Ministry staff are carrying unprecedented emotional weight from difficult experiences, and hiring churches must learn to address the pain behind every resume to build healthy teams.

• The last five to six years have been incredibly difficult for ministry staff
• Many candidates have experienced being ghosted, micromanaged, caught in power struggles, or laid off without warning
• Unprocessed pain turns into baggage that will show up in a candidate's next role
• Instead of just reviewing credentials, ask about how candidates have processed difficult experiences
• Important interview questions include asking about the hardest part of their last ministry season
• Look for awareness rather than perfection when evaluating candidates' responses
• Honest acknowledgment of pain that's been worked through indicates depth in leadership

Get your copy of "Silent Alarm: The Quiet Collapse of the Church Staff Pipeline" at chemistrystaffing.com/silentalarm to help your leadership team understand these critical hiring issues.

Have questions or comments? Send to [email protected]

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

We're facing a growing crisis in church staffing—the quiet disappearance of mid-career ministry leaders who should be stepping into senior leadership and mentoring younger staff. This exodus creates a dangerous vacuum where churches lose experienced leaders in their 30s and 40s who have accumulated valuable ministry wisdom.

• Mid-career leaders represent the backbone of church staff teams, bridging veteran leadership and the next generation
• Former youth pastors, worship leaders, associates, women in ministry, and executive pastors are leaving at alarming rates
• Churches didn't just lose these leaders—they wore them out, ignored their development, and assumed their loyalty
• Many left after carrying broken systems, serving under poor leadership, or hitting development ceilings
• COVID accelerated the exodus as many transitioned to healthier environments in the marketplace
• Churches must identify and develop under-challenged staff members before they leave
• Solutions include offering coaching, sabbaticals, clear advancement paths, and competitive compensation
• We need to ask: "Who are we currently overlooking on our staff?"

Get a copy of my new book "Silent Alarm: The Quiet Collapse of the Church Staff Pipeline and How to Rebuild it Before it's Too Late" at chemistrystaffing.com/silentalarm or on Amazon.

Have questions or comments? Send to [email protected]

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

The church staff pipeline in the US is quietly cracking beneath us, systematically changing in ways that threaten our future leadership. This episode introduces Todd Rhodes' new book "Silent Alarm" which addresses the diminishing flow of qualified, healthy, experienced candidates in the church hiring pool across all roles.

• The pipeline of leaders entering full-time ministry is slowing dramatically
• Churches continue posting openings with unrealistic expectations about candidate availability
• This isn't just a hiring slowdown but a long-term leadership crisis decades in the making
• Churches may receive applications but struggle to find candidates who are the right fit
• The candidate pool is aging while mid-career leaders are disappearing
• Young leaders are increasingly hesitant to enter ministry
• Churches that recognize this shift early can reimagine hiring expectations and develop internal pipelines
• This 10-part series will explore what's broken and how churches can rebuild something better

Get the book "Silent Alarm: The Quiet Collapse of the Church Staff Pipeline and How to Rebuild Before it's Too Late" at chemistrystaffing.com/silentalarm. Contact Todd with feedback at [email protected].

Have questions or comments? Send to [email protected]

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

The most dangerous season in leadership might be when everything feels fine, leading to comfortable coasting rather than courageous direction. Leadership fatigue often comes not from crisis moments but from the slow, steady grind of keeping everything afloat when courage is needed to disrupt stagnation.

• Warning signs of leadership coasting include avoiding overdue decisions
• Relief when your team stops asking questions indicates potential problems
• Not initiating tough conversations for months suggests building issues
• Recycled vision talks signal operating on ministry autopilot
• Leadership autopilot doesn't crash immediately but quietly drifts off course
• Courage often looks like having that difficult one-on-one conversation
• Sometimes leadership means challenging programs that have outlived their purpose
• Saying no to good things to make room for better things requires conviction
• The difference between leaders and caretakers is choosing discomfort over ease
• Teams don't need perfect leaders—they need courageous ones

If this resonated with you today and you'd like to talk through your specific situation, reach out to me at [email protected]. I'm passionate about helping churches develop healthy teams and would love to explore ways we might partner together.

Have questions or comments? Send to [email protected]

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

We explore why promising candidates often disappear during the church hiring process and how to stop unintentionally scaring away top talent. Your hiring process communicates volumes about your church culture, and candidates assume how you hire is how you lead.

• Disorganized processes communicate disorganized churches and staff
• Today's candidates consider multiple churches simultaneously, not just one at a time
• Long delays between communications often cause candidates to lose interest or trust
• Poor follow-up, vague answers, and overselling positions are common mistakes
• Intimidating interview settings without relational warmth drive away good candidates
• Fast, clear, and kind communication keeps candidates engaged
• Keep candidates in the loop even when there are no significant updates
• Allow candidates to meet real staff members, not just decision-makers
• Be honest about challenges your church faces
• When in doubt, over-communicate with empathy and clarity

Reach out anytime with questions about staffing, hiring, or HR at [email protected].

Have questions or comments? Send to [email protected]

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

Ministry leaders often confuse burnout with boredom, but these conditions require completely different solutions. Recognizing the difference can help you take the right steps to reignite your passion and purpose in ministry.

• Burnout is about depletion while boredom is about stagnation
• Warning signs of boredom include scrolling during meetings, minimal sermon prep, and lack of dreaming
• Both conditions can make you question your calling, but they need different approaches
• Boredom doesn't need rest—it needs new challenges and growth opportunities
• Practical strategies include learning new skills, changing routines, and mentoring someone new
• Getting curious again and asking better questions can break the cycle of boredom
• Experiencing boredom doesn't mean you're failing—you might be ready for the next version of your calling

What's one thing you've done recently to re-engage in your role? I'd love to hear from you at [email protected].

Have questions or comments? Send to [email protected]

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

Not every meeting adds value, and some are actively damaging your church staff's energy, creativity, and morale. We examine which staff meetings you should eliminate and what to replace them with to boost team productivity and happiness.

• Three telltale signs of toxic meetings: nobody prepares, people stop contributing, and staff leave discouraged
• Many church leaders keep unproductive meetings because it feels like leadership
• Common misconception: sitting around a table equals moving ministry forward
• Bad meetings reward loud voices while punishing introverts and over-preparers
• Alternative approaches: 10-minute async Monday updates, written check-ins, monthly strategic huddles
• If you must keep the meeting, redesign it: make it shorter, more focused, less reporting and more problem-solving
• Find your team's ideal meeting rhythm - not too frequent, not too rare
• Take inventory of your meeting schedule and ask team members for honest feedback

Reach out anytime with questions or podcast ideas at [email protected].

Have questions or comments? Send to [email protected]

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

Many churches waste time searching for perfect ministry candidates that don't exist. This unrealistic quest for a "ministry unicorn" leads to extended vacancies, team burnout, and missed opportunities to hire promising leaders with potential to grow.

• Churches often create impossible job descriptions seeking candidates with every qualification imaginable
• Warning signs of unicorn hunting include searches lasting over nine months with no frontrunner
• Search committees frequently disqualify strong candidates over minor flaws or preferences
• Prolonged vacancies lead to staff burnout and loss of church momentum
• Better approach: look for faithfulness, fruitfulness, teachability and mission alignment
• Shift from seeking "perfect fit" to finding "mission fit" candidates
• Great ministry leaders aren't found fully formed but developed within supportive communities
• Focus on character and chemistry rather than perfect credentials

Reach out anytime at [email protected] to discuss your church's hiring challenges and develop healthier approaches to building your ministry team.

Have questions or comments? Send to [email protected]

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

Pastors who need to be the smartest person in the room unintentionally silence their team and hinder collaboration, eventually causing creative staff members to leave or stop contributing.

• Insecurity often drives leaders' need to have all the answers
• Dominating meetings with answers tells staff "you're here to execute my brilliance"
• When people don't feel invited to contribute, they check out mentally
• Creative staff either leave or stay and become silent
• Leaders should invite input by asking "what do you think the next step should be?"
• Empowerment isn't just a buzzword—it's a discipline
• Innovation dries up when the leader is the only source of ideas
• Even Jesus asked more questions than gave answers
• Three shifts to make: ask more questions than give answers, affirm contributions publicly, rotate leadership
• If your team can't move without your brain, you're not leading—you're bottlenecking

Reach out with comments or feedback at [email protected].

Have questions or comments? Send to [email protected]

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

Ministry today resembles an ER room more than a boardroom, requiring church leaders to adopt skills similar to emergency medical professionals to navigate chaos effectively while preventing burnout.

• Learning proper triage - treating the most urgent issues first rather than reacting to the loudest voices
• Understanding that compassion means prioritizing what truly matters, not treating everything equally
• Recognizing not every idea needs immediate implementation or every email an instant reply
• Bringing calm to chaos like ER nurses do during critical situations
• Modeling peace and stability when budgets tank, conflicts erupt, or programs fall flat
• Implementing emotional debriefing after difficult situations to process the invisible wounds of ministry
• Normalizing conversations about the emotional weight of leadership
• Working smart under pressure rather than just working hard
• Leading with clear purpose even when the environment feels chaotic

Reach out to me at [email protected] if you're in a difficult situation and need someone to talk to - I have slots available each week to connect with podcast listeners.

Have questions or comments? Send to [email protected]

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.