Have you ever been on a toxic church staff? It is not enjoyable, and it slows the progress of the church. The leader’s primary task for the church is to create a healthy culture, starting with their personal life that flows down to the staff and, as a result, flows through the church.
Why Your Church Staff Culture Matters
Creating culture happens in two ways: 1) Either the leader intentionally creates a healthy culture, or 2) the culture happens by default. When a culture is left to itself with no intentional planning, toxicity will emerge.
The lead pastor or executive pastor must start creating a culture within their staff first and foremost. If they try to start with the congregation without having the staff fully invested in the type of culture they want to create, then it will backfire on them. Staff can be paid employees or unpaid volunteers. Staff are those who oversee departments. As a church grows, they have more influence on a personal and peer level than the pastor.
So, if the intentional strategic architecture of values and vision is not built within the staff, then the pastor will accidentally create a toxic church staff culture.
Create a Culture of Values
Culture is created by values. Organizations need guiding, overarching values that lead the church but as a church grows, the church will need to develop internal values that guide the volunteers and staff. These “internal values” should be memorized and mentioned every time the teams gather. A value such as “Rapid Resolution” will help staff understand the importance of handling conflict quickly and gracefully. A motto attached to this value could be, “Quickly fixed is quickly forgotten.” When there is an issue the pastor and staff let the values lead and even be the “bad guy.” When an internal conflict arises the leader can say, “Hey, I know this will be tough but we need to get you and Sally together to resolve this conflict. We have a value called rapid resolution that we need to implement so anger and offense don’t fester.”
However, many staff are unhealthy and have no guiding internal values that shape their behaviors. At the end of the day, culture is simply how a group of people respond to each other and the overall mission. So, a pastor doesn’t want to accidentally create an unhealthy culture by not being intentional in shaping it.
What type of staff culture is considered toxic? Ask yourself these 6 questions.
1. Is Your Team Made Up of Workers Instead of Leaders?
Staff members who are overloaded with work and do not raise direct reports struggle. This happens when the pastor and/or board have instilled the mindset that staff are hired to do the work instead of equipping others to do the work.
This is one of the main reasons churches can’t break growth barriers. They have a pastor and possibly a staff that do the work instead of developing people under them to do the work. A leader works through people. A worker does the job themselves. It’s easier in the short term to just do the work but in the long term, it caps the potential of the Church.
2. Does Your Staff Have Complainers Instead of Celebrators?
Serving the Church is a calling and one should have a grateful mindset when doing it. It’s an honor to serve in this capacity. Yet in many churches, the pastors and staff complain a lot. They complain about volunteers not showing up. They complain about how much they get paid. And they will complain about any extra work out on them. This creates a toxic church staff culture.
It’s okay to offer constructive criticism, but complaining alone isn’t a strategy. That’s why you need celebrators. Celebrators are those who are overwhelmed with gratitude that they get to do this for a job. They don’t have the “I have to do this,” but they have the mindset, “I get to do this.” Celebrators will complain, but they create a strategy to alleviate the stress. They create more solutions than problems. And they have a spirit of gratitude to God for the high calling of serving His Church.
3. Are There Factions Instead of Family?
Another toxic church staff culture trait is when the staff creates factions and is divided instead of operating as a family. A family doesn’t always get along, but a family will overlook a lot of personal issues because they are family. Some families are “family blind.” They have terrible parents or siblings but will overhype them because they are blinded to their shortcomings due to their family ties alone.
Staff should be aware of the same issues in their approach to each other. They will work with other imperfect people who have issues, but they should have a familial love for each other. If this does not happen, then there will be serious factions and divisions among the staff.
4. Has Your Staff Culture Plateaued When They Should Pursue Personal Growth?
Staff have specific departments and areas of expertise they are responsible for within the Church. It is so important that they grow as leaders and they grow in their specific craft. There are so many resources on the internet. For a staff member to not plateau, they must be a part of groups on social media, listen to podcasts, and read articles that relate to their department. Without doing this, they will plateau and use antiquated methods for their ministry. Leaders must be constant learners.
5. Is Your Team on Autopilot Instead of Autocorrect?
This unhealthy attribute is one where each staff member doesn’t create a margin to care for their soul. They are simply on autopilot with their spiritual, emotional, and physical health. They do not pause to pay attention to bitterness, anger, and resentment that is festering in their hearts. Nor do they pause to spend quality time with the Lord and the Scriptures. Autopilots don’t care for their physical health.
In contrast, leaders who “autocorrect” can identify these unhealthy feelings or habits and then change them. They are sensitive to the imaginary conversations they are having. These leaders understand that the foods they eat affect their moods, hormones, and emotional health. And they also spend time with the Lord by letting the Bible “read them” instead of just reading the Bible. This means they let the Lord speak to them and correct them, not just comfort them.
6. Does Your Staff Have Their Own Agenda Instead of Alignment?
Staff who have their own agenda are there for money and ultimately to get to the place they want to get to in regards to a position. This could be the youth pastor who is just biding their time until they can become a senior pastor or the worship leader who wants to travel and cut albums. This could also mean that the staff member has their own vision for their department that is divorced from the vision of the church. They want it their way instead of the way it is outlined in the vision.
Be Intentional: Fight Toxic Church Staff Culture
A leader can see why it is so important to intentionally create culture instead of it being accidental. An accidental culture is toxic and ineffective. It is marked by unhappy staff, very little results, and high turnover. An intentional culture is marked by fulfilled staff, great results, and staff that want to stay if possible.
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