The Unstuck Church Podcast

You've got a structure on paper. You have clean reporting lanes, ownership and a healthy span of care. But the boxes that make up each role are still empty. How do you determine who goes in which seat? How do you know if someone has the leadership capacity a role requires? What happens when a role grows past the person in it? What do you do when the honest answer is that someone isn't in the right seat anymore? In this episode, the conversation shifts from charts to people, as Sean and Jonathan talk about getting the right people in the right seats. 10 years of The Unstuck Church Podcast! Clear is kind Evaluating character, chemistry & competency This Episode is Sponsored by Tyndale House: If Jesus walked into your church right now, would people recognize him? We've created a personalized Savior who exists primarily to meet our needs, bless our lives, and guarantee our spots in heaven. But here's the problem. That Jesus would be unrecognizable. In the book The Missing Messiah, bestselling authors Kyle Idleman and Mark More will help your church rediscover the Jesus based on Scripture, not on culture. Plus, check out the six-session companion study guide with free access to streaming videos. Learn more at missingmessiah.com. Join the Conversation on Social Media Follow us on X and on Instagram. Tag us at @theunstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch.

Most churches build structure without ever naming what they're structuring around. Pastors want good structure for really good reasons. They want communication to work. They want to catch problems before they become a crisis. They want to know nothing's falling through the cracks. And honestly, most of them want their people cared for; they don't want anybody carrying more than they should. Those are pastoral instincts—great instincts. But here's where it can go wrong. A church feels the organizational pain, and they go straight to adjusting the org chart. They restructure without ever answering the question of what the structure was supposed to serve. In this episode, Sean and Jonathan talk about a key part of structuring your church staff: who owns what? Responsibility vs. accountability Structure to the strategy, not to the history Getting the SLT right This Episode is Sponsored by Tyndale House: If Jesus walked into your church right now, would people recognize him? We've created a personalized Savior who exists primarily to meet our needs, bless our lives, and guarantee our spots in heaven. But here's the problem. That Jesus would be unrecognizable. In the book The Missing Messiah, bestselling authors Kyle Idleman and Mark More will help your church rediscover the Jesus based on Scripture, not on culture. Plus, check out the six-session companion study guide with free access to streaming videos. Learn more at missingmessiah.com. Join the Conversation on Social Media Follow us on X and on Instagram. Tag us at @theunstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch.

If your church is over 1,000 in attendance, you're just too big to run on relationships. At some point, the way you've always led stops scaling—not because relationships don't matter (they do) but because the ministry is now carrying more complexity than your current structure can support. This is where many churches get stuck—they don't make that transition. And if you don't get intentional about systems, roles and decision-making, you'll keep feeling the same pain: confusion, bottlenecks, burnout and frustration. Your staff is working hard, but it still feels chaotic. In this series, we're going to get really practical about how to structure around systems and strategies. "Are we overstaffed or understaffed?" That's the question we're starting with in this episode because sometimes we get the data wrong and we end up hurting the team. More people vs the right people Equipping volunteers to do ministry Get your math right: how much staff do you actually need? This Episode is Sponsored by Tyndale House: If Jesus walked into your church right now, would people recognize him? We've created a personalized Savior who exists primarily to meet our needs, bless our lives, and guarantee our spots in heaven. But here's the problem. That Jesus would be unrecognizable. In the book The Missing Messiah, bestselling authors Kyle Idleman and Mark More will help your church rediscover the Jesus based on Scripture, not on culture. Plus, check out the six-session companion study guide with free access to streaming videos. Learn more at missingmessiah.com. Join the Conversation on Social Media Follow us on X and on Instagram. Tag us at @theunstuckgroup or use #unstuckchurch.

As a church getting ready to go multisite, you might know who you are, have the right people and have a clear, documented model. But at some point, going multisite really comes down to this: Can you fund it, and can you deliver it? Can you actually pay for a new location so that it's sustainable for years to come? Can you re-create the main thing people show up for—the weekend experience? In the final episode of this series, Sean and Jesse break down the last two Multisite Readiness Checkpoints: Financial Strength and a Replicable Weekend Experience. Funding a new campus for the years to come—not just at launch Replicable weekend experience: defining the "wins" Live teaching vs. video teaching This Episode is Sponsored by PlainJoe Studios: Adding a new campus to your multisite plan? If you don't have a strategy for coordinating your placemaking and wayfinding signage, maybe it's time to update across every campus. The creative and talented team at PlainJoe, a Storyland Studio, are experts at creating placemaking signs and wayfinding markers that will tell your church's unique story and point your people in the right direction – from the moment they arrive at your campus. Learn more at plainjoe.net. Join the Conversation on Social Media We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X and on Instagram.

A multisite model that's too complex can't be multiplied ... and a model that is only captured in your head can't be handed off. To go multisite, you need something clear enough to repeat and captured well enough to share. It's one thing to know who you are, but it's another to simplify and document it so well that someone else can actually run the same ministries and systems without the need for your constant input. In this episode, Sean and Jesse talk about what you do as a multisite church and how you do it—your Ministry Model and your Defined Systems and Strategies. Plus, Sean checks in with Amy Anderson to hear about her recovery. Pruning & prioritizing You can only replicate what's recorded Documenting decision rights A word from Amy Anderson This Episode is Sponsored by PlainJoe Studios: Adding a new campus to your multisite plan? If you don't have a strategy for coordinating your placemaking and wayfinding signage, maybe it's time to update across every campus. The creative and talented team at PlainJoe, a Storyland Studio, are experts at creating placemaking signs and wayfinding markers that will tell your church's unique story and point your people in the right direction – from the moment they arrive at your campus. Learn more at plainjoe.net. Join the Conversation on Social Media We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X and on Instagram.

Multisite doesn't just stretch your building. It stretches your bench. You can have clear DNA, full buy-in and real growth and still not be ready because you don't have the leaders to pull it off. Before you launch a new location, you need to assess whether you have enough of the right leaders, healthy leaders and a deep enough volunteer bench. In this episode, we're looking at three checkpoints that focus on your team: staff leadership capacity, staff health and volunteer strength. Replicating the right leaders Building a team that trusts Raising up volunteer leaders This Episode is Sponsored by PlainJoe Studios: Adding a new campus to your multisite plan? If you don't have a strategy for coordinating your placemaking and wayfinding signage, maybe it's time to update across every campus. The creative and talented team at PlainJoe, a Storyland Studio, are experts at creating placemaking signs and wayfinding markers that will tell your church's unique story and point your people in the right direction – from the moment they arrive at your campus. Learn more at plainjoe.net. Join the Conversation on Social Media We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X and on Instagram.

Here's a pattern we keep seeing: more and more churches are rushing into multisite. Churches are launching campuses without doing their due diligence. And they're skipping the learning from the churches that have already gone before them—the mistakes they've made and the things worth repeating. A move of God is not a substitute for doing your homework. Because here's what we've learned over the years: The number one reason campus launches fail is that churches start too fast and too small. That's why we're beginning this new series called "What Ready-For-Multisite Looks Like." And we're kicking it off with this question: Should you even be having a multisite conversation yet? Getting clear on DNA Organizational buy-in Evaluating your current growth This Episode is Sponsored by PlainJoe Studios: Adding a new campus to your multisite plan? If you don't have a strategy for coordinating your placemaking and wayfinding signage, maybe it's time to update across every campus. The creative and talented team at PlainJoe, a Storyland Studio, are experts at creating placemaking signs and wayfinding markers that will tell your church's unique story and point your people in the right direction – from the moment they arrive at your campus. Learn more at plainjoe.net. Join the Conversation on Social Media We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X and on Instagram.

We're back with another "Ask Anything" episode! How do you break through the 500 barrier? How do you decide which programs to prune? How in the world do you free up room in your middle service?! Sean and Ron Baum, a long-time consultant at The Unstuck Group and ministry leader who has served in the local church for over 30 years, answer these pressing questions and more in this episode. If you have a question for the next "Ask Anything" episode, call our voicemail line at (615) 398-9171 or send us a message on social media. This Episode is Sponsored by PlainJoe Studios Unlock the power of story in your worship space. The creative, passionate team at PlainJoe, a Storyland Studio, works with churches to create beautiful, engaging spaces that connect with your community. They're a team of architectural, design, and branding experts who transform worship spaces into attractive, engaging hubs for the community. Reach out to their team at PlainJoe.net and dream up the bright future of your church. Join the Conversation on Social Media We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X and on Instagram.

The senior pastor owns vision. The ministry staff own execution. But who owns the space in between? The gap between vision and execution—the strategy, the alignment, the ability to pull things together—is where churches get stuck. And the executive pastor is the person who can close that gap. You may call this role something different in your church, but the best way to think about this role is as the integrator. Some people think the XP role is the "associate" or "the person who does the stuff the lead pastor doesn't want to do." It is so much more than that. A great executive pastor might be the rarest, most valuable person on your team. So in this episode, Sean and Jimmy dive into what only the executive pastor can do. Heart for theology, head for organizational leadership 3 roles an XP can't delegate Leading a high-impact team This Episode is Sponsored by PlainJoe Studios Unlock the power of story in your worship space. The creative, passionate team at PlainJoe, a Storyland Studio, works with churches to create beautiful, engaging spaces that connect with your community. They're a team of architectural, design, and branding experts who transform worship spaces into attractive, engaging hubs for the community. Reach out to their team at PlainJoe.net and dream up the bright future of your church. Join the Conversation on Social Media We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X and on Instagram.

The job of the senior pastor is enormous. Prepare and deliver sermons. Ensure the spiritual health of the church. Model biblical priorities. And, roughly, 400 other items. Whether it's in the written job description or not, senior pastors have too much to do. And when everything is on your plate, everything feels equally urgent. But there's a handful of things that only the lead pastor can do. And the gap between that and everything else on the to-do list is where lead pastors get stuck. In this episode, Sean and Jimmy break down the unique role of the senior pastor—what only they can do and how to delegate everything else. Roles the senior pastor can't delegate What the senior pastor should delegate Protecting your calendar and what only you can do This Episode is Sponsored by PlainJoe Studios Unlock the power of story in your worship space. The creative, passionate team at PlainJoe, a Storyland Studio, works with churches to create beautiful, engaging spaces that connect with your community. They're a team of architectural, design, and branding experts who transform worship spaces into attractive, engaging hubs for the community. Reach out to their team at PlainJoe.net and dream up the bright future of your church. Join the Conversation on Social Media We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X and on Instagram.