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All Episodes

The Gavin Adams Leadership Podcast — 177 episodes

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Title
1

The Six Words Every Church Leader Needs to Retire

2

Stop Preaching to the Room. Start Preaching to the Person.

3

Do You Know Who Is Sitting In Your Church Every Sunday?

4

The Real Reason Your Current Vision Doesn't Survive Long Term

5

Did You Build Your Church Model, Or Did You Inherit It?

6

Encouraged but Unchanged: Define The Best Use For Your Sunday Service

7

What Story Do I Want to Tell?

8

What Would a Great Leader Do?

9

What Would Your Replacement Do?

10

What To Do If You're Stuck On A Leadership Decision?

11

Why Success Is Much More Than a Result

12

You Can't Connect to the Crowd While You're Connected to Your Content

13

Is Your Largest Giver Quietly Stalling Generosity in Your Church?

14

The Church Metrics That Predict Growth Before It Shows Up

15

What Keeping the Wrong Person Is Actually Costing Your Church

16

You Can't Fix in December What You Ignore in July

17

The Ten-Minute Fix for Sermon Writing Block

18

Who Actually Owns Your Sunday Service?

19

How to Hire for the Church You're Becoming

20

Your Team Has Learned Which Words Move You

21

Your Church Is Growing. But Are Your People?

22

When Funding the Mission Becomes the Mission

23

The Second Half of the Year Isn't a Continuation. It's a Decision.

24

Why Your Non-Givers Aren't Giving (And What to Do About It This Month)

25

The Difference Between a Generosity Moment and a Generosity Movement

26

Halfway Through 2026: What You Haven't Named Is Already Deciding for You

27

The Trust Tax: What Every Direction Change Is Really Costing You

28

What Your Mid-Year Giving Numbers Are Actually Telling You

29

You Lost Their Trust Before Sunday Morning Even Started

30

One Question That Fixes The Awkward Giving Conversation In Your Church

31

What If Your Culture Isn't What Your Team Tells You It Is

32

A Straightforward Way To Break Through Church Growth Barriers

33

Why Familiarity Is a Real Threat to Your Church's Growth

34

Why Your Guest Gift Is Working Against You

35

Your Vision Moment Doesn't Have a Production Problem

36

Your Church Already Has a Strategy. The Question Is Whether You Chose It.

37

Your Church Will Never Be More Intentional Than You Are

38

You Can Be Liked or You Can Lead. Too Many Pastors Want Both.

39

Correctness Isn't Influence: How Leaders Mistake Accuracy for Effectiveness

40

Your Church Is Full of Stories That Never Reach Sunday

41

Feedback Is Data. You're the One Who Has to Decide What It Means.

42

Loyalty-Based Giving Is Fading. Here's What Comes Next.

43

The AI Question More Churches Should Begin Asking

44

The Hidden Cost of a Hurried Pastor

45

You Don't Have a Volunteer Shortage. You Have a Movement Problem.

46

Empathy Isn't Softness. It's the Reason Your Message Gets Heard.

47

They Are Not Fighting Your Vision. But They Are Grieving the Transition.

48

Why Your Volunteers Keep Disappearing (And Why Thanking Them Won't Fix It)

49

Why Your Volunteer Appeals Keep Failing

50

Why Pastors Delay What They Already Know Needs to Change

51

Your Sunday Service Order Might Be Killing Your Sermon

52

Why Talking About Generosity More Is Not Moving People

53

What Do You Say When There Aren’t Many Life-Change Stories to Tell?

54

Why So Many Lead Pastors Feel Stuck Doing Work Someone Else Should Own

55

What To Do If Your Church "Feels" Great But People Aren’t Growing

56

No Church Leader Sets Out to Build an Unintentional Church

57

The Death of Expert Culture and the New Rules of Church Leadership

58

Why Church Activity Makes Us Believe Discipleship Is Happening (Even When It’s Not)

59

When Your Team Can’t Handle Feedback: How to Build Resilience Without Lowering the Bar

60

Trust Is Now Harder To Earn Than Ever — And That Should Change How You Lead

61

Why Stagnant People Create Stuck Churches

62

Clarity Over Coverage: The Messaging Shift Your Church Needs

63

The Right Way: You Don’t Have a People Problem. You Have a Pathway Problem.

64

How to Build a Culture of Participation in Your Church

65

How to Involve "How" Implementors During "Wow" Visionary Meetings

66

The Transformation Economy: Why Great Church Experiences Aren’t Producing Real Change

67

People Don’t Leave Churches. They Leave Leaders They No Longer Trust

68

Why Your Church Can’t Out Content the Internet and What To Do Instead

69

Why Great Church Services Are No Longer Driving Church Growth

70

You Can Grow a Church and Still Stall Discipleship

71

The Right Message isn't "Right" for Everyone

72

Faithful, Busy, and Stuck: Why Your Shapers and Stewards Stop Growing

73

Meet the New Believer in Your Church: Hungry, Overwhelmed, and Unsure What to Do Next

74

Meet the Seeker In Your Seats: They Are Asking One Question

75

You’re Not Discipling Everyone. You’re Discipling Four People.

76

When Engagement Becomes the Goal

77

Why Full Calendars Rarely Produce Growing Disciples

78

You May Not Have a Discipleship Problem—It Could Be a Design Problem

79

The Story You’re Telling Yourself About Your Church Might Be Holding It Back

80

When Trust Breaks Down, Giving Slows Down: The New Generosity Challenge for Churches

81

Why Sunday Afternoons Discourage Faithful Pastors More Than They Expect

82

Stop Creating the Anxiety You’re Complaining About

83

Giving Isn’t a Financial Issue—It’s a Spiritual Problem

84

The Power of a Goal: Why Churches Need Something Clear to Aim At

85

"Building the Plane While Flying It" Only Works When the Destination Is Clear

86

The New Giving Reality: 5 Shifts Every Growth-Minded Pastor Must Understand

87

Start With Who: The Missing Step in Sermon Planning That Shapes Disciples

88

Why Kids Ministry Gets Results and Adult Ministry Gets Stuck

89

How One Church Turned Its Budget Into a Vision Tool and Raised $115,000 Without a Capital Campaign

90

Why Your 2026 Church Calendar Is Full but Your Mission Feels Stuck

91

2026 Won’t Change Itself: How Intentional Pastors Design the Year They Actually Want

92

Why Repeating Last Year’s Calendar Is Costing You Momentum

93

How Intentional Leaders Make Hard Decisions That Move the Church Forward

94

Stop Hoping People Engage: 5 Intentional Ways to Increase Attendance, Groups, Serving, Giving, and Inviting

95

Breaking the Cycle: How Christmas Ends the Pressure to Prove Yourself

96

The Year of Intentionality: 50 Ways to Stop Leading Reactively and Build a Church That Grows

97

The Ministry Model Makeover: How Intentional Leaders Design What Their Church Actually Needs

98

Accidental Leadership Is Costing You Growth. Intentional Leadership Can Change Everything.

99

Add Some "Stick-to-itiveness" To Your New Ministry Strategy

100

Who’s Really in Charge? The Hidden Pressure Behind Every Unclear Ministry Role

101

When Gratitude Gets Hard: Finding God in the Grind

102

Are We Settling for a Selfish Revival? The Real Change God Wants to Bring

103

Pastor From Your Gift: How Every Pastor Can Build a Thriving Church

104

How Smart Churches Turn Year-End Giving into Mission Momentum

105

Preaching Under Pressure: How to Prepare Without Performing

106

The Leadership Factory Every Church Needs

107

7 Lessons from Non-Profits That Could Transform Your Church’s Generosity

108

How to Lead When Sunday Goes Sideways

109

Stop Thanking People for What Already Happened to Drive More Giving in Your Church

110

Why Mission Drift Happens (and How Great Leaders Stop It)

111

When What’s Written on the Wall Isn’t Happening Down the Hall

112

6 Leadership Actions Every Pastor Needs to Move from Stuck to Strategic

113

When Ministry Hurts Home: How to Stop Leading the Church at the Expense of Your Family

114

When You Wonder If It Was Worth It (and Why It Still Is)

115

How to Create Financial Margin Without Losing Your Mission

116

The Offering Pressure: Why Pastors Feel It and How to Finally Relieve It

117

Caring Without Crumbling: 3 Rhythms to Keep Pastoring from the Heart

118

How to Turn Your Church’s Vision Into Reality (in 3 Practical Leadership Steps)

119

When Should You Speak Into Cultural Moments? A Pastor’s Framework for Hard Sundays

120

Can One Question Really Change the Direction of Your Church?

121

Stop Treating Leadership Like It’s Less Spiritual

122

Why Timid Men Are Just as Toxic as Controlling Ones (and What the Church Must Do About It)

123

Why Your Health Becomes Your Church’s Ceiling

124

Preaching Fills the Seats—Leadership Builds the Church

125

Why Leadership (Not Money, Buildings, or Programs) Is Your Real Growth Barrier

126

Stop Trying to Outdo Last Sunday: Why Faithfulness Beats Flashiness

127

Stop Pressuring and Start Them (Increase Discipleship Participation With This Shift)

128

One Size Fits… Almost Nobody: Why Your Discipleship Pathway Needs More Variety

129

When Worship Turns Too Personal: How “Me” Songs Are Quietly Weakening the Church

130

4 Warning Signs Your Discipleship Pathway Isn’t Working (and How to Fix It)

131

Excellence Without the Show: How to Keep Worship From Becoming Performance

132

Just Because You’re Preaching Doesn’t Mean Anyone Is Changing

133

You Can’t Force Growth: How to Create Conditions for Discipleship That Flourish

134

Less of Me, More of Jesus: Escaping the Pressure of the Spiritual Spotlight

135

Stop Wasting The OTHER 6 Days: How to Turn One Sermon into a Week of Discipleship

136

Content but Not Satisfied: The Better Way to Measure Your Ministry

137

From Cheesecake Menu to Clear Map: Why Your Church Needs Fewer Programs and a Stronger Pathway

138

The 5 Rights of Discipleship: Align Your Pathway, Accelerate Spiritual Growth

139

The Volunteer Schedule Hack Your Church Hasn’t Tried Yet

140

Stop Counting Attendance: 5 Church Metrics That Actually Measure Spiritual Growth

141

Stop Avoiding Structure: The Backbone Every Thriving Church Needs

142

Stop Praying for Revival If You’re Not Preparing for It

143

Why Your Sermons Don’t Stick

144

What Is Your Purpose When Preaching?

145

8 Bold Church Values That Actually Drive Growth

146

How to Preach the Truth When No One Wants to Hear It

147

Good Preaching Nerves vs. Bad Ones: How to Know the Difference

148

Lead Like You Expect God to Show Up: The Power of Sunday Expectancy

149

Tired of the Weekly Scramble? Build a Sermon System That Actually Works

150

The Gospel Is Offensive. You Don’t Have to Be.

151

Why Your Church Feels Busy But Stuck

152

Why Most Pastors Preach From Behind—And How to Get Ahead

153

The Fine Line Between Pastoring and Pleasing

154

5 Signs Your Sermon Isn’t Working

155

How to Engage the Biblically Illiterate Without Watering Down Truth

156

Discipleship Is a Journey: Does Your Church Offer a Map or a Menu?

157

The Critical Connection Between Leadership and Church Health

158

Sunday Pressure Release: When the Church You’re Leading Doesn’t Match the Vision You’re Carrying

159

Outdated and Unaware: Why Yesterday’s Ministry Model Won’t Reach Today’s Mission Field

160

Is Passion Enough? Why Your Church Needs a System (Not Just a Mission)

161

Sunday Pressure Release: God Presses Where Pride Puffs

162

Why Saying “Yes” Is Costing You More Than You Think

163

The Management Mistake That’s Quietly Costing Your Church

164

5 Signs Your Sermon Isn’t Working

165

Sunday Pressure Release: Pressed But Not Crushed

166

Feeling Stretched Thin? Use Scarcity to Sharpen Your Strategy

167

Stop Resisting the Organizational Side of Church

168

Most Pastors Are Tracking the Wrong Numbers

169

The 4 Relational Circles Every Pastor Needs to Stay Healthy, Connected, and Confident

170

The Church Gets Your Weekends — Does Your Family Get Your Heart?

171

Feeling Numb, Tired, or Checked Out? You Might Be Facing Leadership Fatigue

172

The Kingdom Isn’t Red or Blue: How to Shepherd Faithfully in a Politically Divided Culture

173

When the Pastor Can’t Pray: The Spiritual Pressure We Never Talk About

174

You Went to Seminary, Not Business School. Now What?

175

Sunday Is Not Your Super Bowl: Escaping the Pressure of Performance-Based Ministry

176

The Dangerous Difference Between Empathy and People-Pleasing

177

The 7 Deadly Pressures Crushing Pastors