Inwardly-focused churches don’t grow. And every church is at risk of becoming inwardly-focused. It’s the natural tendency over time if intentional steps aren’t taken to address the warning signs when they flash. In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss what it really means to think like a missionary in your own community, and how making that mindset shift will cause your team to view all of your church's strategies in a different light. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode86. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic. If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode 86] in your post for reference. ----- Learn how we help churches get unstuck at theunstuckgroup.com.

The goal is to equip people to become more like Christ. So why do many churches spend so much time just keeping people busy? None of us start out intending to lead over-programmed, complex churches, but most of us find ourselves there. This topic of "programs vs. a discipleship path" has gotten a ton of attention in our articles over the years. How do churches really make disciples? What do you do if your church is over-programmed? Is it possible to shift your strategy to something that more effectively helps people grow to become like Christ? In this episode, Tony and Amy answer these questions and more. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode85. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions and add your comments about the topic. If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode 85] in your post for reference. ----- Learn how we help churches get unstuck at theunstuckgroup.com.

They sound simple, but implementing these communications best practices means big operational changes for most churches. Churches tend to be reactive instead of proactive in their communication—and that's one reason why churches we're guiding through the Unstuck Process almost always self-identify communication as a "core issue" that's getting them stuck. In this episode, Tony shares the top 3 mistakes he sees churches make when it comes to how they approach communications, and Phil Bowdle, author of Rethink Communication: A Playbook to Clarify and Communicate Everything in Your Church weighs in with his perspective on how churches can get more strategic. Jesus said, "Go and tell," but he didn't say that had to happen on a Sunday morning platform. Listen to this episode for a fresh perspective on your church's communication strategies. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode84. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday morning, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions, add your comments about this topic, or check out the Show Notes for the questions we plan to discuss! If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode 84] in your post for reference.

Tony Morgan and Jim Tomberlin recently announced that our two ministries—MultiSite Solutions and The Unstuck Group—are coming together!  Jim was one of the pioneers of the multisite movement back in the early 1990s and has been helping churches effectively transition from being one church to being one church in multiple locations ever since. In this episode, Jim joins Tony on the show to discuss the history of the multisite movement, where it is today, bad reasons churches go multisite, the strategy differences between church planting and launching campuses, and more. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode83. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday morning, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions, add your comments about this topic, or check out the Show Notes for the questions we plan to discuss! If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode83] in your post for reference. ____ Check out our newest online course—Multisite Unstuck, or learn how we help churches get unstuck at theunstuckgroup.com. 

Staffing issues get churches stuck. We see it all the time.  We recently took a look at all of the Staffing & Structure assessments The Unstuck Group completed in the last year. We were looking for themes or trends, and boy, did we find some. In this episode, Tony and Amy share the remaining most common staffing pain points we uncovered in our analysis. They share some indicators these issues are at play in your staff team (even if you haven't been able to clearly define them yet), as well as practical recommendations for addressing them.  For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode82. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media If you're listening on Wednesday morning, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team, including Tony and Amy, will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions, add your comments about this topic, or check out the Show Notes for the questions we plan to discuss! If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode82] in your post for reference.

Staffing issues get churches stuck. We see it all the time.  We recently took a look at all of the Staffing & Structure assessments The Unstuck Group completed in the last year. We were looking for themes or trends, and boy, did we find some. In this episode, Tony and Amy share 2 of the 5 most recurring staffing pain points we uncovered in our analysis. They share some indicators these issues are at play in your staff team (even if you haven't been able to clearly define them yet), as well as practical recommendations for addressing them.  For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode81. Join the Live Conversation on Social  If you're listening on Wednesday morning, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team, including Tony and Amy, will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions, add your comments about this topic, or check out the Show Notes for the questions we plan to discuss! If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode81] in your post for reference.  

Depression. Loneliness. Anxiety. They're becoming recurring health issues in our culture—even among church leaders. The danger is the secret, being in the condition alone. Lifeway Research found that 23% of pastors say they've had personal struggles with mental health. Still 49% said they rarely or never speak on the topic to their congregation. The Unstuck Group's team heard Pastor Chris Hodges from Church of the Highlands give a compelling, practical talk on this subject at a conference last year. In this episode, Chris shares with Tony some practical things he thinks all pastors need to know—both for your personal mental health and to guide your congregations through these now prevalent challenges. For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode80. Join the Live Conversation on Social  If you're listening on Wednesday morning, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team, including Tony and Amy, will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions, add your comments about this topic, or check out the Show Notes for the questions we plan to discuss! If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode80] in your post for reference.

It's not something anyone in ministry wants to think about—legal trouble, and the circumstances that could lead to it.   The alarming thing we've noticed is that church leaders are often ignorant of the areas of the law that most pertain to them, both the protections and limitations the law creates. And that can lead to nightmare situations.  In this episode, Tony invites attorneys Steven Goodspeed and Dustin Gaines from The Church Lawyers to give you a crash course on 4 legal risks they think all church leaders need to be aware of and how to take the appropriate measures to protect your ministry. For help taking this discussion back to your SLT or board, check out the Leader Conversation Guide in this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode79. Join the Live Conversation on Social  If you're listening on Wednesday morning, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team, including Tony and Amy, will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions, add your comments about this topic, or check out the Show Notes for the questions we plan to discuss! If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode79] in your post for reference.

They're just trying to decide whether or not to come back. And we hit 'em with everything we've got. We highly value first-time guests... we just don't necessarily know the right ways to show it. In this episode, Tony and Amy share 4 WORST practices for connecting with new guests that they commonly see when serving churches for The Unstuck Group.  Is your church using any of these strategies? It's time to make a shift. For links to the resources Tony and Amy mentioned during the episode, visit the Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode78. Join the Live Conversation on Social  If you're listening on Wednesday morning, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team, including Tony and Amy, will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions, add your comments about this topic, or check out the Show Notes for the questions we plan to discuss! If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode78] in your post for reference.

“The toughest test of a manager is not how they deal with poor performance — it’s how they address mediocrity.”  It's a quote we read in the Harvard Business Review a while back, and boy, is it true. Leaders can tend to blame mediocrity on ineffective employees or volunteers, instead of recognizing our own ineffective leadership as the problem. In this episode, with a bit of sarcasm, Tony and Amy point to 4 strategies to employ if you want to embrace mediocrity in your ministry. Assuming that's not actually what you want to do, they also share some practical next steps leaders can take to turn the tide. For links to the resources Tony and Amy mentioned during the episode, visit the Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode77. Join the Live Conversation on Social  If you're listening on Wednesday morning, when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team, including Tony and Amy, will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook. Ask your questions, add your comments about this topic, or check out the Show Notes for the questions we plan to discuss! If you're catching this episode later, you can still join in! Just tag us @unstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch, and include [episode77] in your post for reference.