There’s a common gap. We see it on too many church leadership teams. It results in lack of follow-through, lack of role clarity, and a “Sunday’s always coming” mode of operation. In this episode, Tony and Amy highlight why church leadership should be a reflection of the whole Body of Christ. They break down four different “wirings” they typically see in church staffing, and the next steps you can take if you recognize you have a crucial gap on your leadership team.

Two weeks ago, Tony and Amy started a conversation on some unexpected findings related to ministry leadership in growing and declining churches from The Unstuck Group's latest research. As promised, they are back with more to share. While the results may surprise you, remember that the information is based on numbers and not opinion—even if the truth is hard to swallow at times. Show Links: Leading an Unstuck Church Course The Unstuck Church Report: Benchmarks & Trends in U.S. Churches - Q2 2018

In this week's episode, Tony interviews Amy about the most common "misses" she sees when churches welcome first-time guests. Whether it's a crowded bulletin or a lengthy message, these issues typically have easy (and inexpensive) solutions.

Data from 200 churches of all different sizes. What did it show? A few surprising trends related to growth and decline. In this episode, Tony and Amy dig into some fascinating findings from The Unstuck Group's most recent edition of The Unstuck Church Report. Just to be clear: this isn’t a comparison of big versus small. The data includes churches that average fewer than 100 people and megachurches with 2,000+ people. The factors correlating to growth and decline seem to be irrespective of your congregation's size today.

Sometimes leading a multisite church can lead to being “multi-stuck”. However, having equipped campus pastors can help prevent this. In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss the five major mistakes that lead pastors can make when hiring a campus pastor. Tony explains why he is passionate about multisite churches using video message delivery, and why someone who mostly agrees with you may actually be more dangerous to your mission than someone who completely disagrees with you. ____ Check out our new online course—Multisite Unstuck, or learn how we help churches get unstuck at theunstuckgroup.com.

We see them again and again: The same core issues getting churches stuck. But we don't think it has to be that way. Church leaders who make themselves aware of the pitfalls can avoid them. In this episode—recorded live on Facebook—Tony and Amy discussed five of the most common issues getting churches stuck. They also took questions from the audience, like "What are some practical steps to simplifying if your church is too complex?" and "What do you do if the lead pastor is too involved in every decision?" Plus, Tony tells us why he doesn't care what your church's mission statement is. 

The research showed it: Only 4% of growing churches are multiplying/reproducing churches. Why is that? All churches have leadership potential sitting in their services but a culture of discipling leaders is often missing. In this special episode, Tony talks with Dave Ferguson, lead pastor at Community Christian Church, an innovative multi-site missional church with eleven locations in Chicago, about 5 essential practices for leaders to multiply leaders.

What if Andy Stanley were your boss? When we sit lower on the org chart than a great leader—or even a not-so-great leader—it's easy to feel stuck on the sidelines waiting to be given more authority.  In this episode, Tony talks with Clay Scroggins, lead pastor at North Point Church, about what it's like to lead "in the shadow of Andy Stanley," the difference between leadership and authority, how to cultivate influence wherever you are today.

No one gets into ministry for the money. But does that mean church leaders should be paid less? In this episode, Tony and Amy share a biblical foundation for paying staff well, how to practically make it possible, and some simple ways to evaluate how much you should be paying the staff at your church. Tony also gives podcast listeners the very first sneak peek of a new resource from The Unstuck Group to help pastors lead unstuck churches. You'll find more at theunstuckgroup.com/equip.

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.