Getting Unstuck!

Moving Forward When Old Methods Are No Longer Working

“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?” - Isaiah 43:18–19

In 1914, explorer Ernest Shackleton set sail for Antarctica on what became one of the most famous survival stories in history. His ship, the Endurance, became trapped in thick ice in the Weddell Sea. For months, the crew hoped the pressure would break. They waited. They adjusted. They tried small changes. But eventually Shackleton realized something painful:

The ship they trusted was never moving again.

The ice had locked them in place. The methods that once carried them forward could no longer carry them at all. At some point, Shackleton gathered the crew and essentially said, “If we stay tied to what is stuck, we will die with it.” So they abandoned the ship.

Not because the ship had once been bad.

Not because the ship had failed them entirely.

But because what once worked could no longer take them where they needed to go.

Many leaders arrive at that same moment.

Churches do.

Businesses do.

Families do.

Pastors do.

Sometimes we become trapped in routines, schedules, systems, traditions, methods, attitudes, and habits that once produced fruit but now produce frustration.

We keep doing what we have always done because it feels safe, familiar, and comfortable. But leadership requires the courage to honestly ask: “Is this still helping us move forward, or are we frozen in place?”

God never changes. Truth never changes. The gospel never changes. But methods, schedules, approaches, systems, and strategies often must.

Israel was stuck looking backward while God was preparing to move them forward. And many leaders today need the same awakening.

1. Recognize When What Worked Is No Longer Working

“Remember ye not the former things…” - Isaiah 43:18

God was not telling Israel to forget His faithfulness; He was telling them not to become imprisoned by the past.

One of the greatest dangers in leadership is idolizing yesterday’s victories. Sometimes leaders become emotionally attached to methods simply because they once succeeded. But past success can become present stagnation.

The Pharisees struggled with this constantly. They had become so committed to preserving old systems that they resisted what God was doing through Christ at the time.

Jesus said: “No man putteth new wine into old bottles…” (Mark 2:22).

The issue was not the wine but the capacity. Sometimes the container cannot carry what God is trying to do next.

Leaders get stuck when:

• Schedules become sacred.

• Traditions become untouchable.

• Preferences become policies.

• Comfort becomes priority.

• Familiarity replaces fruitfulness.

A method that once served the mission can eventually begin to suffocate it. That does not mean everything old is wrong.

But wise leaders regularly evaluate:

• Is this effective?

• Is this healthy?

• Is this fruitful?

• Is this helping us reach people?

• Is this developing people?

• Is this moving us toward the mission?

Questions every leader must ask:

• Are we maintaining something simply because we are used to it?

• Are we defending methods more than mission?

• Are we resisting change because of wisdom or because of fear?

2. Refuse To Confuse Activity With Progress

“Behold, I will do a new thing…” - Isaiah 43:19

It is possible to be extremely busy and completely stuck. Some organizations are exhausted yet ineffective. Some churches are active but not advancing. Some leaders are overwhelmed but unproductive.

Martha in Luke 10 is the perfect example. “Martha was cumbered about much serving…” (Luke 10:40). She was moving constantly, yet she was spiritually stuck.

There is a difference between motion and momentum. A rocking chair moves all day and goes nowhere!

Sometimes leaders stay stuck because:

• They are overcommitted.

• They refuse to delegate.

• They keep unnecessary programs alive.

• They fear disappointing people.

• They maintain schedules that no longer fit reality.

• They equate exhaustion with faithfulness.

Not every open door is an assignment from God. One of the healthiest things a leader can do is simplify.

Acts 6 teaches this beautifully. The apostles recognized that their current structure was no longer sustainable, so they adapted! “It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables” (Acts 6:2).

They were not being lazy. They were protecting priority. And after restructuring? “And the word of God increased…” (Acts 6:7)!

Growth often happens on the other side of healthy adjustment.

3. Recover A Spirit Of Courageous Faith

“Now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?” - Isaiah 43:19

Getting unstuck requires courage. Fear keeps many leaders frozen.

Fear of criticism.

Fear of failure.

Fear of losing people.

Fear of change.

Fear of upsetting tradition.

Fear of uncertainty.

But unhealthy patterns rarely change themselves.

Joshua faced this when taking leadership after Moses.

Imagine the pressure Joshua would face! He is a new leader with massive expectations, leading a new generation into a new land in a new season with new battles to fight! PRETTY DAUNTING AND FRIGHTENING!

Yet God repeatedly told Joshua: “Be strong and of a good courage” (Joshua 1:6). Why? Because leadership transitions and strategic changes always require courage.

Courageous leaders:

• Admit when something is not working.

• Make hard adjustments.

• Learn new approaches.

• Seek wise counsel.

• Stay teachable.

• Embrace growth.

Pride says: “We have always done it this way.” Wisdom says: “How can we better fulfill the mission?”

Healthy leaders are learners. Stuck leaders are defenders.

4. Return To Dependence Upon God

“I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” - Isaiah 43:19

Ultimately, getting unstuck is not merely about innovation; it is about dependence. Sometimes God allows us to become frustrated with our methods so that we will return to trusting Him rather than systems.

Israel loved formulas.

God wanted faith.

Church leaders especially must remember:

Programs do not produce revival.

Strategies do not produce power.

Schedules do not produce transformation.

God does.

Zechariah said: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

Sometimes the reason we are stuck is that God is exposing our dependence on machinery rather than on the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Seasons of “stuckness” can become seasons of:

• Re-evaluation

• Repentance

• Renewal

• Refocusing

• Revitalization

God often dismantles our confidence in human systems before He renews our confidence in divine power.

When God is preparing to do a new thing, He often first exposes the old things we trust too much.

There comes a moment when every leader must decide: Will I cling to what is comfortable, or will I courageously move toward what is necessary? Some leaders stay stuck for years because they are loyal to familiarity. But healthy leadership requires periodic evaluation, honest humility, and courageous faith.

Not every old thing must go; but everything must be examined. Because sometimes the very thing that once moved you forward is now the thing holding you in place.

And God still says: “Behold, I will do a new thing…”

The question is not whether God desires to move forward. The question is whether we are willing to move with Him.