Back, having managed Church, seeing obstacle to progress (9)
I believe the answer is:
hindrance
'obstacle to progress' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'back having managed church' is the wordplay.
'back' becomes 'hind' (synonyms).
'having' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'managed' becomes 'ran' (both can mean organised or was in charge of).
'church' becomes 'CE' (Church of England).
'hind'+'ran'+'ce'='HINDRANCE'
'seeing' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hindrance that I've seen before include "Something inhibiting action" , "Delay to overcome" , "Something that holds back" , "Block to progress" , "Chain nerd up - it delays progress" .)