eating the Elephant (revised edition) (coauthor)

High Expectations

The Every Church Guide to Growth (coauthor)

The Bridger Generation

Effective Evangelistic Churches

The Church Growth Encyclopedia (coeditor)

Experiencing Personal Revival (coauthor)

Giant Awakenings

Biblical Standards for Evangelists (coauthor)

Eating the Elephant

The Book of Church Growth

Evangelism in the Twenty-First Century (editor)

Autopsy of a Deceased Church, Digital Edition

Based on Print Edition

Copyright 2014 by Thom S. Rainer

All Rights Reserved

Printed in the United States of America

978-1-4336-8392-3

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 262

Subject Heading: CHURCH \ CHURCH RENEWAL \ LEADERSHIP

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

To

My Grandchildren

Canon Rainer

Maggie Rainer

Nathaniel Rainer

Will Rainer

Harper Rainer

Bren Rainer

Joshua Rainer

With many more surely to follow

And always to

Nellie Jo

Jo Jo to our grandchildren

Acknowledgments

I never expected to write a book about death, whether the subject would be the death of humans or the death of churches. I am hopeful and optimistic by nature. Death and dying, frankly, are subjects I would rather avoid.

But then I wrote a post called Autopsy of a Deceased Church on my blog at www.ThomRainer.com. I was amazed at the response. It became and still is my most viewed post. Even months later, people still read that article daily. I knew I had struck a chord.

I first express appreciation to the community of readers at my blog. I know some of you by name, but with millions of viewers a year, I cant know all of you. Thank you, every one of you, for taking time to read what I write. I am still amazed that anyone wants to read my works.

I owe a great deal of appreciation to the B&H team, one of the most capable and excellent teams in publishing today. I wish I could name each of you individually. Thank you Jennifer Lyell and Devin Maddox. You are superb editors, dynamic leaders, and persistent encouragers. And thanks to the two top leaders of B&H: Selma Wilson and Cossy Pachares. You have taken a sleeping giant and turned it into a mighty force in Christian publishing.

There are no words adequate to thank Team Rainer in the presidents office. I love having A players on my team. I am blessed to have three A+ players: Amy Jordan, Amy Thompson, and Jonathan Howe. They are the brains and hearts behind my social media, my organizational life, and all that I write. Thank you, team.

If you know me at all, you know I love my family. I love my wife, Nellie Jo. I love my sons, Sam, Art, and Jess. I love my daughters-in-law, Erin, Sarah, and Rachel. And I love my seven grandchildren whose names are at the forefront on the dedication page. I fully expect more grandchildren will be on the way by the time this book is published. No pressure.

Though I stand amazed that any of you readers would actually read my publications, I thank you for it. And though I dont know what expectations, hopes, or burdens you bring to the reading of this book, I pray God will use it greatly for you and your congregations.

Ultimately, my greatest gratitude goes to my Lord. This book is about His church. He cares about His church. He loves His church. I pray that my simple words will be used in some small way to help His churches in His power and strength. And if this tome is used in such a way, I know where the credit will go and to Whom the glory belongs.

Part 1

The Autopsy

Chapter 1

Introduction

I knew the patient before she died.

It was ten years ago. She was very sick at the time, but she did not want to admit it.

There was only a glimmer of hope at best. But that hope could become a reality only with radical change. She wasnt nearly ready for that change. Indeed, she was highly resistant to any change. Even though she was very sick.

Even though she was dying.

I told her the bad news bluntly: You are dying. I hope I said those words with some compassion. I did feel badly sharing the news. But it was the only way I could see to get her attention.

I even told her that, at best, she had five years to live. At the time I said those words, I dont really think I was that optimistic. I would not have been surprised if she died within the year.

But she was not only in denial; she was in angry denial.

Ill show you, she said. Ill prove you are wrong. I am not dying.

Her words were fierce. Defiant. Angry.

It was time for me to leave. I had done all I could.

I left.

I was not angry. I was sad. Very sad.

Now to her credit, she was right up to a point. She did not die in five years. She proved resilient and survived another ten years. But her last decade, though she was technically alive, was filled with pain, sickness, and despair.

Im not so sure her longer-term survival was a good thing.

She never got better. She slowly and painfully deteriorated.

And then she died.

The Autopsy

She, of course, is a church. A real church. A church in the Midwest.

A church that was probably born out of vision.

A church that died because she no longer had a vision.

I was the churchs consultant over a decade ago. The church had reached its peak attendance many years earlier. The worship attendance of 750 in 1975 took place during the good old days. Well talk about those days shortly.

By the time I arrived, the attendance had fallen to an average of eighty-three. The large sanctuary seemed to swallow the small crowd on Sunday morning.

The reality was that most of the members did not want me there. They were not about to pay a consultant to tell them what they refused to hear. Only when a benevolent member offered to foot my entire bill did the congregation grudgingly agree to retain me.

I worked with the church for three weeks. The problems were obvious. The solutions were difficult.

On my last day the benefactor walked me to my rental car. What do you think, Thom? he asked. He could see the uncertainty in my expression, so he clarified. How long can our church survive? That was the moment I gave my foreboding declaration of five years at most.

Of course, I was wrong on the exact number of years. The church has only recently closed. Like many dying churches, it held on to life tenaciously. The church lasted ten years after my declaration of a terminal diagnosis.

My friend from that church called me a week after the church officially closed its doors. We talked for over an hour. I took no pleasure in discovering that my diagnosis was correct. Together, my friend and I reviewed the past ten or more years. We were able to piece together a fairly accurate autopsy.

We learned with even more clarity why the church died. We performed an autopsy.

It was not fun, but we thought it was necessary.