Rainer picked to lead LifeWay, anticipates ‘big shoes to fill’

Posted: 8/08/05

Rainer picked to lead LifeWay,
anticipates 'big shoes to fill'

By Greg Warner and David Winfrey

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Trustees of LifeWay Christian Resources will vote Sept. 12-13 on the nomination of Thom Rainer to head Southern Baptists' official publishing arm.

The presidential search committee announced its choice Aug. 5 in Nashville, where LifeWay is based. Rainer, 50, is founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

"I am honored and excited to be the nominee of the search committee," Rainer said in a statement. "I look forward to the vote of the full board of trustees in September."

If elected by the 59-member board, Rainer will succeed Jimmy Draper, 70, who is retiring after 15 years at the helm of LifeWay, one of the largest Christian publishing companies in the world. Rainer is expected to assume his new duties Oct. 17 and work alongside Draper until February.

"I am incredibly excited to have a man of Thom Rainer’s gifts and vision to work alongside in the months ahead," said Draper. "He is a proven leader, a brilliant statesman and a gifted visionary. That’s why I believe LifeWay’s best days are still ahead."

Rainer declined to speculate on how he might lead the agency. “I am not going to be presumptuous until the full board meets,” he said. “Right now I’m just enjoying the great, great honor of the nomination. Jimmy Draper is some pretty big shoes to fill. He’s a legend, not only in the Southern Baptist Convention and LifeWay but in the evangelical world.”

LifeWay, with 124 retail stores, recorded total revenue of more than $428 million in fiscal 2004.
Before pursuing full-time vocational ministry, Rainer studied corporate finance and worked in corporate banking in Atlanta and Anniston, Ala.

Despite that background, he said, “I anticipate that my learning curve’s going to be very steep.”

Rainer is the author of 16 books. His recent "Breakout Churches" examines the characteristics of growing congregations. His research indicated that baptisms in Southern Baptist churches are in decline, even after conservatives took control of the denomination beginning in 1979. Recently Rainer said, however, the statistics would be even worse if moderates had remained in leadership.

At least three of Rainer’s books, including “Breakout Churches,” were published by Zondervan, not LifeWay's Broadman & Holman publishing label.

Rainer said that while he might bring an outsider’s perspective to the post, “There’s so much good going on at LifeWay right now that I don’t even know how my outside perspective is going to compare to what I see on the inside.”

Lawrence Smith, vice president of communications for Southern Seminary, said Rainer will continue to teach and lead Southern’s school of missions, evangelism and church growth through the end of the semester in December.

Rainer was not as specific with his plans. “I have to discuss timetables with the seminary leadership,” he said.

A graduate of the University of Alabama, Rainer earned both the master of divinity and a Ph.D. degrees at Southern Seminary. Prior to joining the Southern faculty, he served as pastor of churches in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Indiana. He has served as a church consultant and church-growth conference speaker for several years and is president of Rainer Group Church Consulting. He also is president of Church Central, a website he formed with Internet publisher NetWorld Alliance that offers training and other resources for church leaders.

"Dr. Rainer has proven himself to be a successful leader of the local church and at the seminary," said search committee chairman Rick Evans. "He is a gifted man of authority in the areas of trends within the Christian church and in church growth."

Rainer and his wife, Nellie Jo, have three sons — Sam, Art and Jess.

Rob Marus and Lindsay Bergstrom contributed to this story.