Dead Cat on Aisle Five: Confronting the Uncomfortable Truths in Your Church
Jun 20, 2024Season 1Episode 119
Todd Rhoades
Ever wondered how to tackle the "dead cats" lurking in your church leadership? Join Todd Rhoades, co-founder of Chemistry Staffing, as he reveals the uncomfortable yet essential truths that can significantly impact your congregation. From toxic volunteers to outdated programs, Todd illuminates the importance of addressing these issues head-on to foster a healthier and more cohesive church environment. You'll learn actionable strategies to acknowledge problems, gather crucial information, and devise a thoughtful plan to handle these sensitive matters with care and precision.
In this episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, Todd Rhodes uses a vivid metaphor to explain the often-ignored challenges within church leadership. He offers practical advice on how to manage these "sacred cows" without causing unnecessary friction. Gain insights into the delicate balance of honesty, information-gathering, and strategic planning that can prevent division and decline in your congregation. This essential conversation is packed with valuable guidance that every church leader needs to hear. Don't miss out on these transformative insights!
Ever wondered how to tackle the "dead cats" lurking in your church leadership? Join Todd Rhoades, co-founder of Chemistry Staffing, as he reveals the uncomfortable yet essential truths that can significantly impact your congregation. From toxic volunteers to outdated programs, Todd illuminates the importance of addressing these issues head-on to foster a healthier and more cohesive church environment. You'll learn actionable strategies to acknowledge problems, gather crucial information, and devise a thoughtful plan to handle these sensitive matters with care and precision.
In this episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, Todd Rhodes uses a vivid metaphor to explain the often-ignored challenges within church leadership. He offers practical advice on how to manage these "sacred cows" without causing unnecessary friction. Gain insights into the delicate balance of honesty, information-gathering, and strategic planning that can prevent division and decline in your congregation. This essential conversation is packed with valuable guidance that every church leader needs to hear. Don't miss out on these transformative insights!
Okay, today we're going to talk about a topic that's a little stinky, a little awkward, but oh so necessary for the health of your church. We're going to be talking about, of course, dead cats. Welcome to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. My name is Todd Rhodes, one of the co-founders of thechemistrystaffingcom. I'm so glad I'm not sure how you did it that you found the Healthy Church Staff Podcast and you are listening right now. I believe you're here for a reason.
Speaker 1:
So picture this you walk into your worship center, your sanctuary, whatever you call it where you worship on Sunday, and there is a dead cat sanctuary whatever you call it where you worship on Sunday, and there is a dead cat, a dead cat, laying smack dab in the middle of row five. Everybody sees it, everybody sees it. The stench is undeniable, but yet no one wants to deal with this. Okay, so I am stealing this metaphor from my co-founder, matt Steen. Everybody asks me why is Matt not on the podcast? And it's just because I'm afraid he would swear too much. Just kidding, maybe Matt will be on a podcast in the future, but I'm stealing this metaphor from Matt, and Matt often says that what are you going to do with it? What dead cats are there, and let me define what we're using this metaphor, for.
Speaker 1:
A dead cat is the phenomenon we call the uncomfortable truths and things that happen in a church that everybody in the church knows but nobody wants to address. It's the sacred cows that, if you're and this is what we tell new pastors when they go into a church, and this is what we tell new pastors when they go into a church you have to be able to see those dead cats and leave them lay right there for a little bit of time, because those are the sacred cows. Those are the things that everybody knows they're there, but nobody touches, because they're sacred cows and you need to be very careful. All right, I've taken this metaphor about as far as it could, but it could be a toxic volunteer. The dead cat might be a divisive doctrine, but it could be a toxic volunteer. The dead cat might be a divisive doctrine. It could be an outdated program. It could even be a financial crisis. Whatever it is, though, this dead cat is festering and it's creating tension and it's hindering the church's growth. But here's the thing church leaders, ignoring the dead cat will not make it go away. In fact, it'll only make things worse.
Speaker 1:
Now, if you're new to a church, you have to take some time with dealing with these sacred cow issues and these dead cats, as we like to call them, like a neglected wound, these unsolved, unresolved issues can affect the entire congregation. They can cause division. Issues can affect the entire congregation. They can cause division, they can cause apathy and ultimately, they can cause decline. All right, so you need to know how to handle these situations and when to handle them.
Speaker 1:
Here are a few tips. Okay, first of all, acknowledge the issue. First step is just admitting there's a problem and you, as a leader, these people in the church have seen, they know what, they know the cat's laying there. They just don't want to touch it and chances are here's the secret they don't want you to touch it either. But the first thing that you'll have to do, as a leader, is to get them to acknowledge that it exists. Don't try and sweep it under the rug or pretend it doesn't exist. Be honest with yourself, be honest with your leadership team, be honest with the people in the church and, again, these are sensitive areas, so do so with great care.
Speaker 1:
Gather some information. If you're new, talk to people, do some research. Get some clear understanding as to what did this cat do when it was alive, what happened? How did it die? Why is it still laying there? All of that is gathering information to find out exactly what happened. In that gathering information, and only by gathering that information, can you move on to the next thing that you need to do, which is create a plan, decide what you're going to do.
Speaker 1:
How are you going to address this issue, what steps will you take? Who needs to be involved? What resources will you need to take care of this? And then you have to communicate openly and honestly Over time. You can't continue to hide the problem. You can't sugarcoat it. You need to be transparent. You need to bring people on to understanding that this is something.
Speaker 1:
If we don't deal with this issue, it's going to continue to affect us in the future. It's an important issue to address Now. You're also going to have to be prepared for resistance. Okay, that's why, on day one, you let the dead cat lay there Because you need to get some change in your pocket. You need to have some relationships build up. Because here's the reality there will be resistance. There is always resistance.
Speaker 1:
Not everyone is going to be happy about your decision to tackle this dead cat. Some people are going to resist, other people are going to feel threatened, some people may feel exposed. Be prepared to address their concerns and offer support and then follow through. Don't just talk about it. Take action and see it through to the end. So remember addressing this dead cat issue and I'm not a cat hater. I've already told you I've got three cats Dawn and I have three cats. We have Chubs, finn and Ziggy, so we are cat lovers. Understand the analogy, the way that it's meant. But addressing these issues is not about assigning blame or creating conflict. It's ultimately about creating a healthier, more vibrant and more impactful church ultimately about creating a healthier, more vibrant and more impactful church.
Speaker 1:
Now, here's your bottom line. Every church has its issues. Every church has its sacred cows. Every church has its dead cats. Okay, the question is are you willing to face them as a leader? By addressing the uncomfortable truths, you can clean the air, you can heal the wounds, you can create a stronger, more unified community. But you just have to do it on a timeline that makes sense. You can't step in on day one and do it.
Speaker 1:
So if you're dealing with issues like this in your church, maybe you need some guidance on how to address it. You'd like to get some coaching or some mentoring on maybe some specific things that are going on in your church or ministry. Don't hesitate to reach out. I would love to hear from you. I would love to hear about your Sacred Cow and Dead Cat issues. Or reach out to me anytime podcastchemistrystaffingcom. And if your church is going through a time where you're looking for a new staff member, looking to add a new pastor or a new staff member on your team, feel free to reach out to me. I would love to be able to partner with you and share with you a little bit more about what we do here at Chemistry Staffing. All right, that's today's episode. It's a wrap and we will talk to you right here again tomorrow on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast.