Show Notes
In January, you have permission to slow down enough to be intentional about the rest of your year. The goal isn't perfection; it's progress. And progress starts with planning. In the next part of our series, "How to Not Waste January," we're moving from reflection to talking about what's next. It's time to refocus by creating plans and establishing rhythms for the new year. In this episode, Amy and Sean talk about how to plan when things are going well at your church, the key questions to ask when planning and how to calendar tangible planning rhythms.
This episode is sponsored by PlainJoe Studios. Is your church building a throwback to the wood-paneled world of the 1980s? Does it feel more like going to worship or taking a big step back in time? PlainJoe's fun-loving, passionate team of designers, architects and specialists will transform your dated space, imagining and creating a worship environment that communicates your church's unique story and appeals to people of all ages. Learn more at plainjoe.net.
Join the Conversation on Social Media We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on X and on Instagram.
More from The Unstuck Church Podcast
Every hire you make is a culture decision.
Defining your culture-shaping behaviors is a quick project. Embedding them into your team is a multi-year commitment—but that's the part that determines whether any of this changes how your team actually operates. What tends to happen is we come out of this meeting and return to the whirlwind of the rest of ministry. We put this list of behaviors on the wall or a desk calendar, and then go back to what we've always done. In this episode, Sean and Paul talk about what it takes to keep your culture alive.
Culture is difficult to define but easy to feel … and it's hard to overestimate the role culture plays in your team's health and efficiency. A healthy culture can help turbocharge your vision and make progress toward the calling that God has for your church. But an unhealthy team culture will actually erode your vision and derail your strategy. We invited Paul Alexander, the executive pastor at Sun Valley Church in Phoenix, AZ and a consultant on our team, to join us for this new series: Getting Practical on Developing Culture. In this episode, we talk about actually defining your culture—getting those "unspoken rules" written down and implemented into your team—because you either define your culture or it gets defined for you.
The next time that you walk into your church lobby, pretend it's your very first time there. What does the room tell you about your church? Because it's telling people something. The question is whether it's the story that you meant to tell. Sean got the chance to sit down with Phil Taylor from PlainJoe Studios. Phil spent 20 years in lead pastor and executive pastor roles before joining PlainJoe, where he helps churches with building, design, branding, and web projects. In this episode, Phil and Sean talk through what telling your story through design actually means. Why your kids' spaces need numbers instead of animal names How often your main spaces need an update Phil & Sean's weirdest church lobby stories
People issues, especially people changes, can be incredibly divisive in a church.