The Unstuck Church Podcast with Amy Anderson
The Unstuck Group
With THE UNSTUCK CHURCH PODCAST, we invite you into the real-time conversations our team is having about church leadership every week.
Hosted by Amy Anderson, this podcast explores common challenges in ministry and practical steps for tackling them. It's like getting to be a fly on the wall of our staff meetings.
Tune in weekly for:
Insights, observations and trends for church leaders from the Unstuck team.
Benchmarks in church growth and health from The Unstuck Group's work serving hundreds churches across North America each year.
Practical advice to help you lead your church towards sustained health.
We think that after listening to The Unstuck Church Podcast, you'll want to start these discussions with your own team at your next staff meeting.
Add your thoughts to the conversation on social media using #unstuckchurch.
Hosted by Amy Anderson, this podcast explores common challenges in ministry and practical steps for tackling them. It's like getting to be a fly on the wall of our staff meetings.
Tune in weekly for:
Insights, observations and trends for church leaders from the Unstuck team.
Benchmarks in church growth and health from The Unstuck Group's work serving hundreds churches across North America each year.
Practical advice to help you lead your church towards sustained health.
We think that after listening to The Unstuck Church Podcast, you'll want to start these discussions with your own team at your next staff meeting.
Add your thoughts to the conversation on social media using #unstuckchurch.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 25, 2018 • 15min
The Systems Lid to Growth
When churches don't have systems in place, even the smallest decisions rise all the way to the top for senior leadership to decide. And this might work for a while—but not if you want your church to grow. Leaders are problem-solvers, and often want a say in every decision that is made. In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss why this isn't always the best thing for the team, and how putting healthy systems in place can alleviate the issue.
Apr 19, 2018 • 15min
Which Comes First: More Staff or More Growth?
A lot of the time, the churches we work with aren't truly stuck—just stalled. Why? They've failed to properly staff their critical growth engines. Every growth engine and priority ministry in your church needs a leader and champion—paid or volunteer. In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss when to staff ahead for future growth, and how you can put this into practice even with limited finances.
Apr 11, 2018 • 16min
Split Your Church in 5 Simple Steps
No one sets out to pastor a church that splits, but leaders operate in ways that ultimately take their churches there. Can church splits be avoided? In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss five things church leaders do that set the stage for irreconcilable differences.
Apr 4, 2018 • 15min
Holding Onto How We Do Church
We all have this tendency—to hang on tightly to current methods and hope for different results. In churches, it can happen just as often in "contemporary" circles as "traditional." What indicates that how you do church has become a sacred cow? In this episode, Tony and Amy unpack the primary reason we see churches get stuck.
Mar 28, 2018 • 17min
How to Decide It's Time to Fire
It's ultimately a matter of stewardship—but churches rarely fire people. Even Tony's young son asked the question one time: Why is that? In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss some basic principles every pastor needs to understand, and why performance and character issues aren't the only reasons you should consider letting a staff member go.
Mar 21, 2018 • 34min
Breaking Barriers: Reaching 2,000 & Beyond (Part 2)
Growth barriers. Every church hits them. How do you respond when what was working no longer is? In a recent webinar, Tony Morgan hosted a conversation with leaders from several very large churches about breaking barriers. In the second part of this conversation, you'll learn about common multisite model missteps and how they set you back, as well as the all too frequent issue of "complexity creep" that can undermine your vision.
Mar 14, 2018 • 25min
Breaking Barriers: Reaching 2,000 & Beyond (Part 1)
Growth barriers. Every church hits them. How do you respond when what was working no longer is? In a recent webinar, Tony Morgan hosted a conversation about breaking barriers with leaders from several very large churches. In this first part, you'll learn how to recognize a toxic culture and turn it around, as well as how to overcome a leadership void in your staff and volunteer teams.
Mar 7, 2018 • 16min
7 Frustrating Symptoms of Doing Ministry Without a Strategy
Church splits. Ministry silos. Lack of giving. Doing ministry without a strategy can create serious pain. In this episode, Tony and Amy share why not having a plan is the same as having a plan to do nothing, and they highlight some of the most common—and most frustrating—things leaders experience when they refuse to develop a clear strategy.
Feb 26, 2018 • 15min
Leaders See Stuckness First
You sense it—even when others don't. True leaders have a gift from God to see what the congregation and even lay leaders haven't seen yet. In this episode, Tony and Amy talk about the gift and responsibility pastors have to lead change for the health of the Church.
Feb 19, 2018 • 19min
Your Church Has Broken Systems
Every church has them—ineffective systems. Why? Partly because systems must constantly be evaluated and edited for results. In this episode, Tony and Amy share how to differentiate a systems problem from a people problem, the most common clogged systems churches have (One is vitally important!), and a 6-step process you can follow to fix them. Tony also shares a story about a broken system at a popular restaurant chain. The key phrase was "clogged beef tube." You won't soon forget the analogy.
