To Make Extra Cash, Be a Church Consultant

There is an author and church consultant, Tomas Rainier, who writes columns weekly on the site, Christian Post. His titles are most always have numbers in them, "Five Ways to Save Your Church" or "Seven Reasons for Pastor Burnout." I gather he financially he is quite successful and writes with an air of importance. His books and columns are filled with useless writing. He writes about failing churches but offers no useful advice for them about how to turn around their inevitable path to closure.

He published a popular book a few years ago called Autopsy of a Deceased Church. The death occurred, he said, because there was not adequate "community outreach", too many senior members, not a strong enough youth program, too much inner focus and not enough outer, etc. etc.  

Comments about the book were positive. Some advised churches to buy copies for each board member and have meetings to discuss it. Others advised churches everywhere to take heed of what he wrote.

But, the link could not find one review which said, "We did what he advised and it turned our falling membership around." It could be that some church some where followed the advice and improved, but there is no testimony anywhere of anyone trying out the ideas Rainier mentioned. 

I would guess this is because every church everywhere knows what needs to happen for its membership to increase. The steps Rainier recommends are just not available. If your church is located where both the population and church attendance is falling, what good is "community outreach" going to do. The best one could expect is to take a few members away from some other church. That other church may come and take your members.

Likely there are many churches with powerful disagreements within the membership. If these disagreements use up the time and resources of the church there will be little energy left for outreach. The most important result of the book by Rainier was what if did for his own pocketbook. Maybe he picked up some consulting jobs as well. 

I've read some denominations are frantically "planting" churches. The denomination I grew up in, Evangelical Covenant, says it is planting a new church almost every week. Southern Baptists are planting concert-type/entertainment-type churches rapidly. When the population of church goers is falling it must be an uphill slog to increase numbers this way. Every church plant must be subsidized. 

Failing churches mean opportunities of consultants and authors to move in and take whatever money they have left.