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PODCAST

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast

We"re all about helping create a healthy, positive, and spiritually positive environment for church staff members and leadership teams.

religion & spirituality christianity

All Episodes

7:46

How to Tell When It’s Time to Fire a ‘Nice’ Person

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/27

Church leaders often struggle with releasing staff members who are kind and beloved but ineffective in their roles. This common dilemma creates "the nice trap" where emotional attachment overrides objective evaluation and ultimately harms your church's mission. • Nice gets confused with necessary in church environments • Kindness without competence leads to organizational dysfunction • Warning signs include frequent apologies, confused volunteers, and lack of results • The "fruit test" helps...

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7:05

What Church Leaders Can Learn from National Park Rangers

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/26

Have you ever considered the surprising parallels between National Park Rangers and church leaders? Both protect sacred spaces, guide those who wander, and remain vigilant against threats that could destroy what they're entrusted to preserve. As Todd Rhodes unpacks in this thought-provoking episode, church leaders aren't just called to preach or manage staff—they're called to be rangers in the wild. First, they must protect the sacred culture of community, holding firm to theological i...

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6:19

The Secret Staff Member Everyone’s Afraid Of

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/25

You know exactly who they are—that staff member, volunteer, or board member everyone tiptoes around. Though their title doesn't suggest it, they wield extraordinary influence, derailing meetings, intimidating co-workers, and quietly holding your ministry hostage. Nobody knows quite how to confront this person or even name what's happening. Sound familiar? This hidden power dynamic creates a culture dominated by fear rather than trust. People stop sharing honest feedback, good staff members e...

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6:48

Ministry Relay: Passing the Leadership Baton

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/24

Ever wonder why so many ministry transitions go sideways? The answer might make you uncomfortable: too many leaders grip the baton until their knuckles turn white. Leadership isn't meant to be a solo marathon. Throughout scripture, we see a clear pattern of intentional handoffs—Moses to Joshua, Paul to Timothy, Jesus to his disciples. Yet in modern ministry, we've glorified the idea of running alone, staying in position as long as possible, and maintaining tight control. This mindset not onl...

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7:55

What If Your Job Description Included the Fruit of...

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/23

Ever notice how church staff evaluations rarely mention the qualities Jesus actually embodied? We've created a culture where filling seats trumps filling hearts, where productivity metrics overshadow spiritual growth. What would happen if we flipped the script? Imagine your next staff review asking not "Did you meet your goals?" but "Did you grow in gentleness?" The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—offers a revolut...

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6:15

When Staff Loyalty Becomes Dysfunction

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/20

Loyalty in church staff isn't always a virtue – sometimes what appears as faithfulness may actually be fear in disguise, potentially damaging your church staff structure. We explore the crucial differences between healthy commitment and unhealthy codependency in ministry teams. • Fear masquerading as faithfulness keeps staff in draining roles because they feel stuck • Common fears include appearing disloyal, disappointing leaders, financial instability, or divine punishment • Warning signs i...

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7:50

The Pastor’s Spouse Works Here Too… We Just Don’t Pay...

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/19

Churches often employ someone who isn't on the payroll – the pastor's spouse who carries emotional weight, hidden expectations, and unpaid ministry hours without recognition or compensation. This "invisible job description" creates unfair burdens that lead to burnout not just for pastors, but for their spouses as well. • The "twofer" mentality expects spouses to serve without formal recognition • Pastor's spouses become emotional sponges for ministry stress without training • Churches blur t...

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6:56

If Jesus Ran a Startup, What Ministry Might Look Like

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/18

Jesus built a kingdom with a startup mentality that continues to disrupt and grow 2,000 years later, offering powerful principles that can transform church ministry leadership today. His approach challenges conventional organizational wisdom with a simpler, people-focused model. • Jesus started with just 12 ordinary but teachable people - not the most qualified but deeply relational • Churches don't need large staffs to make an impact, but people who follow, adapt, and care deeply • Jesus co...

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8:03

What If Your Legacy Isn’t a Church… But the Leaders...

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/17

The true measure of a pastor's success isn't the church they build but the leaders they leave behind who can continue the work after they're gone. Jesus himself modeled this approach by focusing not on buildings but on developing 11 disciples who would carry on his mission. • Leadership multiplication is a neglected yet powerful way to impact the kingdom long-term • Too many churches are "one charismatic leader away from collapse" • Raising leaders is slow, messy, and risky work, but m...

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6:19

The Rise of the Church Influencer and the Death of...

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/16

We examine how some pastors are becoming online influencers and the impact this shift has on church staff dynamics, transforming collaborative ministry teams into production crews for personal brands. • The growing trend of church influencers where pastors build personal platforms that overshadow local ministry • When a pastor has more followers than church members, team dynamics fundamentally change • How collaborative ministry models are being replaced by celebrity-centered approaches • Th...

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6:14

Why Churches Talk About Diversity But Hire the Same...

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/13

Many churches verbally promote diversity while continually hiring the same types of candidates, creating a gap between their stated values and staffing reality. This episode explores the unseen biases and unspoken defaults in church hiring practices while offering practical advice for building staff teams that better reflect God's kingdom. • Churches often preach diversity but hire for comfort and cultural fit rather than representation • Diversity isn't just a value to preach but a discipli...

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9:31

The Cult of the Long Tenure Pastor

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/12

Long-tenured pastors often become untouchable in their churches, creating a culture where accountability disappears and feedback feels like betrayal. This quiet danger threatens church health when pastoral loyalty morphs into blind allegiance. • Warning signs include elder boards filled with yes-men and hand-picked loyalists • Staff members afraid to speak honestly in meetings for fear of retribution • New ideas subtly shut down with "we've tried that before" statements • Pastors going years...

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6:35

What We Talk About in Elder Meetings That We'd Never...

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/11

Every church operates with two distinct scripts - the public one seen in sermons and newsletters, and the private one found in elder meetings discussing budget worries and staff frustrations. The gap between these scripts often creates suspicion and erodes trust. • Church leaders often hide difficult information to be protective, not deceptive • When transparency decreases, church culture deteriorates through gossip and suspicion • Secrecy creates side effects: staff whispering instead of co...

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7:23

Theology and Conflict Avoidance

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/10

We explore how church leaders sometimes misuse theology as a defense mechanism, particularly focusing on Romans 8:28 and how it can shut down necessary conversations instead of starting them. • When we use scripture to end conversations rather than begin them, we're often avoiding uncomfortable feedback • "Spiritual bypassing" occurs when we use spiritual language to avoid emotional pain, discomfort, or responsibility • Quoting scripture instead of apologizing or addressing frustration short...

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7:44

When Church Leaders Want You Gone—But Won’t Say It

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/09

Quiet firing is when church staff are gradually pushed out through neglect rather than direct confrontation, leaving them without support, feedback, or meaningful work until they get the message they're no longer wanted. This practice damages both the individual staff member's sense of calling and creates a culture of insecurity among the entire team. • Signs of quiet firing include lack of feedback, exclusion from key meetings, assignment of only menial tasks • Changes to job description wi...

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6:00

True North (Part 5)

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/06

Todd Rhodes concludes the True North series by reading Chapter Four of his modern epistle for church staff and workers, offering encouragement that even in difficult ministry seasons, God has not forgotten those He's called. The chapter provides powerful reminders about identity, healing, and the true measure of ministry success. • Ministry is not a straight path but grace walks with you at every turn • God's silence should not be interpreted as His absence • Your identity as a beloved child...

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6:20

True North (Part 4)

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/05

We explore Chapter 3 of the True North series, focusing on leadership that prioritizes reproduction over becoming indispensable. This modern epistle for church staff distills wisdom from our first 360 podcast episodes into practical leadership principles centered on legacy-building through developing others. • The goal of leadership is reproducibility, not indispensability • True vision outlasts its originator; dependency dies when you leave • Legacy is defined by who you raise up, not what ...

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6:49

True North (Part 3)

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/04

This episode continues our True North series, a modern-day epistle for church leaders that captures key insights from 360 episodes of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. • Endurance isn't the absence of fatigue but the decision to keep going when excuses say stop • Seasons without visible growth aren't wasted—they're holy moments forming trustworthy leaders • Rest isn't weakness but a reminder you aren't the Savior • If your soul is shrinking while your platform grows, stop immediately • Build...

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7:24

True North (Part 2)

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/03

We unveil "True North," a modern epistle designed to encourage and guide church staff with timeless wisdom for ministry leadership. This four-chapter resource draws from hundreds of podcast conversations to address the challenges unique to those serving in church settings. • Written in the style of a biblical epistle but addressing contemporary ministry challenges • Chapter One focuses on the weight of leadership and the importance of guarding your inner flame • Leadership described as a pos...

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6:24

Truth North (Part 1)

The Healthy Church Staff Podcast ·

2025/06/02

Todd Rhodes introduces a special week-long series featuring an AI-generated "epistle" created by feeding all 366 episodes of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast into ChatGPT. The resulting 15-page document called "True North for Church Leaders" synthesizes years of ministry wisdom into a biblical letter-style format that offers encouragement and perspective for church leaders. • Experimented with ChatGPT to synthesize wisdom from all 366 podcast episodes • Created a modern-day "epistle" (pastor...

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486 results

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