The Unstuck Church Podcast with Amy Anderson

Are events killing your church? Every church has events, but not every church knows why. Events have the potential to be helpful for people to take their next steps toward Jesus, but it's rare that they actually work. In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss 6 questions to ask when planning events as well as 5 ways to make your events effective.  There is a ton of great information in this episode and we created a Discussion Guide to go along with it if you'd like to take this conversation to your next leadership team meeting. To get the Discussion Guide and join in on the conversation visit http://www.theunstuckgroup.com/episode63.

We've found 12 common issues that routinely cause churches to get stuck. In this episode, we cover two important ones that have something in common: leadership. Whether it's senior leadership or volunteer leaders, if we're not structuring our churches in a way that sets leaders up for success then our churches will become stuck. In this episode, Tony and Amy discuss two leadership issues churches face and how to solve them so your church can grow and get healthy. Join in the conversation and see the show notes at theunstuckchurch.com/episode62. We also discuss the Leading from an Unstuck Church Course in this episode. Find more details and sign up at theunstuckgroup.com/course.

What's one thing we almost never see a church doing well? Even the big ones? Content strategy. And that's just one reason why church communications is stuck in 2004. We're living through the biggest communication shift in 500 years. As fewer people attend church and more utilize the web for every aspect of their lives, our churches can't afford to not have a strategy. This isn't an add-on to our ministry; it's a full scale shift. In this episode, Tony and Amy interview The Unstuck Group's Marketing and Communications Director, Tiffany Deluccia, about how the world has shifted, why your church needs to be thinking about "inbound marketing," and the tools you can use to make it happen. This episode shares a ton of resources that will help you create and execute an online strategy so you can reach more people! Find the resources from Episode 61, including links to the tools mentioned during the show, in the Episode Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode61.

Andy Stanley wants us to rethink how we read the Bible. In his new book, Irresistible, he addresses questions like: What do we do with the Old Testament commands? Are Christians obligated to follow the 10 Commandments? What did Jesus think of the Old Covenant?  In this episode, Tony Morgan asks Andy to weigh in on why a "Mix & Match Theology" is so prevalent in our churches, why Jesus' one command makes our faith generationally transferrable, and how we go back to where our faith began to better understand how to connect with the next generation. Check out the show notes for more resources on this topic, links from this episode and to join the conversation at theunstuckgroup.com/episode60.

Is your staff structure a lid? It's worth digging into. We hear this all the time from churches we're serving: "I knew we needed the ministry health assessment. I knew we needed to plan for the future. But we didn't even realize our real problem was our staff and structure." In this week's episode, Tony interviews Amy on the most common structure challenges she sees getting churches stuck and some practical ways you can pivot to get healthy. Check out the show notes for more resources on this topic, links from this episode and to join the conversation at theunstuckgroup.com/episode59.

20 years of ministry. Tony Morgan left his job in city management to enter full-time ministry as a pastor at Granger Community Church.  In this week's bonus episode, Tony shares the story of how he got started in ministry, the people who encouraged him along in this path, the challenges he faced, and how he met Jesus in the first place. There is one big takeaway that Tony has from his 20 years in ministry and in this episode, he shares it with us. Tony wrote a post exploring this more on his blog. 

Rogue ministries. We all know the signs. Ministries in our church that are fundraising on the side or creating separate branding. Leaders who think their ministry is more important than the others in the church. What went wrong and how do we fix it? In this episode, Tony and Amy share 4 ways to realign rogue ministries with your church’s mission, vision, and strategy. The fourth one might step on some toes but it needs to be said. Find the resources from Episode 58, including links to the tools mentioned during the show, in the Episode Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode58.

Sunday's always coming. You've heard it said. You may have said it yourself, frustrated with the lack of progress your team makes on the ministry's plans. But is it just that? Or is it that another meeting's always coming? Or that decision rights are confused? Or that key members of the team manage projects with Post-It Notes instead of an effective system? In this episode, Tony and Amy outline 4 proactive steps taken by teams that execute really well. (And there's a bonus fifth thing those teams DON'T do.)  This episode shares a ton of resources that will help you get more stuff done. Don't miss out! Find the resources from Episode 57, including links to the tools mentioned during the show, in the Episode Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode57.

We get into ministry full of hope. But something happens along the way, and we don't see it coming: We become cynical leaders. We let ourselves project past failures onto the future. We get stuck in our own heads. In this bonus episode, Tony Morgan interviews Carey Nieuwhof about leadership setbacks, ministry burnout, and a wonderful aspect of life we give up when we let ourselves become cynics. Find more resources from Episode 56, including links mentioned during the episode and bonus material, in the Episode Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/56.

Friendly, but not welcoming. That's how Thom Rainer describes the situation at a lot of churches. And he would know—as the current CEO of Lifeway, in addition to his time leading Rainer Group, pastoring a church, serving as a dean at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and authoring more than two dozen books, he has a unique vantage point. Tony and Thom discuss common barriers preventing churches from becoming welcoming, why small churches have a welcoming advantage, and how to better serve first-timers in the moment when they feel most awkward at church. Find more resources from Episode 55, including links mentioned during the episode and bonus material, in the Episode Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/55.