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.
The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
Conflict in the Church: Is It Resolved Effectively?
Who knew that the path to peace could be found in the pews? It's Todd Rhodes here, and on the latest episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, we navigate the sometimes-stormy seas of conflict resolution within church communities. As one of the co-founders of chemistrystaffing.com, I've seen the best and the worst when it comes to church staff disputes. Let's celebrate the victories and confront the challenges as we uncover the secrets to managing disagreements with grace and fairness.
While 61% of church staff may feel their church is a conflict resolution success story, we can't ignore the 18% waving red flags of dissatisfaction or the 22% hovering in the land of neutrality. This episode is packed with real talk: from acknowledging the successes that should be shouted from the rooftops, to digging deep with the disheartened to unearth the root of their discontent. No guests, just straight-up strategies and stories to help church leaders cultivate a more harmonious and effective team dynamic. Tune in for an honest look at what it takes to create a community where every voice is heard and every conflict has the potential for a positive transformation.
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Do you love conflict? I don't know that I've ever met anybody that loves conflict, particularly in the church. And, believe me, if you've not been in the middle of a bloody church conflict, congratulations. I don't know how you've gotten this far without it, but we're going to talk about conflicts and conflict revolution. That would be great Resolution today on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. My name is Todd Rhodes, I'm one of the co-founders over chemistrystaffingcom and today we're tackling conflict head on.
Speaker 1:Everyone argues sometimes but how are conflicts handled in your church? We asked a000 church staff last year in our Healthy Church Staff Assessment and it turns out that 61% of staff feel that churches handle conflict pretty well. We did another podcast last week, I believe, on this and some of these topics. As we go through our series intermesh a little bit, but I thought it was well worth taking another look at conflict resolution. As I said, 61% of staff feel good about how their church does conflict resolution and that's encouraging A 6 out of 10, but there's another 4 out of 10 that feels it could be better. So let's take a look at ways to make sure that everyone feels that conflicts are addressed fairly. All right, let's dig a look at ways to make sure that everyone feels that conflicts are addressed fairly. All right, let's dig into those numbers. We already mentioned the 61% Overall. If your church is normal, some churches are better, some churches are worse, particularly when it comes to things like conflict resolution, but overall, if your church is normal, about 61% of your staff are pretty satisfied. 18%, though, aren't, and another 22% are neutral, so we need to address all three groups.
Speaker 1:So how do we do it? All right, let's start with positive responses. That 61% remember that we mentioned a couple times so far. That feels like something good is happening there. Maybe you've got a clear process. Maybe you've trained leaders in resolving conflict. Maybe it's as easy as an open-door policy. Whatever it is, celebrate those successes where you're doing well. Celebrate that. Share stories as you can, as you can, about how you've worked your way through conflict. Thanks, staff, for handling conflict maturely. You can do that in a group, but you can also do that behind closed doors and just say, hey, john, you've really handled this well, thank you so much for handling the situation, and remind everybody often as to why it's important that we tackle conflict, as to why it's important that we tackle conflict, that we resolve conflict and we don't let it fester. Okay, so that's how you deal with the people that are already feeling pretty good about it.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about the 18% that's unsatisfied. That's a red flag, all right? So what's going on there? Is the process unclear? Do folks feel their concerns aren't heard, or are they unsure if the resolutions are even fair?
Speaker 1:As a leader, if you're leading your staff, you need to find the root of this. Why are people dissatisfied? My first guess is that they're dissatisfied because there's conflict that is unresolved. If you have conflicts that are unresolved, maybe they've been unresolved for years. I talked to a leader not long ago that says I've been in conflict with a staff member for over five years. That's five years, that's. I can't imagine being on staff with somebody that I've been in conflict like regular, a regular, ongoing conflict dispute for five years.
Speaker 1:Find the root of the people that are dissatisfied. You probably have an idea who they are. Have a conversation with them and ask them how they're doing Sometimes even surveys and anonymous feedback if you're just starting out, even one-on-one chats. Those all are some things that you really need to do if you want to improve and regain the trust of the people that are dissatisfied. All right. So now let's talk about how do you engage that neutral group, and that's the 22% in the middle. Maybe they have an experience serious conflict or maybe they're just unsure if the process really works for everybody. But get them involved. Show and share with them how past conflicts were resolved and you don't want to air dirty laundry, of course. But get them involved. Show and share with them how past conflicts were resolved. You don't want to air dirty laundry, of course, but invite them to help improve the systems that you have in place and get their fresh perspective. They're neutral for a reason Either they haven't had conflict or they don't know if the conflict resolution is really worth it or if it works. So, overall, 61%. If your staff fits in that norm, it's a good place to start, but we want to make sure that everyone feels that conflicts are handled. So here's how to get there Regular reviews to update your process, training to make sure that everybody's equipped to handle conflict well, building a culture where voicing concerns respectfully is encouraged and rewarded.
Speaker 1:And sometimes, if you're the leader of a staff, you need to step in where, if you know that there's conflict, be proactive to help your staff members get along. Be proactive to help your staff members work through conflict. And if you're not in charge of your staff, maybe you're one that finds yourself in conflict and you've just not dealt with it. You need to, but you just haven't. It's time to start having some conversations. Obviously, you need to talk with the person that you're having a conflict with, but maybe sometimes it's deep and it's complicated and you need somebody to help walk you through that. And maybe your supervisor or another person on staff can help bridge that gap, to get you to a place where you can handle conflict.
Speaker 1:Conflict, if it's not taken care of, does not atrophy to get better, it tends to get worse. So it's really important that you, if you know that there's conflict or just an unsettled spirit with another staff member, you need to try and take responsibility for that. Is it difficult? Yes, is it fun? Never, but it's important. So if I could encourage you hey, you're not in an unusual situation if there's some tension.
Speaker 1:Conflict is a normal part of any team, even a church team, but ignoring it will damage your morale, it will block your progress and if you take some of these positive steps to make sure you're on the right track and make improvements, it's going to make a huge difference. And if you're a leader, help your staff get there. If there's conflict, don't turn the other way. Start to have some conversations. Start to help and give tools to help people work through conflicts. When conflicts are taken care of on your team, man, oh man, can great things be done for the kingdom. When there's conflicts that are brewing below the surface, it's going to stifle the impact that you have, both from those individual staff members, but for your church and your church staff as a team, all right.
Speaker 1:So that's all I've got to say about church staff conflict today. Do you need to have let me leave it here today, do you need to have a conversation? Is there somebody that you need to have a conversation with today? I would encourage you to have that conversation, or consider pray about having that conversation. Think about what you need to say, what needs to be said and what kind of things could be done to help you get along and to put this conflict behind you so that you can move forward. We serve a great cause. Man, I cannot think of anything better to do with your day than what you're doing being a part of a church staff. But if there's conflict in your way. Do whatever you can to get that out of the way so that you can be a really effective staff person in your mission. Okay, that's what I have to say about church staff conflict and conflict resolution today.
Speaker 1:If you've not taken our church staff assessment, I would love for you to head over to churchstaffassessmentcom. Take that today. It's 50 questions. Take about 10 or 15 minutes, absolutely free. We'll give you a report afterwards of your answers and our findings as to how you're doing on church staff health. And if you want to reach out to me and say, Todd, here's my deal, I've got some conflict, what would you suggest? I'd love to talk with you and work you through that. If there's any way that I can help you to do that, you can reach out to me anytime. Podcast at Chemistry Staffing is the email Podcast at Chemistry Staffing and I hope you'll join us again right here tomorrow. Let's see what we're talking about tomorrow on the podcast. Tomorrow we're going to talk about how to get from overlooked to essential and how you can recognize staff contributions. Hope you can join us right here tomorrow on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Thanks so much for listening.
