As I reflected on the top 5 most downloaded episodes of The Unstuck Church Podcast the year, some common themes stuck out to me: developing a leadership team and empowering the next generation of leaders.
I’m not entirely surprised… After all, we know that leadership development is a strong felt need for churches in this season. Many pastors are reaching the age of retirement and succession, yet they’re telling us that it’s a struggle to find qualified, willing leaders to step up and take their place.
It’s my prayer that God will raise up young leaders this new year and that we’ll be prepared to equip and empower them when He does.
So, as we dive into a new year, here are our top 5 most downloaded episodes from 2023:
Empowering Gen Z Leaders in the Church (with Chris Hodges & Mark Pettus) – Episode 315
Gen Z is now a crucial part of the workforce and on the front lines of ministry, with the oldest of the generation now in their mid-twenties. So how can we identify the unique strengths to this generation and effectively raise up Gen Z leaders for both ministry and leadership?
In this episode, I invited Chris Hodges, Lead Pastor of Church of the Highlands, and Mark Pettus, President of Highlands College, to join me for a conversation around:
- Helping young leaders confirm their “calling”
- The unique characteristics & challenges of Gen Z
- The importance of mentoring relationships
- Next steps every church can take to develop more leaders
Why Your Church Needs a Senior Leadership Team – Episode 316
As we’ve learned in the last decade or so, a big personality might draw a weekend crowd, but it takes a team to create healthy strategies and systems that foster sustained growth and opportunities for life change.
The people who hold the senior leadership positions of your church are the only chance your church has to achieve the vision and mission God designed your church to accomplish at this moment in time. In this episode, Amy and I dive into the importance of developing a healthy and effective senior leadership team on your church staff, including:
- How Jesus modeled team-based ministry
- The most important decision you’ll make as a leader
- Where to find your senior leadership team
Why Your Church Needs to Embrace Bold Moves – Episode 320
Having a clear bold move in front of us is the opposite of being stuck as a church. It’s how vision becomes actionable and the church continues to move forward.
Bold moves are a more action-oriented way to think about our future vision in a way that will rally our church, our leadership, our staff team, and our congregation to engage their prayers, their time, and their financial resources. In this episode, Amy and I discuss what a bold move is and why many churches fail to embrace them, as well as:
- The difference between mission, vision, and bold moves
- How many bold moves every church should have
- What to clarify before you make any bold moves
Passing on Leadership to the Next Generation (with Carlos Cardenas) – Episode 314
The more leaders in the church can work together and learn from each other, the more opportunity grows for effective multi-generational ministry.
I reached out to Carlos Cardenas to discuss this topic because I’ve heard him talk about all that Christ Fellowship Miami, the church where he serves, is doing to empower the next generation of leaders. I think Carlos’ perspective of what’s unique about Millennial leaders and the value that they bring to the church is insightful. In this episode, we discuss:
- Tips for preparing to hand off leadership
- How Millennials view leadership differently
- Misconceptions about Millennial and Gen Z leaders
- Encouragement for the role you’re in now
7 Roles Your Senior Leadership Team Can’t Delegate – Episode 318
I believe that the effectiveness of the senior leadership team really does impact every aspect of the ministry—that’s why we’re so diligent about trying to help pastors and churches get this right.
In this episode, we dive even more in-depth into the roles of the senior leadership team and offer tips and strategies for how the senior pastor can empower the leaders on the team to do this important work, including:
- The seven key roles of the senior leadership team
- Six strategies for empowering your SLT leaders
- Reflection questions for senior pastors
We’re excited to continue into the new year with brand new podcast content to help church leaders like you get unstuck.
And if there are specific topics you’d like us to cover on our podcast, let us know!
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