Do You Have What it Takes to be a GREAT Church Staff Member?

Ever faced those moments where self-doubt creeps in and you wonder what truly makes a stellar church staff member? Join me, Todd Rhoades, as I take you through a journey of self-reflection and spiritual growth that extends far beyond diplomas and resumes. Anchored in the guidance of 1 Peter 3, this episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast emphasizes the five intrinsic qualities that are truly pivotal for anyone serving in ministry: being agreeable, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, and humble. I'll share stories from my own experience, both of victory and vulnerability, as we navigate how these virtues can fundamentally enhance not only our service but enrich our personal development and community connections.

Prepare to shift perspectives and embark on a personal challenge that could revolutionize your ministry. We explore the powerful dynamic of blessing others and the reciprocal blessings we receive in turn. Forget the sharp-tongued sarcasm that might be second nature; for the next few days, I encourage us all to practice understanding and withhold criticism. The result? A stronger ability to lead and serve within the church. Tune in for heartfelt conversation, spiritual insight, and actionable advice designed to transform you into not just a great, but a genuinely better church staff member.

Have questions or comments? Send to podcast@chemistrystaffing.com

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

Do you have what it takes to be a really great church staff member? We're going to talk about that today. Hi there, welcome to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. My name is Todd Rhodes, one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom, and, if you're like me, during my church staff journey some days I felt like man Todd, you're hitting it out of the park. You're a really fairly decent church staff member, and other times I woke up and I thought, oh my goodness, why do they keep you around here? But regardless of how you're feeling, do you have what it takes to be a really great staff member? And I'm not talking about that MDiv diploma on display or the 10 years of experience on your resume. I'm talking about what it really takes to be a good staff member. Here's some things that I think are really important, even more important than that diploma or the experience. Are you agreeable? Are you sympathetic? Are you loving? Are you compassionate, are you humble?

Speaker 1: 1:09

These are the admonitions from the New Testament, 1 Peter, chapter 3, actually for all of us. But wait, it gets better. There's to be no retaliation. What? No, no, sharp-tongued sarcasm. What, no, no, sharp-tongued sarcasm. Ouch, really. If sharp-tongued sarcasm was a spiritual gift, I'm pretty sure I would score pretty highly, probably a lot higher than you. But what should we do instead? It's simple, one word. It's bless, bless, yep, yep, bless, that's your job, it's mine to bless. And here's what Peter says will happen when you bless, two things actually Number one, you'll be a blessing, and number two, you'll get a blessing. Here are some words from 1 Peter 3.8.

Speaker 1: 1:57

Eugene Peterson writes in the message. He says be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you no exceptions, no retaliation, no sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless, that's your job. To bless, you'll be a blessing and you'll also get a blessing. So here's my question for you today and according to when you're listening to this, if you're listening to it on the day it's released, on Wednesday, you've got a couple more that you've got today and Thursday and Friday to kind of work on this.

Speaker 1: 2:30

But what would happen in your ministry if you made it your goal to be more agreeable and more sympathetic and more loving and more compassionate and more humble? Again, these are things that are easier said than done. But what if you diverted all of your sharp tongue criticism to your cat? Okay, he's already judging you anyway, so you might as well. Give some of that sarcasm to your cat, if you've got a cat and I have a cat and I do. But seriously, what would happen if you diverted and held your tongue on some of that sharp tongue criticism just for the next three days?

Speaker 1: 3:08

What I'm inviting you to do is join me on this journey. It's so hard. We've got if you're like me, you've got a long list of items on your list, your to-do list that you need to check off even today and this week, and it's hard sometimes just to. It's hard not to just not be compassionate or humble or sympathetic because you're just concentrating on getting your to-do list done. But I want you to join me on this week.

Speaker 1: 3:34

As we bless others, we in turn will be blessed and ultimately it will help you lead your church. That's the challenge for you today. It's really pretty simple, but it's incredibly hard. Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate and be humble. No exceptions, no retaliation, no sharp-tongued criticism or sarcasm. Instead, let's bless. That's our job this week to bless, find somebody and bless them today. That's my admonition for you today and it'll help you become maybe not a great staff member, but a much better staff member than if you didn't Hope. You'll join us again here tomorrow on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. I would love to hear your feedback, your comments, your snide remarks. If you don't have a cat and you need to direct that sharp tongue criticism to me, I've got thick skin, I can take it Send me an email at podcast, at chemistrystaffingcom. We'll see you here right back tomorrow.